For our annual digest of the A/W season, we’re drawing attention to the act of dressing and how we use clothing to create a persona, whether for purpose, pleasure or joy. It's a thread that ran through the A/W 2026 shows. At Prada, models stripped off layers each time they left the runway as one might evolve an outfit over a given day, while at Chanel, Matthieu Blazy’s presentation promised to take its wearer from dawn to dusk (or in his words, ‘caterpillar to butterfly’). Further epitomising the shape-shifting mood, our womenswear story sees Australian model Aylah Peterson adopt a series of personae inspired by the season’s most striking looks, while our menswear shoot stages an abstracted beauty pageant in which models adopt A/W 2026’s streamlined silhouettes.
Top, £2,200; trousers, £1,100; earrings, £650; cuffs, from £1,100, all by Phoebe Philo
Continuing our conversation on what it means to get dressed, Tilda Swinton and fashion curator Olivier Saillard discuss a decade of clothing-focused creative collaboration, while Jil Sander’s creative director Simone Bellotti talks to us about his second season, which sees him combining moments of sensuality and play with the rigour for which the house is known.
And ahead of the opening of her new Skims store in London, Kim Kardashian reveals the finer details of creating a welcoming universe for her shapewear brand alongside architect Rafael de Cárdenas.
Top, £1,228; skirt, £1,290, by Agnona. Cuffs, from £115, by Alexis Bittar
For this issue's edition of The Glossary, our close-up of the standout trends, we explore the colour black: omnipresent in fashion, it took centre stage on the runway this season.
We profile rising star Torishéju Dumi, who is carving her own path with the help of Dover Street Market’s incubator scheme and Sarabande, and we take a look inside Hermès' expansive new Mayfair Maison, which features an extraordinary curation of artworks undertaken by the brand's artistic director Pierre-Alexis Dumas.
And as Paul Smith turns 80, we deep-dive into the brand's archive in an exclusive shoot, a fitting tribute to a titan of fashion.
Bill Prince
Editor-in-Chief
Cover credits
On the newsstand cover (top left), coat, €50,000, by Loewe. Necklace, £1,990, by Georg Jensen. Modular sofa, available for hire from Granger Hertzog. Coffee table, £4,895, by USM x Buchanan Studio. ‘Drum F2’ floor lamp, by Minimalux, from SCP
On the second newsstand cover (centre), Isaac wears jacket, £1,450; waistcoat, £330, both by Emporio Armani. Jeans, £385, by Stefan Cooke. Nathan wears jacket, £720, by Favourbrook. Jeans, £130, by Levi’s. River wears jacket, £4,100; scarf, £850, both by Tom Ford. Jeans, £255, by APC. James wears jacket and waistcoat (part of suit), £6,200, by Brioni. Jeans, £130, by Levi’s. Gregorio wears jacket, price on request, by Valentino. Jeans, £130, by Levi’s
On the limited-edition cover (right), top, £2,400; trousers, £2,600; sunglasses, £375, all by Gucci
Wallpaper’s September 2026 Style Issue is available from 6 August, in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today