In the September 2026 Style Issue of Wallpaper* – on international newsstands now – we identified an embrace of the traditional rituals of dressing up which ran through the A/W 2026 season, from the continuing ubiquity of the tie to tuxedo jackets, opera gloves and evening bags. The cufflink was another – once relegated to the annals of sartorial history, the accessory remerged this season as designers reimagined the archetypes of formalwear in imaginative style.
Eight of the best cufflinks, A/W 2026’s unexpected menswear accessory
Prada cufflinks featured in the September Style Issue of Wallpaper* (out now)
This was largely down to Prada, where Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons likened their A/W 2026 collection to ‘archaeology’, excavating the traditional elements of menswear dressing and reinterpreting them for now. Sometimes this was literal – shirts were purposely covered with dirt, as if dug up or retrieved from a long-forgotten wardrobe – though other pieces recalled a time of dressing with refinement and care. ‘We questioned what should remain, from the past – and what can you build, from what you learn?’ said Simons backstage at the show. ‘There is a lot here from the past. If you take the layers away, you always find a kind of beauty.’
This included cufflinks, which hung from the collection’s oversized shirt cuffs in jewellery-like flourishes of carved lapis, malachite and tiger’s eye; strange carved metal faces adorned with chains or beads; or chewing gum-like chunks of moulded resin. They feature here alongside eight of the season’s best cufflinks – from an Hermès classic to Paul Smith’s lucky coins.
‘There is a lot here from the past,’ said Raf Simons of Prada’s A/W 2026 menswear show, which reimagined the bygone rituals of dressing up. These cufflinks appeared on the runway, featuring colourful carved chunks of semi-precious malachite and tiger’s eye that hung from the collection’s oversized shirt cuffs.
Think of these as jewellery for the shirt cuff: Los Angeles-based jewellery label Spinelli Kilcollin has reworked its signature interlinked loop rings as a pair of sterling silver cufflinks, which will add a modern flourish to any formalwear.
Prada is well-known for an esoteric accessory which ends up becoming a collector’s item. These cufflinks, which also appeared as part of the house’s A/W 2026 menswear show, will likely be no exception: featuring a metal ‘face’ and beaded adornment, they are as much objets d’art as fashion accessory.
Ferragamo’s Gancini logo is one of Italian fashion’s most storied emblems: so the story goes, its design is based on the metal hooks on the facade of Palazzo Spini Feroni, the house’s headquarters in its native Florence. Since it was first used as a clasp on a bag in 1969, it has since adorned Ferragamo’s collections – including these Gancini cufflinks.
Paul Smith is known for cufflinks which encapsulate the eponymous designer’s playful spirit – current offerings span gem-encrusted horse shoes, bug-eyed robots, and racing bicycles (Smith is a keen cyclist). Our favourites, though, are these coin-shaped cufflinks, adorned with a four-leafed clover to bring you luck.
For those who favour a more traditional accessory, Hermès’ ‘H au Carre’ cufflinks – shaped, as the name suggests, as the Hermès ‘H’ – capture a mood of classicism and refinement synonymous with the Parisian house. As such, they make for a precious gift for life’s landmark occasions.
Fendi has long borrowed from the iconography of its native Rome in its designs. These assymetric cufflinks continue that tradition, their shape inspired by the contours of ancient Roman columns, rendered here in silver-coloured metal.
The Médaillon motif has quickly become a hallmark of Jonathan Anderson’s tenure at Dior, memorably appearing as the buckle on a belt or a pair of shoes. These cufflinks render the Médaillon in miniature, capturing Anderson’s knack fo reimagining formalwear.