Autumn-Winter 27-28 is placing materials at the center. Not as decoration, but as a foundation. At a time marked by the large-scale deployment of AI and the automation of processes, fashion is no longer seeking to oppose innovation and naturality. Instead, it is bringing them together. At the heart of current thinking lie the logic of the organic world, natural cycles and the regeneration of resources. This desire to reconnect with living systems is being expressed through a tangible, sensitive and evolving materiality. LIVING MATTER is therefore putting materials back at the core of creative approaches, as a privileged vehicle for emotion, functionality and transformation. Autumn-Winter 27-28 is defining a season in which living systems are becoming the foundation of value, in which materiality is generating desire and in which technology is emerging as a driver for sustainable transformation.
MATTER OF TIME Time, memory and the reactivation of craftsmanship
Image credit: Title of work: La Santa y la Hiedra Artist: Nieves González Medium: Oil on canvas Dimensions: 81 X 61 cm Year: 2024 Photography credit: Courtesy of the artist
Autumn-Winter is celebrating materials infused with memory, capable of conveying both a narrative and a lived experience. Alterations, irregularities and traces of wear are becoming powerful emotional markers. In an environment saturated with snapshot imagery and generated content, these expressions are introducing a slower and more lasting temporality, in which desire is built far away from immediacy.
As production cycles continue to accelerate, the time devoted to design and manufacturing is becoming a true indicator of value. Quality is expressed through the mastery of gesture, through attention to development and through craftsmanship’s ability to imbue materials with singularity and character.
Images credit: 01. Petra Fagerstrom SS26 Creative director: petra fagerstrom / Stylist: harry lambert / Photographer: andrew nuding / Make up: lauren reynolds / Hair: ali pirzadeh / Casting: nachum shonn / Production: north six. 02. Aldo Sergio, Natura Morta - Still Life II. 03. Jingyi Li
This dynamic is accompanied by a renewed interest in craftsmanship and classical references. Designers are revisiting ancient techniques, artisanal practices and cultural heritage so as to construct more universal and reassuring languages. In an ever-changing landscape, these shared references are becoming emotional and cultural anchors.
MATTER OF EASE Invisible technology and a renewed focus on people
Image credit: AI generated / Première Vision
At the same time, the season is reflecting a growing need for ease of use. Faced with digital environments that have become opaque and complex, products are moving towards more intuitive, fluid and human-centered experiences. In both design and innovation, human-focused approaches are bringing comfort, clarity and well-being back at the forefront.
Technology is not disappearing, but integrating ever more discreetly and invisibly, supporting more natural interactions and a better balance between functionality and usability.
Images credit: 01. AI Visual: Taskin Goec. 03. Freaky Square, Nicolas Zanoni / Image: Antoine Grenez / http://Nicolaszanoni.com / Instagram: @nicolas.zanoni
Garments are therefore becoming protective interfaces between the body and its environment. Enveloping materials, discreet performance, active softness and repairable or circular solutions are reflecting a desire to reconcile mobility, durability and everyday comfort. Objects are being designed to last, evolve and support usage with simplicity.
WILD MATTER Living systems as an aesthetic and innovative model
Image credit: Sophie Hospes @studiosophiehospes
The season is asserting a powerful return to living systems and their diversity. Organic dynamics are inspiring new aesthetics in which proliferations, growth patterns, plant or mineral textures and evolving forms are redefining the notion of beauty. In response to standardization and artificiality, the living world is becoming a model of intensity and renewal.
This fascination with the organic is also highlighting the perishable nature of living systems. Decomposition, fermentation and biological transformations all remind us of the fragility of ecosystems, while opening up new creative and aesthetic territories.
Images credit: 02. ROOTFULL / www.rootfull.com / @rootfull
La fermentation industrielle, le mycélium, ou encore les procédés régénératifs traduisent cette nouvelle alliance entre technologie et nature. Plus qu’une simple recherche de naturalité, ces innovations révèlent un changement de paradigme : un contexte où l’humain ne cherche plus à s’élever au-dessus de la nature, mais choisit de s’inscrire dans ses rythmes, et de s’inspirer de sa force intrinsèque pour créer et innover.
Industrial fermentation, mycelium and regenerative processes are embodying this new alliance between technology and nature. More than a simple search for naturality, these innovations are unveiling a paradigm shift: a context in which humans are no longer seeking to rise above nature, but are instead choosing to align themselves with its rhythms and draw inspiration from its intrinsic strength in order to create and to innovate.
