The Spring/Summer 2027 collections shown across fashion month in September and October confirmed and sharpened several of the directions already visible in the autumn/winter 2026 shows.
Where last season’s runways reinforced ideas of personalisation, layered adornment and sensory self-expression, the latest shows carried those ideas further across clothing, beauty and accessories; from makeup and hair used as styling tools, to the continued presence of reptile skins and statement jewellery, to bags and hardware designed to be seen and collected rather than simply carried.
Beauty Becomes an Accessory
Beauty is increasingly being designed around visibility, portability and self-expression. This signals an opportunity for brands to think beyond the product itself and design beauty as part of the consumer’s wider accessories wardrobe.
Givenchy’s SS27 show provided the most direct proof-point. Compacts appeared as belt hardware and lipsticks were styled as hair clips, turning objects that would normally stay inside a handbag into visible parts of the outfit.
Beyond Givenchy, beauty directions ranged from:
Pale and nude lips appeared at Maison Margiela, Balenciaga, Marni, Loewe, Fendi, Chloé and Gucci.
Statement and vivid red lips surfaced at Burberry, Celine, Valentino, Victoria Beckham, Chanel, Michael Kors and Dolce & Gabbana.
Ombre and gradient lips stood out at Dries Van Noten.
Playful and graphic eye makeup featured at Simone Rocha, Sportmax, Acne Studios and Celine.
Metallic eyes appeared at Sportmax, Christian Dior, Chanel and Jil Sander.
Dirty glamour looks at Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Tory Burch and Tom Ford appeared alongside cleaner “less is more” finishes at Chanel, Stella McCartney, Victoria Beckham, Tory Burch, Valentino and Burberry.
Across the shows, beauty functioned as a styling variable, one that can shift the character of a look without altering the clothing itself.
Heat and Visibility
Record heat also played a practical role this season, driving lighter fabrics, transparency and reduced clothing. This increased the amount of skin on show and, in turn, made beauty and accessories more visible as part of the overall look.
This was most clearly seen in:
Bra tops as the actual top at Prada, Miu Miu, Tom Ford, Fendi, Simone Rocha and others; reduced upper-body clothing that left more skin and accessories visible.
Sheer and layered transparency across Paris, Milan and London at Dior, Chanel, Chloé, Khaite, Simone Rocha and others; lighter, more revealing fabrics that increased the visibility of what was worn underneath or on the body.
Prada’s SS27, which used bra tops with skirts extensively across its 63-look show, with the reduced top making jewellery, beauty and the skirt the focus.
Vivienne Westwood SS27, which was explicitly inspired by Paris’s stifling summer heatwave, with light fabrics, nightshirts, tulle and more open, reduced looks.
Across these looks, the reduction in fabric shifted attention upward and outward, allowing jewellery, eyewear and beauty to read more strongly against the body.
Key Colours
Fresh purple, ginger biscuit, luminous blue, saturated citrus, sunkissed orange and vivid red emerged as dominant colour stories across both runway and street-style looks, appearing on bags, clothing and accessories at houses including Gucci, Miu Miu, Prada, Valentino, Michael Kors, Ferragamo, Balenciaga, Celine, Chloe, Hermes and others.
The return of colour and more decorative details can also be read as a form of considered pleasure and controlled escapism against a backdrop of ongoing uncertainty.
Material Continuity
Reptile skins and animal prints were already present last season, and remain a consistent material focus this season across both runway and street-style looks.
Snake, croc and lizard finishes appeared at Gucci, Prada, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana, Loewe, Chanel, Marni and Dries Van Noten.
Primal animal prints, including leopard and zebra, continued at Roberto Cavalli, Proenza Schouler, Dolce & Gabbana, Stella McCartney and Chanel.
Botanical and floral details further softened the material language, with corsage rose updates at Simone Rocha and Chanel and botanical jewellification across Simone Rocha, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Chanel and Chloe.
The botanical and floral details, in particular, also reflect a broader return to tactile and sensory materials, as designers emphasise the physical pleasures of dressing against a world that is increasingly digitised and disconnected from the senses.
Objects to Wear, Display and Collect
Bags and accessories continue to be designed for visibility and collectability, with silhouettes and details that prioritise display over pure function.
East-west and wider-base silhouettes appeared at Celine, Chanel, Khaite, Dolce & Gabbana and Louis Vuitton.
Hanging charms and embellishments recurred at Bottega Veneta, Loewe, Tod’s and Givenchy, turning functional objects into visible accessories.
Drawstring bags appeared at Loewe and across street-style looks.
Envelope clutches featured at Proenza Schouler, Khaite and Celine.
Top handle bags appeared at Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Tory Burch, Dolce & Gabbana and Chloe.
Oversized clutches were seen at Dries Van Noten and Victoria Beckham.
The emphasis has shifted toward how objects can be worn, layered and collected as part of a wider styling language.
Asymmetry, Statement and Layered Adornment
Jewellery and eyewear carried much of the season’s expressive weight. Asymmetry, scale and layering were used to signal individuality, moving adornment beyond simple decoration and into a more deliberate form of personal styling.
This aligns with a broader consumer shift in which the appeal of luxury is moving from pure status signalling toward identity and self-expression.
Asymmetrical earrings appeared at Acne Studios, Christian Dior, Simone Rocha and Prada.
Statement earrings featured at Balenciaga, Chloe, Givenchy, Stella McCartney, Michael Kors and Valentino.
Long earrings were seen at Celine, Christian Dior, Chloe, Chanel and Gucci.
Bug-eye frames appeared at Michael Kors, Balenciaga and Givenchy.
Fabric belts featured at Maison Margiela, Alberta Ferretti and Valentino.
These details show how jewellery and eyewear are being used to add personality and distinction to a look. Rather than acting as finishing touches, they function as active styling elements that can shift the character of an outfit and reinforce a sense of individual expression.
Beyond the Product
Across the SS27 shows, the boundary between beauty, fashion and jewellery continues to soften. Everyday objects from beauty products to bags and hardware are being redesigned for display, while accessories are used to signal identity and individual expression. For brands, the opportunity lies in treating these items as intentional parts of a wider accessories wardrobe rather than secondary elements. This season’s collections show exactly how such ideas can translate into visible, wearable form.
