Notes From The Runway

Fashion can be discussed not only through the language of trends, but also from the perspective of architecture and spatial design. In this context, clothing begins to be perceived as structure: volbe volume, light and form, the balance between empty and filled space, and the play of texture. These are the same tools used by architects and urban planners.

Three shows from the Autumn/Winter 2026 fashion week offer a clear example of how fashion designers explore ideas of architectural form and sculptural construction within their collections.

Anrealage

The Japanese brand Anrealage approaches clothing as a tool that allows the wearer to merge with their surroundings. The idea is inspired by the aesthetic of the cult anime Ghost in the Shell. Garments made from experimental materials react to the visual environment around them. The true vitality of the clothes becomes visible only in motion; the silhouette dissolves into the space around it.

Fabrics embedded with LED elements turn the garments into something resembling an interface, recalling the glowing media facades and flickering signage of contemporary city architecture.

The second part of the collection shifts in the opposite direction. Instead of camouflage, Anrealage introduces expressive looks influenced by the flamboyance of the 1970s. These pieces are bold and seeking attention, built with complex volumes where romantic ruffles meet a clear structural logic. Jewellery resembling urban antenna structures rises directly from the shoes, as if growing from the body itself.

Together, the collection evokes questions about individuality and visibility in a world where clothing no longer necessarily helps a person stand out, but can just as easily allow them to disappear into their environment.

 

Pierre Cardin

Where Anrealage dissolves form, Pierre Cardin adapts it. In the collection Venice ’59, fashion becomes a platform for an urban fantasy of the future.

The choice of Venice is deliberate. The city already faces the consequences of climate change and rising sea levels, making it a symbolic starting point for a conversation about what lies ahead.

In this collection, the intersection of aesthetics and engineering is particularly striking. The concept was created by Rodrigo Basilicati-Carden, the brand’s designer and an engineer by education. The models walked the runway against the backdrop of a futuristic Venice architecture with glass walls and a system of giant water filters.

Venice appears not only in its recognisable architecture, but also through references to its cultural heritage. Masks, capes and carnival tricorne hats evoke the city’s traditions of the costume and masquerade.

The collection immerses us in the future in which technology and history coexist, and where innovation in materials and construction becomes essential to fashion’s sustainability. Much like the climate control systems in contemporary architecture, clothing begins to breathe, respond and adapt to a changing environment.

 

Gauchere

The designer of Gauchere, Marie-Christine Statz, proposes an almost opposite approach, though one site that is no less architectural. Her fashion speaks the language of minimalist architecture, where proportion, texture, line, rhythm and balance take precedence.

Sculptural tailoring, carefully controlled volume and fully precise folds create the impression that the garments are constructed around the body itself, forming a distinctly architectural silhouette.

In design terms, this approach resonates with a growing interest in a restrained, confident aesthetic, where the emphasis lies not on spectacle but on the subtle impact created through precision and proportion.

 

A closer look at these three collections reveals how differently the idea of architecture can manifest in fashion. Clothing no longer exists separately from space. It can dissolve into it, adapt to it, or reconstruct it around the body.

Photos courtesy of brands

 

Text by ELGA HOMITSKA

Fashion stylist, personal shopper, fashion analyst, practicing stylist for movies, photo studios and fashion houses. Author of photo shoots and fashion reviews for fashion publications. A teacher of author's seminars, an accredited journalist at the world fashion weeks, a lecturer at the international training center Bogomolov Image School, a lecturer at the British Higher School of Design and EDS at the European Design School, conducts style training in cooperation with Dyloan Studio Manufacturing Technologies for Fashion, Art and Design in Milan, MBA degree.

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