Day three of Haute Couture Fall/Winter saw designers looking inward, using couture not only as a display of technical mastery but as a vehicle for personal transformation. Across the Fall/Winter 2026/27 collections, craftsmanship remained at the forefront, with every silhouette shaped through meticulous handwork, innovative textiles, and remarkable savoir-faire. The season also welcomed notable debuts, including Vaishali Shadangule, the first woman of Indian origin to present on the official Paris Haute Couture calendar, while Pierpaolo Piccioli opened a new chapter at Balenciaga by reinterpreting the house’s sculptural philosophy rather than simply revisiting its past. Elsewhere, Mohammed Ashi staged a surreal masquerade where identity was revealed through costume, and Robert Wun returned to the imagination of childhood, reminding us that couture can be playful, joyful, spirited, and deeply introspective all at once.
Ashi Studio: “A Different Skin”
Courtesy of Ashi Studio.
Courtesy of Ashi Studio.
Mohammed Ashi imagined a surreal masquerade inspired by the dreamlike worlds of Salvador Dalí for Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2026/27. Rather than recreating Dalí’s paintings, the collection evokes a fantastical Victorian ball where masks become vehicles for transformation. Each look embodies a distinct archetype—a court ambassador, a broken doll, a Napoleonic officer, or a mysterious figure who has spent too long wandering the forest. Time appears suspended, as guests remain frozen within the identities they have carefully constructed. Here, clothing becomes both disguise and revelation, blurring the boundary between performance and self-discovery.
That narrative unfolds through extraordinary craftsmanship. Leather is treated to resemble glazed ceramic, while beading, opaline finishes, and intricate metalwork create an almost otherworldly surface. Japanese paper is hand-painted to mimic fallen leaves cascading along hems, insects emerge from fabric folds, and sculpted buttons, painted crustaceans hidden inside linings, golden pomegranates, frayed lace, and delicate veils reward a closer look. One gown even carries a Venetian mirror across its back, while lingerie peeks from beneath impeccably tailored silhouettes. Every detail layers upon the next like a wearable cabinet of curiosities, suggesting that the mask is not meant to conceal one’s identity—but to reveal it.
“I was thinking about a warped kind of historicism – how you borrow from another century without being bound by it.”
-Mohammed Ashi.
Balenciaga Returns to Dimensionality
Courtesy of Balenciaga.
Courtesy of Balenciaga.
Marking his couture debut for Balenciaga, Pierpaolo Piccioli presented the house’s 55th couture collection by returning to the design vocabulary that has long defined the maison. Architectural silhouettes, sculptural volumes, and fabrics that determine the body’s physicality form the foundation of the collection. Cashmere coats are cut with remarkable precision, molded leather creates internal carapaces, and embellishment is concentrated at hems and lapels rather than overwhelming the garments. Balenciaga’s textile innovations remain central, from Amsilk, a silk alternative, to the iconic neo-gazar developed by founder Cristóbal Balenciaga, whose unique balance of structure and lightness continues to shape the house’s identity.
On the runway, several monochromatic black looks recall the sculptural presence of Georgian silhouette portraiture, directing the eye toward silhouette, proportion, and form. Feathers appear throughout the collection, adding movement and weightlessness, while embroidery becomes structural rather than decorative. Rather than offering a direct homage, Piccioli extends Cristóbal Balenciaga’s philosophy into a contemporary language where the body once again becomes a three-dimensional sculpture to be viewed from every angle. The collection concludes with an emotional tribute to the atelier, as Piccioli took his final bow alongside the craftspeople in their signature white coats to a standing ovation, placing couture’s true authors at the heart of the moment.
Robert Wun: “Childsplay”
Courtesy of Robert Wun.
Courtesy of Robert Wun.
After three years of establishing his couture language, Robert Wun turns inward for his latest Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2026/27 collection. Rather than looking outward for inspiration, he returns to childhood—the place where imagination begins, before creativity becomes curated or commercialized. As the show notes explain, “The intention is to be inspired by the un-serious, but to create seriously.”
The collection opens with white garments splattered in colorful paint, recalling every child’s first encounter with art. From there, playful symbols emerge within impeccably executed couture: circular handbags, bubblegum bubbles frozen before the lips, paper-airplane hats, bunny ears, oversized plush rabbits, wolf masks, and birds poised to take flight. While the silhouettes remain sharp and architectural, they never lose their sense of wonder. Leather, embroidery, and sculptural techniques are executed with remarkable restraint, allowing the whimsical details to take center stage. As the show unfolds, the fantasy grows increasingly surreal, culminating in a white look adorned with white translucent and opaque balloons before closing with a dramatic black gown enveloped in a constellation of vibrant, multicolored balloons. Their custom shapes feel lifted from a child’s drawing—playful, unique, imperfect, and wonderfully organic. It is a joyful finale that captures the uninhibited imagination of childhood, reminding us that couture can be both technically rigorous and wonderfully playful.
Vaishali S in Bloom
Courtesy of Vaishali S.
Courtesy of Vaishali S.
Marking a historic milestone as the first designer of Indian origin to present on the official couture calendar, Vaishali Shadangule brings more than 25 years of craftsmanship to her couture debut. Through her label, Vaishali S, she has spent over two decades working with more than 4,500 weaving families across India, preserving traditional textile techniques while continually pushing them forward through innovation. For her Fall/Winter 2026/27 Haute Couture collection, “Swayam,” she unites fourteen weaving traditions from across the subcontinent into a 30-look handwoven collection.
Derived from the Sanskrit word meaning “through one’s own being,” Swayam unfolds as a story of transformation. Models walk barefoot, grounding themselves in the runway as if drawing strength from the earth below. The opening looks are sculptural and restrained in tones of stone, ash, and deep green, suggesting a self still hidden beneath the surface. Shadangule’s signature cording acts like an internal framework, holding energy in suspension before gradually giving way to movement, pleating, and color. Fuchsia, carmine, and warm florals emerge alongside embroidery inspired by the anatomy of flowers rather than ornament alone. The finale arrives in full bloom, with Murshidabad silk petals, Chanderi cord stamens, and jewel tones of amethyst, peacock, and sapphire creating garments that feel deeply rooted yet effortlessly powerful—a remarkable beginning to what promises to be an exciting couture journey.
“Swayam is my way of saying you do not need to be admired to be allowed to open. You only need to be true.”
-Vaishali Shadangule.
