Welcome to The Who What Wear Podcast. Think of it as your direct line to the designers, stylists, beauty experts, editors, and tastemakers who are shaping the fashion-and-beauty world. Subscribe to The Who What Wear Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Every year, Senior Fashion Editor Anna LaPlaca releases her State of Style report, and there was a lot to unpack this year. From new creative director shake-ups at Dior, Chanel, Loewe, Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega (need we continue?) to the end of quiet luxury (gone, but not forgotten), Anna sits down with Editor in Chief Kat Collings to discuss her findings and share her thoughts on what's to come in 2026.
Think of this episode as a quick download of everything you need to know in fashion from this year, and the "why" behind some of the biggest trends, moments, and style news that happened in 2025. For excerpts from the conversation, scroll below.
Let's revisit that rise of quiet luxury. Where is it going, and where are we heading next?
The whole quiet luxury movement really taught us how to build a foundation of our wardrobe, but now what we're seeing is so much more emphasis being placed on showing your personality through your personal style. Opting for pieces and looks that are more expressive and eye-catching.
I don't want to say it's dead completely because I think there's definitely a time and a place for it, but in terms of the "goal aesthetic" that we as fashion people are looking towards, I do think it's waning. We're tired of it. We need joy. We need drama.
If it's not quiet luxury, what is loud luxury?
I've seen so many designers take this idea and do it in their own unique way. The first one that comes to mind is Bottega Veneta... we had Louise Trotter come in. It was her debut as creative director, and she really put [the brand's signature intrecciato], plus even more of these really unique, bold textures, at the forefront. So it was like this intrecciato leather coat that had a white, feathery, almost collar-like necklace just popping out.
Then there were also a number of the looks that had these really bold, like fringy, colorful pieces, but it was made from this recycled fiberglass. They had these, like, full-volume feather skirts and even sequins popped up in this collection, which were shocking, I think, to a lot of us. When I saw that, I was like, "Oh, wow, the tides are really changing."
I feel like maximalism goes hand in hand with color.
I would say, fall 2025, we saw a lot of bright colors start to emerge. And then for spring 2026, it was this explosion… It's been said that in the past, periods of maximalist fashion have been linked to times of financial turmoil. I don't want to say that we're in that right now, but I do think the period of time we're in is maybe just uncertainty and unease. So I'm looking at this new color trend as being a response to that.
The last time we really saw bright color at the forefront of the trend cycle was in the late 2000s, early 2010s, and maybe that was a response to the 2008 financial crisis. Who knows?
Balenciaga had this beautiful feathered skirt and almost like a leather T-shirt, and it was cherry red and the ballet pink together. I feel like it's all about these off-kilter combinations.
I also think we need to talk about the '80s influence right now. What does it say about 2025 that we're seeing things like a cigarette trouser and padded shoulders?
It is kind of exciting to see that there's one major [decade] coming back into play, and it's almost unanimously the '80s. We have to talk about Chloé. It's probably the most obvious of the '80s references, right? I mean, there were these acid-tone florals with big, voluminous shoulders and even the leggings-as-pants of it all. It was on the nose, but so fun, and I'm now excited to see those looks out in the wild.
I want to return to the wave of new creative director debuts we saw for spring 2026. I'm curious which designers seem to be having the most success so far.
You can't have the conversation without speaking about Chanel. This seemed to be the headline of the entire season, just because of the way that [Matthieu Blazy] really took the traditional codes of the house and made it completely his own. That's the exciting one because somebody like me, who isn't necessarily the core shopper, I'm now like, "I might become a Chanel girl now."
One more debut I do want to mention is Rachel Scott of Diotima going to Proenza Schouler. Of course, Rachel's own brand is known for a lot of crochet and handiwork, so her bringing that sensibility to a place like Proenza, with all of its sleek tailoring and sort of menswear coding, I think, is particularly exciting.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
