An Ann Demeulemeester show is sort of a fashion bubble. Yes, there are familiar faces one meets every other hour at different locations throughout the week, but they are immersed in an alternative crowd that mingles musicians, artists and creative outsiders, with the occasional big celebrity popping up.
It speaks of the community — niche, specific and authentic — growing around the brand under creative director Stefano Gallici.
The spring 2027 collection was another display of that mix of Gallici’s rawness and fragility. During a preview, the designer said that back in December he took a solo trip across the Californian desert that inspired his work. The natural scenery influenced him to reduce colors to a minimum — focusing on black, white and blue — and play up textures, and layering.
This was best exemplified in the opening segment of minidresses and asymmetric aprons and skirts sprouting layers of tulle, silk crepon, ruched jersey and fringes of knitted straps in white, ivory, chalk and ecru hues, with cutout tops matching the vibe while leaving trailing ribbons behind.
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Rather than Los Angeles’ sun-lit and glitzy imagery, he evoked its wintertime, sun-bleached decay attuned with the dark romanticism of the house. Faded prints and cutouts on T-shirts; distressed denim; bleached cargo pants; rust stains spilled over workwear pieces, frilled dresses and ballet flats; destroyed tuxedos and sartorial staples flipping the inside out to make linings shine, and the handsome, aviator-inspired leather outerwear covered in a lived-in patina, reinforced his message.
Elsewhere, there were echoes of Gallici’s recurrent themes such as lingerie incursions, Victorian- and Edwardian-era influences and military accents embodied by his popular Napoleon jacket, as well as his more recent, ’70s-inspired take on tailoring.
Ethel Cain’s “Western Nights” song was on Gallici’s playlist during his trip, as was Chelsea Wolfe’s “The Mother Road.” Both talents were involved in the show, with the former developing a capsule collection exclusively available at the brand’s newly opened Paris store from Monday and the latter providing a live performance on the catwalk.
A cameo by Queens of the Stone Age’s frontman Josh Homme on the runway and the likes of Jamie Campbell Bower, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg front row were further evidence of Gallici’s grip on the music and entertainment scene. The designer might enjoy traveling solo, but he has found many friends along the way.
