The Louvre’s Cour Carrée was tricked out like an airfield straight from The Jetsons; flying cars with glowing red tail lights and Damier check paint jobs hovered above the crowd or came in for a landing on the ersatz macadam. But don’t let the space-age set fool you. Nicolas Ghesquière didn’t go back to the future for spring 2027 (it was 20 years ago that he launched his C3PO leggings for Balenciaga, by the way). The Louis Vuitton designer was after something much more down-to-earth this season: an “ergonomic,” body-first approach to fashion.
This counts as a major departure. Ghesquière received the Legion d’Honneur from President Emmanuel Macron last week. The designer has dressed France’s first lady Brigitte Macron since her husband’s first election. “It just occurred to me that you were the second man in her life. I’m not quite sure how to take that,” Macron quipped to much laughter at the Élysée Palace. On the runways, though, Ghesquière has been on his own trip lately. He likes larger than life silhouettes, be it the traditional shepherd’s cloaks of last season or the Dune-worthy robes of resort 2023. Out-of-time references are another persistent feature of his work, stretching from 1980s party girl mufti to 18th century panniered frocks.
So what was he up to with the sleeveless white shift and black men’s oxfords that started things off? “I wanted to express a sensation of simplicity, a feeling of purity,” he said. “It’s an impression of minimalism, but the work behind this construction, the simplification, making things extremely light, is really complex.” Subsequent looks were similarly understated: collarless jackets and straight-leg pants with the unadorned efficiency of a uniform; floaty summer dresses in lettuce edged layers of chiffon; checked pantsuits light enough to move like flou.
He said that these instincts came from the chaos of the world around us, though there’s plenty of other background noise. Fashion’s great reset has ushered in a new generation of creative directors and most of them—because of the pressures of the marketplace, or because grounded, unstudied clothes just look right right now—are delivering more customer-oriented, relatable collections. Could that be what recentered him?
Yes or no, back in Ghesquière’s Balenciaga days, my cohort rhapsodized about his perfect pants. In 2026, wearable Ghesquière has a nice ring to it. To my eyes, a pair of embellished hammered satin elongated tanks with extended trains accompanied by fluid pants are high up on the list of the best evening looks of the season. I’d like to see him pursue this line of thinking.