Pierre Cardin proposes a future of shape-shifting and eco-conscious fashion

17 Oct

On the final day of Paris Fashion Week, on 7 October 2025, the maison Pierre Cardin closed the season with the presentation of its Spring Summer 2026 collection. The collection reinforced the aquatic and space-inspired aesthetic that established Cardin as one of the great names in experimental fashion design.

A laboratory of imagination

From the very first looks, the collection revealed itself as an experiment between fashion and sculpture. The base pieces were jumpsuits or clean silhouettes that served as neutral platforms for the layering of three-dimensional elements such as discs, circular structures, floating panels, and asymmetrical ornaments.

A wearable science fiction

There is something profoundly narrative about this collection. Each look seems to tell a story from another time, or perhaps from a time yet to come — a time where the body is free from the gravity of functional fashion, and clothing becomes a device for imagination.

Fashion as sculpture in motion

The SS26 collection raises a fundamental question: where does clothing end and art begin? By embracing compositions that move beyond pure functionality, the brand explores the boundaries of what is considered “wearable”. Even though not all pieces are intended for everyday use, the show masterfully fulfils its purpose within the fashion circuit — to provoke, to imagine, and to inspire.

The future is now

In terms of materials, the maison explored technical fabrics, transparencies, and applied architectural elements. Rodrigo Basilicati, the creative director of the house, together with his team, is deeply committed to environmental impact and once again brings a strong presence of eco-friendly fabrics, deadstock materials (“stocks dormants”), and state-of-the-art technical fibres.

A symbolic closing to Fashion Week

Pierre Cardin does not speak of trends, but of possibilities. His garments do not ask to be understood, but to be felt. They are maps of an uncharted territory — the territory of the desire for what is yet to come.

The maison reminds us that the runway is also a place for radical experimentation, for imagining what lies ahead. With the SS26 collection, the brand not only pays tribute to its founder but also reaffirms its place in the present: creating a space where tradition and innovation meet to project possible futures.

Juliana Moreira

Columnist
IG:@julymoreira_

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