After almost 2 years of consuming fashion through a screen, the designers who moved the narrative further played with explosive shapes and a sense of handcraft that doesn’t translate to the social scrolling. Thom Browne whose past shows are so thematic you end up being relieved that retailers only carry his button-downs and striped sweats, broke through with a collection of print-looking column dresses inspired by Greek and Roman statues at the MET. The pieces were actually layers upon layers of hand appliquéd tulle creating shading and line.  Rich in reference but light as air.

What also resonated with us? Loewe’s powerful collection was full of body molds, balloon-like silhouettes, and soft drapes. Luxury houses have been churning out mass-produced logos for the past few years, seeing what a true artisan house capability with craftsmanship has justified the return to in-person shows.

Cutouts seemed to go into overdrive with every designer throwing at least a few options into the mix. ​​LVMH prize winner Nensi Dojaka showed a production-friendly version of her previous draped and string cutout dresses that ignited the trend to begin with. We hope she’s able to focus on the drape and doesn’t get distracted by the business side of her label. What caught our eye was the feeling of sensuous hand drapes that had an almost Madame Grés feel (see Rick Owens) or precision slicing that had been just as considered and felt cool without being overly sporty (see Stella McCartney).

The astoundingly ugly and so specifically mid ‘00’s trend of puckered popcorn top and dress is back. The only compelling take on it was Marine Serre’s graphic piecing of upcycled scarves and scraps of fabric. Elsewhere patchwork denim was everywhere from Tom Ford’s gold foiled pieced skirts to Blumarines patchworked denim and print.  Are these part of an effort for upcycling from vintage and past stock like Serre or is it just the merchandisers on ramp to appear so?

Lutz Huelle continued to push an easy glamour that made way more sense than it should. A polo with clashing taffeta peplum over some slashed slouchy jeans, felt immediate and accessible. You could picture almost any woman looking effortless and confident in these looks.

The immediacy of the shows felt much lower stakes this season: a relief for those who went digital. Schiaparelli and JW Anderson are 2 brands that were able to push their world far with just an image making some of the bigger shows feel further out of touch. Moving forward in this uncertain time, fun and powerful versus frivolous or wasteful will become part of the physical show discourse, it’s about time.