Blanca Miró Scrimieri is a Who What Wear UK editor-in-residence and a Barcelona-based stylist. As the founder of fashion brand La Veste and co-founder of sunglasses line Delarge, her expertise lies in design, creative direction and brand building. Although you may know Miró from her collaborations with luxury fashion houses, it is likely her distinctive street style and outfit curation have brought her Instagram profile to your attention. When she isn't attending fashion week or behind the scenes at La Veste, you can also find her curating chic tablescapes at @blanca_a_table.

Packing for summer is honestly one of my favourite rituals of the year. Not because I’m organised (I’m definitely not), but because I love going around the house picking things up here and there: a basket bag I haven’t used in months, the fruit earrings that somehow only make sense in August, a cardigan that reminds me of old sailing clubs, five necklaces I’ll almost certainly end up wearing together. For me, packing for a trip never really starts with the suitcase; it begins with lots of little piles that quietly take over every corner of the house.

I have spent every summer in Menorca since 1992, the year I was born. It’s where I feel the freest, the calmest and, for some reason, where I always feel like wearing the pieces that don’t get as much attention the rest of the year. More colour. More crochet. More stripes. More accessories. More fun. Although they might belong in the city too, there's something about my holiday wardrobe that says we all need a little more Menorca in our everyday lives.

One thing I often do before packing is lay everything out and photograph it. Not because I plan my outfits—I actually hate doing that—I just like seeing everything together to help me picture all of the different combinations. I can already imagine the basket bag with a white cotton dress, the striped shorts with a cardigan thrown over my shoulders after dinner, or five necklaces layered over the simplest shirt. If the weather changes, my mood changes. And if someone suggests a last-minute dinner, I end up wearing something completely different (exactly why I never plan my outfits in the first place).

Whilst I don't pack looks, I do pack pieces I know I’ll want to play with:

- A straw basket

- Rubber sandals

- Fruit earrings

- A hat with a little bit of drama

- Striped bags

- Sequinned shorts that pair perfectly with a glass of tinto de verano in your hand

- Terry cloth pieces (my biggest summer weakness)

- Crochet

- Lots of necklaces for layering; they instantly make me feel like it’s summer

- Raffia shoes

- A nautical cardigan

- Printed Bermuda shorts

Looking at everything spread across the floor, I often realise that almost everything I pick shares the same mood. Without even thinking about it, my suitcase always ends up looking like the summer I’m hoping to have. Maybe that’s why I love packing so much; by the time I zip it closed, I already feel like I’m on holiday. Here's hoping that your suitcase feels like your summer too.

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Balletcore is back, and this time it’s more Black Swan than Sugar Plum Fairy. You may remember the term popping up on your TikTok FYP around 2022 with hyper-curated looks of frothy, pale pink tulle. It was almost a hybrid of the "coquette" and the "clean girl" aesthetics, sharing all of the latter’s complicated connotations. The most notable difference this time around is that the trend is being spearheaded by actual dancers; it feels more real, as if accompanied by sweat and tears rather than a matcha latte.

As with many fashion moments, multiple seeds need to be planted in the collective consciousness for it to take off, and the resurgence of balletcore is no different. The first thing that caught my eye was classically trained ballerina-turned-pop star Adéla Jergova, who made sure nobody forgot her name whilst opening for Demi Lovato and Tate McCrae on tour. Her dominant pop performances, from the choreography to the looks, are that particular strain of coming-of-age hyper-sexuality that takes me back to the days of Christina Aguilera. Her USP is the intensive ballet training evident in her sets. And then there’s the fashion. Her looks are black and daring, but her hair is ironically pink, a colour we associate with the ultra-feminine prima-ballerina image, yet somehow, when it colours hair, it’s rooted in punk rebellion.

Journalist Liana Satenstein went online at the top of the year and made her case for a return to grey, cotton workout wear that shows sweat rather than is designed to hide it. The video references a piece she wrote before the explosion of athleisure and pristine workout sets that hide all evidence of perspiration, instead harkening back to the glory days of '80s workout gear.

I also observed a lot of fashion press taking notice of Patricia Zhou, who is currently dancing in Cats in the West End. In our video interview that accompanies her Best Wardrobes in Britain story from August 2025, Zhou shows her incredible wardrobe, with dynamic looks and so many interesting nods to femininity. A standout look is a pink feathered dress with a bow, paired with black leather Miista boots. Zhou is not bound to the ballerina "look", but she can acknowledge it in outfits where softness sits comfortably with tougher pieces.

On Instagram, she shares videos in the dance studio, dressed in a sleek black vest and capris with pink pointe shoes and a fiery red pixie cut. The whole image reminds me of Edie Sedgwick. Known for being an It girl and "superstar" at Andy Warhol’s Factory, Sedgwick started many trends in the '60s with her silver cropped hair and heavy eye makeup. Her signature look came from her ballet training: she would walk around New York in black tights, a black leotard and a little T shirt or jumper on top. The trend was born purely because she couldn't be bothered to change her clothes.

Meanwhile, a post by content creator and founder of Violet Papers, Lara Violetta, piqued my interest, revealing her "perfect" outfit formula for her Pilates class, which deviated from the contrived, chronically online image in your head: a nude-illusion leotard from Bloch paired with a visible Agent Provocateur bra (hot pink with blue bows): very chic. For the outer layer she had thrown on an off-shoulder Rick Owens jumper with a slightly sheer knit and a coveted Matthieu Blazy Chanel bag. My own ballet-class look of choice is often centred around a black leotard and sheer blue tights. I feel like having advanced-level style compensates for my beginner-level skill.

Fashion's fascination with ballet’s history has remained constant. What changes is how overt the references are. "Ballet flats and tutus drop in and out of the trend cycle, but designers have never stopped looking to ballet for inspiration," says online ballet archivist, Cheyenne Postigo. But to bring it closer to the present day, Marc Jacobs spring/summer 2027 collection nods to dancewear, with its layers upon layers and jumpsuits with contrasting high-cut leotards sewn on. Unlike Ferragamo’s spring/summer 2025 ballerinas, which were still muted in tones even if they had a realness of their own through the mix-and-match styling, Marc Jacobs' girls were in saturated jewel tones that trade blending in for centre stage.

There are plenty of moments that have led to this evolution of balletcore, but I believe the most important piece of the puzzle is Madonna. Confessions II, the long overdue follow-up to her 2005 masterpiece, Confessions on a Dance Floor, is transporting us back to the Capezio-clad, Farrah Fawcett-haired music video for hit single "Hung Up", in which she ran riot around a dance studio in the now-famous fuchsia leopard-print and nude tights cut off at the knee.

Madonna also has everyone reminiscing over Frida Giannini’s cropped leather jackets from her time at Gucci that were worn in the single’s music video and throughout her tour, but that's a story for another day. Last month, Madonna turned the cover of Vogue Italia pink and committed to the bit for the press run of the album. She lies on the cover, legs stretched and wrapped in kneepads that lay over brown fishnets. Is she in a full baby-pink look? Absolutely, but her leotard is tightened with a corset, and she's wearing her signature fingerless gloves (also pink). It’s womanly and soft, but you don’t know if her next move will be a tendu or a haymaker—it has grit.

Rosalía leapt into the ballet aesthetic for her LUX tour, but she too opted for a less prim-and-proper image of a ballerina with her tattered tutus and dishevelled hair. A personal favourite was a custom look by Yasmina Atta, in which she donned a bare face, styled by Joe Carayol. Here, Rosalía didn’t just take on the style; she spent months training to dance in pointe shoes with Belarusian prima ballerina Tatiana Yerakhavets. During the tour, the singer also wore those Christian Louboutin pointe heels. Wearing high heels might be the closest a non-dancer can get to the pain of being en pointe, as though the fashion almost wasn't enough; she had to chase the grit. Professional Dancer, Madeline Woo launched her clothing line Maddwoo Studios in 2025 with the intention to prove that ‘rigorous tradition and radical self-expression can co-exist’. Madeline’s own look is atypical in the ballet world: Her extremely long black hair (often worn down while dancing) and tattoos stand out, and paired with her immense talent lead to work with brands like Coach and the launch of the Crocs x Simone Rocha collab.

True to life, ballet as an art form comes with rigorous, painful training that often causes lifelong injuries. You may see that not-a-hair-out-of-place, soft-pink-ensemble look at a show, but in reality, it's all haphazard layering, mixing sheers and stretch jerseys in different colours. It's a balance of soft and hard. As the curtain rises on deceptive aesthetics and the ache for the dishevelled human touch grows stronger, it’s no surprise the trend is back for a more honest encore.

Shop the New Balletcore Trend

Max Hurd is a Who What Wear UK editor-in-residence and London-based art director, tastemaker, interior stylist and creative consultant. A collaborator and advisor to leading luxury brands including Manolo Blahnik, Farfetch, Asprey, Cartier, H&M and Patrón Tequila, his exuberant aesthetic—which he describes as "Oscar Wilde meets Marie-Antoinette by way of a Brazilian bordello"—enables him to curate, write and create across interiors and culture.

I would hazard a guess that, as you are reading this, you are parked, perched or plonked comfortably in a chair. What kind of chair is irrelevant. The point is that you are sitting in one. We often take chairs for granted or see them as purely utilitarian, yet they form such an essential stitch in the fabric of our lives. Their presence in our homes is often overlooked, but shockingly, chairs only really became part of the furniture, so to speak, 300 short years ago. Before that, we were a species that sat on stools or benches, with even the wealthiest individuals having limited access to backed seating.

It was not until the 17th century that we decided to do something about the orthopaedic harm we were committing every time we wanted to sit down, and not until the 18th century that we considered making them comfortable through upholstery. Finally, in the 19th century, they became mass-produced and commonplace.

Like that apex of chairs, the throne, they have always been considered status items, and as such, over the years, they have been reimagined by some of the greatest creative minds of the past three centuries. Read on for five radically different yet individually remarkable chairs that will not only provide you with somewhere comfortable to sit, but with something beautiful to look at, no matter your aesthetic.

The 5 Armchair Trends That Everyone With Taste Knows About

1. Britannic Domesticity

Style Notes: The Bridgewater Chair by Howard and Sons is for lovers of what I often see referred to as "cottagecore". Now, I am not one for acronyms, mainly because half the time I don’t know what any of them mean—and frankly, I am now too embarrassed to ask—but I believe I am using this one correctly when I say this chair is the G.O.A.T. (Which, for the uninitiated like me, means The Greatest Of All Time.)

In my opinion, it is the blueprint from which all of our favourite armchairs have been copied, and for good reason. It is the last word in comfort and the first word in that quintessential English-country-house aesthetic that never seems to go out of style. They are frighteningly expensive, and even antique pieces that come up for auction—often damaged and unloved—end up going for a small fortune. The reason being that when it comes to furniture, these pieces are truly an investment. A good armchair is a purchase for life, the bones of which can be reupholstered to fit changing tastes in fabric, and can be used and enjoyed in any room, by anyone, of any age. The Bridgewater looks best when well-loved, but it needs to be upholstered properly, so if you end up buying an antique, make sure you are willing to give it the restoration it deserves.

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2. Adriatic Opulence

Style Notes: I have spoken ad nauseum about Venetian Grotto Chairs. In my opinion, they are truly the holy grail of interior design and the tiara worn by any maximalist home. They are whimsical, highly impractical and appeal to the Disney Princess in all of us. Popularised in the 19th century by European nobles who had nothing better to do than collect beautiful things, their design was originally inspired by the shell grottos created by the nobility to escape the summer heat during the Renaissance. Like all the most beautiful things, they are purely decorative, which means that actually sitting on them is out of the question.

Now, before you jump down my throat with indignant shouts of "What's the point of a chair you can’t sit on?", I hear you. But I promise their showstopping good looks more than make up for their somewhat limited use. On the rare occasion that one comes up for auction, there is always a flurry of activity in the saleroom as eagle-eyed shoppers flock to the "bid" button, despite their impractical nature. So, when parked next to a fireplace, in front of a large window or perhaps with a few choice coffee-table books or a geranium placed on the seat to warn the uninitiated not to sit down, they provide a wow factor that few other pieces of furniture possess.

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3. Bauhaus Baby

Style Notes: If you have an eye for fuss-free design, you are in the right place. At the other end of the spectrum from the Venetian Grotto Chair sits the Wassily Chair by Marcel Breuer. Contrary to popular belief, this chair was not designed specifically for Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, but instead inspired by the construction of a bicycle. First produced in the late 1920s, the Wassily, as it later became known, was revolutionary in its blend of form and function and embodied all the elements of what became known as the Bauhaus movement.

Central to the movement's core beliefs was the idea that "form follows function" (in layman's terms, no frills), and each product was designed to be mass-produced, rather than in short supply for strictly wealthy individuals. Followers of the Bauhaus movement believed in the democratisation of the arts, and that truly beautiful design came from simplicity. Whilst usually I argue the opposite, that we all need a little magic in our lives, the Wassily Chair is my favourite piece of contemporary furniture. Personally, I find the best rooms are multilayered with inter-period play. There is nothing that dates a room more than focusing too heavily on one decorative style or period. I love to see this chair in a classic sitting room in front of a fire, next to a Howard and Sons armchair with an antique side table in between them, or in front of a Georgian secretary desk as an office chair.

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4. Nordic Simplicity

Style Notes: Let's get hygge with it! Mid-century Scandi design is full of elegant simplicity, and if that floats your handcrafted wooden boat, I would like to draw your attention to the Wishbone Chair. It is Hans Wegner's best-selling design and has been in continuous production since its inception in 1949. Wegner is one of the pioneers of what we now call mid-century Danish design, whose focus is on organic functionality, whatever that means. (I jest, I know what it means… I think.)

Inspired by antique Chinese chairs from the Ming dynasty, the design has been copied into oblivion, but the original is still the best. People are always surprised when I suggest these chairs for a project, as my aesthetics do not exactly scream Scandi, but I love them as dining room chairs, especially in a bold colour. (Go for red!). I find that they are particularly effective around a "farmhouse" style table, as their inherently modern design can keep the room from tipping too far into country-cottage territory, unless, of course, that’s the goal. They also have the benefit of being comfortable, which, as you settle into hour four of a long Sunday lunch, is a real plus!

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5. Modern Bloom

Style Notes: If you dream of the universe but don't fancy sharing a rocket with Lauren Sanchez, then perhaps you should lean into the "space age" aesthetic that was hugely popular from the '50s through to the '70s. Designed in 1956 by Finnish-American architect and industrial designer Eero Saarinen, the Tulip Chair revolutionised modern furniture design. When asked about the inspiration behind it, Saarinen gave perhaps one of my favourite answers in the history of interior design. He said he "wanted to get rid of the slum of legs under the table", which is a phrase I am not sure even Nicky Haslam could get away with these days.

Jokes aside, the Tulip Chair was the first of its kind and is one of the pinnacles of the "space age" design movement, which to this day features in films set in galaxies far, far away. The single leg allows light to bounce around under a table, which helps lift an area of the room that is otherwise a bit dark and gloomy. These chairs—which by their very nature are alarmingly modern and somewhat cold, like I imagine space to be— work best when they are softened slightly by being placed on a rug made of natural fibres; ideally one with a very thick pile, or made of some sort of faux hide.

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Shop More Chic Armchairs

Harriet Westmoreland is a Who What Wear UK editor-in-residence and cofounder of Westmoreland Cosmetics. She is one of the most sought-after manicurists, having tended to the hands of celebrity clientele such as Zendaya and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Her signature minimalist and luxurious manicures have garnered her worldwide demand, and she is one of the leading tastemakers in nail trends.

The strawberry manicure is shaping up to be one of the biggest summer nail trends. It's juicy and glossy, which feels playful yet polished, making it the perfect summer update on milky manicures we've been seeing for the past few seasons. What I love about a strawberry manicure is that it's a chic yet very wearable summer nail colour. You're getting that beautiful glass-like shine and sheer pink colour, but with a little more vibrancy and personality for this time of the year.

The trend actually inspired me to create my new shade, Strawberry Blush. I wanted a true glassy pink for my kit; something completely sheer, with no white pigment in it. My vision was for it to look like a juicy and translucent strawberry gloss for the nails. It took around 18 months of testing and refining formulas to achieve exactly the right finish, but the final result is everything I hoped.

How to Create a Strawberry-Blush Manicure

For anyone wanting to re-create the look, nail preparation is key. I always start by thoroughly prepping the nail, focusing on creating the perfect foundation. After gently pushing back the cuticles and lightly exfoliating any dry skin around the nail, I softly buff the nail plate, cleanse with acetone and then begin the gel application.

My go-to application is Glass Base (£20), followed by Strawberry Blush Glass Gel (£25) and then Glass Top (£20). For the ultimate glossy finish, I always recommend pairing it with a high-shine base coat and top coat; that extra shine is what gives the manicure its signature glass-like finish. Once everything is cured, I perfect the shape with a final file.

Personally, I love applying it using an apex technique, which creates a beautifully smooth, curved surface that catches the light from every angle. This is where the manicure really comes to life, as the nails almost look like little glass jewels.

One of the things I love most about Strawberry Blush is how versatile it is. With just one coat, you get a flush of pink that enhances the nail's natural tone. As you build additional layers, the colour becomes more vibrant, allowing you to completely customise the effect.

The beauty of the strawberry manicure is that it can be tailored to suit everyone. Some of my clients prefer a single sheer layer for the most natural result, whilst others love a more built-up, pinker flush of colour. I like layering a milky nude shade underneath, then applying a single coat of Strawberry Blush on top. It creates the most beautiful soft-pink glow for anyone who wants a hint of colour without committing to a brighter pink nail colour.

You can also personalise the look with nail art. I love adding a tiny strawberry detail on the thumb as a playful nod to the trend, but equally, the manicure is strong enough to stand on its own. Whether you want a barely there tint or a glossy pink glow, you can achieve multiple looks with the same shade. It's effortless, chic and exactly the kind of manicure I want to wear all summer long.

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Blanca Miró Scrimieri is a Who What Wear UK editor-in-residence and a Barcelona-based stylist. As the founder of fashion brand La Veste and co-founder of sunglasses line Delarge, her expertise lies in design, creative direction and brand building. Although you may know Miró from her collaborations with luxury fashion houses, it is likely her distinctive street style and outfit curation have brought her Instagram profile to your attention. When she isn't attending fashion week or behind the scenes at La Veste, you can also find her curating chic tablescapes at @blanca_a_table.

People always ask me where I find inspiration, and honestly, I never travel looking for it. I travel because I love seeing new places, getting lost in shops, markets and bookstores, and because I’m incredibly curious. The inspiration usually comes later. I’ve also realised that travelling doesn’t really change my taste; I’ve always liked the same things, and it just keeps growing with everywhere I visit. The Hamptons was one of those places.

I wasn’t obsessed with the big houses or the beaches. Rather, it was everything around them. The faded sweatshirts in tiny local shops, old American cookbooks with covers I wanted to frame, the hat stands at the markets, monograms on absolutely everything, farm stands that looked like film sets, vintage Porsches in the happiest colours, the way every porch seemed to have the perfect chairs. Those are the things my brain keeps.

Months later, I’ll be choosing a fabric, designing a belt or getting dressed, and I’ll realise that something I saw there has quietly found its way back. Not because I’m trying to re-create it, but because it now lives with all the other references I’ve collected over the years. I think that’s how taste grows; not by changing who you are, but by adding little layers to what already exists.

When I look back, I can almost trace them: Menorca, Paris, Jaipur, New York and now The Hamptons. They all left me with something different. Not a new style, just a few more things to love.

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Once upon a time, not too long ago, Kylie Jenner walked outside with her hair in a ponytail and sent the internet into a frenzy. As such, beauty marketers across the world started a race to rebrand this fairly innocuous staple hairstyle into the new and (supposedly) improved "partless slick-back" trend. Surely the standard for a sleek ponytail should really be the hair at Balmain’s spring/summer 2016 show by Sam McKnight, which was high, smooth and finished with a piece of hair wrapped around the elastic hairband (to conceal the inner workings and add a layer of mystery).

As well as Balmain’s show models exemplifying the ultimate show pony, when considering great hair, I often find myself referencing a certain model dog, Samantha. This influencer Afghan hound is the ultra-elegant long-haired, long-nosed, pearlescent canine who sports effortless up-dos and silk scarves, and who proves that there's no need to reinvent the wheel when you can simply up the ante. So with that, get your hair ties at the ready, because it’s time to look back at some ponytails worth writing about!

Starting with the biggest for maximum impact, Guido Palau’s ponytails on the runway for Versace’s pre-fall 2019 show make pageant girls look like skinheads. Two models turned heads with XXL brunette ponytails adorned with gaudy crystals that fall into the "so wrong it’s right" category. The collection came the season after the 2018 tribute, where Donatella Versace unearthed the greatest hits from her brother Gianni's archive, and she was evidently still riding the wave for pre-fall 2019.

You cannot utter the word "ponytail", much less "big ponytail", without mentioning singer Ciara. Braided, brushed-out, curly, straight—you name it, she’s worn it (and well!). At the Met Gala in 2019 (the theme was Camp), Ciara sported a ponytail consisting of six Afro wigs worn high on the head, offset by a straight centre part at the front and two silver barrettes. The hair, created by Cesar DeLeon Ramirez, rose high above her head and fell all the way down her back.

Prepare yourself for this band-aid-ripping moment. My hottest ponytail take is that the Blond Ambition pony is not Madonna’s best. IMHO, her best is the voluminous curtain of blonde that sat atop her head whilst she wore the famous blue silk Tom Ford shirt to the 1995 VMAs. In fact, she donned an even better version of this pony in her iconic 1992 book Sex, shot by Steven Meisel in her peak Erotica era. The hair is even longer, and the look is finished with a single pair of hoop earrings. Both bouffant-like ponytails crafted by hairstylist Garren, could be descendants of fellow generational beauty, Sharon Tate, who secured her golden ponytail with a black velvet bow and punctuated it with a perfect flick at the end.

The plastic ring ponytail accessories from Dior spring/summer 2015 (also by the legendary Guido Palau) might be due for a comeback. The natural flow of the hair was interrupted, as if someone had sliced their pony off and then reattached it in a bout of regret. Colour played a huge part in how this style was read: the clear and silver rings felt like a sci-fi dream, whilst the reds, yellows and greens had a more '60s feel. The link between the '60s and futuristic interpretations of space is not lost here, and if you weren’t convinced, then the little beehive that accompanied the abstract ponytail serves as proof. Note: remember the red glossy boots that season? Also very '60s space-age!

Janet Jackson is another ponytail chameleon. She has worn every iteration of the style (it would be rude to her cheekbones not to!). A personal favourite Janet ponytail was her high, braided iteration at the 35th Grammy Awards by celebrity braider Janet Zeitoun. She let her hair and beauty take centre stage, her outfit a crisp white suit with a matching white wrap around her pony to pull the look together. It's a masterclass in red-carpet styling.

The high ponytail has a soulmate: the fringe. If the tight pull lifts the face, then the blunt fringe is the frame. Worn by icons like singer Nina Hagen, who is often cited as a source of inspiration by celebrity hairstylist Louis Souvestre, Nina’s hair was chameleonic in colour but always perfectly haphazard in style, and left a deep impression on Souvestre. Variations on the fringe-and-pony combo were also adopted by Janet Zeitoun for Janet Jackson in the What’s It Gonna Be?! music video, as well as Lady Gaga at the 2011 Grammys, where hairstylist Frederic Aspiras had her hair dishevelled and sat to the side, with her bottle blonde fading into the slightest tinge of coral-ish pink.

Souvestre also cites Josephine Baker’s high pony, which was sculpted by Jean Clément and protrudes from three artfully formed rings of hair that descend in size, as another iconic ponytail. The same image inspired Megan Thee Stallion’s hair by Kellon Deryck at the 2025 Met Gala, proving that this avant-garde style has stayed on fashion's shared mood board since its debut in 1951 at the Havana Club, and is where hair styling can transcend to artistic heights, beyond runways.

For the romantics, Zoë Kravitz's braided ponytail by Nikki Nelms for this year’s Met Gala was also nothing short of artful. Even her day to day look is shrouded in mystery and sparked much debate online as to what exactly Zoë asked for when making her request. Boho braids? A perfect mix of braids and locs? My personal favourite conspiracy was the simple suggestion of actually keeping your braids in longer than three weeks (if you know, you know). For the Met Gala Nelms added extra je ne sais quoi with tendrils of perfectly placed baby hair and a long ponytail that appeared to start its life as a messy bun before cascading down Zoë's back. When I think of princess hair, this is the image that comes to mind.

If this list so far has felt intimidating, rest assured that even "basic" can make history when it’s done right. Lauren Conrad and Kristin Cavallari pushed the boundaries of what could be achieved with a side fringe and a headful of layers, which produced spiky little ponytails that took the teens of Laguna Beach (and the world) by storm. And if you’re still uninspired, there’s always the Kyle Richards ponytail helicopter.

Victoria Magrath is a Who What Wear UK editor-in-residence and founder of byfrow Beauty, a premium brand rooted in multi-use products designed to "enhance your everyday". One of the UK’s most established luxury creators, she is known for her expertise across beauty, fashion, travel and refined living, with over 12 years of experience working with leading global brands.

If my own excitement for summer in Europe is anything to go by, the European tourist board must be rubbing its hands together in delight. Whilst Americans are headed over to the Med for their summer trips and screaming "Euro summer!" from their yachts, we in the UK are packing away our rain macs and piling 10 bikinis into our suitcases, ready to head to Portofino or somewhere equally as heavenly.

I’m sure that many of you have a holiday group chat with your friends to plan your trip, or you've at least Googled places to visit in Europe for the most sunshine at the best price. Either way, I get it: European holidays are the very best, in my opinion. They’re within a few hours' flying time from the UK, they almost guarantee sunshine and the list of places to visit only seems to grow every year. For me, it's usually Greece or Italy, but anywhere with sunshine, a view and some quiet is high on my list.

Also on my list is what to pack for said "Euro summer". Bikinis, co-ords, sandals and sunglasses are ready to go, but what about beauty products? Here are the six items I’m not leaving the country without this year.

Victoria Magrath's 6 Summer Beauty Essentials

1. Clé de Peau Beauté Exclusive UV Protective Cream SPF 50

2. Larry King Haircare Ride or Die Texture Spray

3. byfrow Pigment Pencils and Sharpener

4. Victoria Beckham Colour Wash Bronze Water Tint

5. Jo Malone London Beach Blossom Cologne

6. Victoria’s Secret Bombshell Bronze Body Oil

Max Hurd is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence and London-based art director, tastemaker, interior stylist and creative consultant. A collaborator and advisor to leading luxury brands including Manolo Blahnik, Farfetch, Asprey, Cartier, H&M and Patrón Tequila, his exuberant aesthetic—which he describes as "Oscar Wilde meets Marie-Antoinette by way of a Brazilian bordello"—enables him to curate, write and create across interiors and culture.

There is, quite simply, nowhere like Venice. She is a dream, wrapped inside a mystery, tucked into a legend. She is a city of pure magic and improbability, balancing, as she does, somewhat precariously on wooden planks hammered into the bed of the lagoon. In a world of endless repetition and sameness, she is unique, a floating city that needs to be seen to be believed.

In her heyday, she was the jewel of the Adriatic. Nowadays, some people argue that she is nothing more than a floating museum. I, however, would die proudly on the hill that, despite the crowds and the attempted Disneyfication of the city by the relentless hordes of tourists and their lanyard-wearing, flag-waving shepherds, La Serenissima (the traditional name and formal title for the Republic of Venice) does, in fact, bravely live on.

I was reminded of this on a recent trip there for the opening of the Venice Biennale. Yes, Venice still has the power to dazzle and inspire, but you do need to know where to look. As with every storied city, there is an argument that suggests the best thing to do is just get lost and peel back the layers yourself. But in a place like Venice, where, despite its small size, there are endless options and opportunities, a guide can be helpful. Here, I humbly offer up my services in the hope that, like me, you fall head over velvet-slippered heels in love with the Lady of the Lagoon.

An Editor-in-Residence's 2026 Travel Guide to Venice

1. Where to Stay

Venice is comprised of six districts, each with its own personality and alternate version of the city to enjoy. The first thing I would say when deciding where to stay is to do away with the all-too-common concept of being "central". Venice is small, and trust me: part of the joy of being there is simply walking around, so don’t focus too much on how far away your hotel or Airbnb is from the Piazza San Marco. (Even if it's a 30-minute walk to the Doge's Palace, that 30 minutes will be magic in itself.)

Historically, my favourite area to stay in has been San Polo—home to the famed Rialto Bridge and palatial hotels like the Aman that line the Grand Canal—but on my last visit, I stayed in Cannaregio, which was fantastic. It felt much more authentically "Venetian" than some of the other areas. It is jam-packed with unassuming restaurants and bars, and in the morning, you can sit out on one of the lesser-known canals and cosplay as a local. Venice is packed with hotels, but below are three I think are truly special.

• The Gritti Palace: Ruinously expensive, but ridiculously worth it. The Gritti belongs to that pantheon of hotels that have come to mean more than just somewhere to lay your head. Staying at the Gritti, like the Chateau Marmont or Claridge’s, means status. These are hotels that represent the epitome of their city’s glamour, and to stay there is a privilege. The Gritti's rooms are all exquisitely decorated in the style of the Venetian Palazzos, and the legendary canal-side bar is arguably the greatest cocktail spot in the world.
• Orient Express Venezia at The Palazzo Donà Giovannelli: Located at the gateway to Cannaregio, the Palazzo Donà Giovannelli is a new kid on the block of the Venetian hotel scene, having only just opened its doors in April this year, but already making quite the splash. Infinitely more contemporary in its design than the Gritti, the Orient Express group has done an excellent job in breathing new life into this 15th-century palazzo.
• Hotel Cipriani: Another icon in its own right. Located on Giudecca, a serene, albeit smaller island in the Venetian Lagoon that looks back on St Mark’s Square, Hotel Cipriani is perfect for guests who want proper downtime away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Personally, I would only ever stay here in the summer, as the outdoor spaces, including the hotel pool, are the stars of the show. It also has a spa and beautiful gardens, two things that are hard to access in Venice.

2. Where to Eat

You know you are doing something right on holiday when the only question you find yourself asking is, where shall I eat? Compared to Neapolitan and Sicilian cuisines, there is a common misconception that the food in Venice is limited, possibly because the city's speciality is a bruschetta-type snack called cicchetti, which is historically associated with gondoliers. Personally, I love Venetian food. The oodles of fried offerings and lagoon-based house specialities perhaps put people off, but really, nothing beats an Italian osteria or trattoria.

• Da’Ivo: Although one of the more famous of Venice’s trattorias, it is not to be written off as "too touristy". Like all the best restaurants in Venice, it is not exactly enormous, but its more intimate setting lends itself beautifully to dinner. I would avoid the cocktails here, but the wine is excellent. If you can, arrive via the watergate.
• Antiche Carampane: Possibly my favourite spot for lunch. I absolutely love the décor, which features an incredible assortment of antique Venetian mirrors, as well as a hilarious little "outdoor" bathroom. It is completely unassuming, but the food is wonderful, as are the cocktails!
• Vini da Arturo: This is the ultimate "if you know, you know" restaurant in Venice. I have actually only ever eaten here once, as a guest of my Venetian friends, and it is truly great. The menu, although smaller than most in Venice, is packed full of delicious local specialities. The wooden panelling makes the whole thing feel incredibly cosy.

3. What to See

Venice is in itself an ode to the dreamer, to the romantic. For hundreds of years, it has been the refuge of the artist, the lover and people who shy away from reality and look to pleasure and otherworldliness for comfort and inspiration. I would argue that Venice is amongst those places that have transcended into the realm of the quasi divine. To be in Venice is to be out of this world. You can feel the years of romance, both carnal and artistic, like layers covering the city. Getting lost in Venice is one of life’s greatest pleasures. So, as far as what to see, see everything! Look up! And whatever you do, don’t blindly follow your phone map. Make sure to look over the heads of the throngs of people and absorb the magic, but if you need some touch points that are slightly off the beaten track, you can do a lot worse than the following.

• Ca’Rezzonico: Not only is the palazzo itself a thing of great beauty, but it houses a truly breathtaking array of 18th-century art and furniture.
• The Fortuny Museum: If you are a fan of sumptuous fabrics and all things interior design, the Fortuny Museum is a must. Often skipped by most, you usually have the place to yourself.
• Palazzo Mocenigo: Dangerously close to the Rialto (which, really, you should try to avoid at all costs on account of the sheer number of people who attempt to cross the bridge) but in my opinion, unmissable. The Palazzo Mocenigo is technically the Centre for the History of Textiles, Costume and Perfume, but I skipped that part and just got lost in the beauty of the palazzo itself. I particularly love the silk wallpaper and the gargantuan Moncenigo family tree.
• Zoppi Gallery: Venice is famous for its glass, and no one in the city boasts a collection like the Zoppi family, who have been dealing in glass for generations. It is currently helmed by my friend Ascanio; he and his father have amassed a treasure trove of glass spanning centuries. Pop by his store just off the Campo Santo Stefano to see what he has to offer, you will not regret it!
• Peggy Guggenheim Museum: Not only is the Peggy Guggenheim collection magnificent in itself (the pieces by Alexander Calder being my absolute favourites), but the building is unique in being the only one-story structure on the Grand Canal. The palazzo has been led by three fascinating women, including current director Karole Vail. If you would like to know more, I would highly recommend reading The Unfinished Palazzo by Judith Mackrell.
• Museo di Palazzo Grimani: Probably most famous for the Tribuna, which is the cherry-on-top room in this (yet another) magnificent palazzo, the Museo di Palazzo Grimani originally housed over 130 sculptures and is dominated by the collection's most famous piece, "The Rape of Ganymede", which is suspended in the air as if in flight.
• Chiesa dei Gesuiti: Possibly my favourite church in Venice, if not the world. It is currently under renovation, but still no less magnificent. The marble drapery surrounding the pulpits is every interior designer's dream, and the use of blues and greys almost makes the church seem aquatic, like it belonged to a long-lost underwater city frequented by sirens and sea monsters.
• Rigattieri: Sadly, now a bit of a tourist trap, but still amazing for ceramic veggies and other marvels. Definitely pop in, because who doesn’t need ceramic asparagus?

4. What to Wear

Shakespeare once said, "All the world's a stage", and nowhere is that more true than in Venice. It’s essentially one big set, so when you are there, I encourage you to look the part! To really experience Venice, you need to live it and feel part of it, and you simply cannot do that in a second-rate silhouette. Every time I go, I pack my most outrageous outfits. Think capes, satin suits, brooches, costume jewellery, large hats and of course, velvet Venetian slippers purchased from the family-run tobacconists rather than the overpriced stores. If there’s a place to dress up, it’s Venice, and in my humble opinion, it always pays to remember that it's better to be looked at than overlooked!

Blanca Miró Scrimieri is a Who What Wear UK editor-in-residence and a Barcelona-based stylist. As the founder of fashion brand La Veste and co-founder of sunglasses line Delarge, her expertise lies in design, creative direction and brand building. Although you may know Miró from her collaborations with luxury fashion houses, it is likely her distinctive street style and outfit curation have brought her Instagram profile to your attention. When she isn't attending fashion week or behind the scenes at La Veste, you can also find her curating chic tablescapes at @blanca_a_table

For my latest column, I knew I wanted to talk about something a little different and more personal than trends or shopping. Lately I’ve been noticing how attached I am to the small visual pleasures in everyday life. Not only in fashion, but also in interiors, objects, colours, restaurants, lamps, packaging, flowers, tables—you name it; all those little things that instantly change the mood of a day.

There are certain things I simply cannot resist. Not because I need them, not because they are practical (and definitely not because they are considered timeless). I’m talking about the small visual pleasures that somehow make everyday life feel more exciting. A pair of gingham ballerinas. A polka dot skirt. A silk coat embroidered with flowers. A lamp that looks like candy. A necklace that feels more like a sweet wrapper than jewellery. A red bow that serves absolutely no purpose except making me smile.

The older I get, the more I realise how much these little pleasures matter to me. People often ask where my love of colour comes from, or why I always mix prints, textures and unexpected accessories. The truth is that I don’t really see them as 'fashion choices' anymore, I see them as mood changers. Tiny visual vitamins that make ordinary days feel a little less ordinary.

For years, minimalism has been presented as the ultimate form of sophistication—lots of neutral colours, quiet luxury, and perfect restraint. And while I can absolutely appreciate a beautiful beige room or a perfectly cut camel coat, I’ve never really wanted to live inside that world completely. I need a little bit of 'visual noise'. Not chaos, not excess, but just enough surprise to make life feel alive.

Maybe that’s why I’m instinctively drawn to things some people might consider slightly unnecessary. They remind me of childhood, but not in a nostalgic way, more that children instinctively surround themselves with things they find joyful. They don’t ask whether something is chic enough, they simply respond to what delights them. At some point many adults lose that instinct, and we become practical, efficient and reasonable. We stop choosing things because they make us happy and start choosing them because they make sense. I’ve never been particularly good at that. Thankfully.

When I designed the polka dot pieces for my collaboration with Maje, I wasn’t thinking about trends. I was thinking about that immediate feeling. The same feeling I get when I find vintage gingham fabric at a market or when I spot a colourful lamp. There is something incredibly powerful about objects that create an instant emotional reaction, especially when they are small.

And this idea goes far beyond clothing. It influences the restaurants I love, the books I collect, the tables I set, the flowers I buy and the corners of my home that make me happiest. When I look around, I realise my world is filled with these tiny visual pleasures.

So maybe this is less an article about fashion and more a small defence of delight. A reminder that beauty doesn’t always need to be useful, that colour can be a form of energy, and that surrounding yourself with little visual pleasures is not frivolous at all. It’s simply a way of making everyday life feel richer, warmer and more alive.

Shop the Blanca Miró X Maje Collection:

Before we get into this, I want to make it clear that I know the sound of a 31-year-old talking seriously about longevity is slightly absurd. After all, the concept of "longevity" is often associated with ageing. But lately, I’ve become increasingly fascinated by the idea that longevity is no longer just about looking youthful; it’s about preserving energy, cognition, vitality and quality of life for as long as possible.

For years, wellness has been sold through aesthetics: green juices, reformer Pilates, expensive supplements and skincare routines displayed almost like fashion accessories. But in 2026, the conversation has started to shift. The aspiration now isn’t simply to look healthy, it’s about being healthy, and living better for longer. Wellness has evolved from things we can buy as a reactive fix into changes we can make as a long-term investment, and longevity is the new definition.

Everyone is talking about sleep quality, inflammation, blood sugar, nervous-system regulation, recovery and biological age. Younger generations are drinking less alcohol (a Drinkaware survey from 2025 showed 49% of young adults choose no- and low-alcohol drinks to moderate their drinking, nearly doubling since 2018), sober-curious culture has gone mainstream and wellness retreats are beginning to resemble medical institutions rather than spas.

The global wellness economy reached $6.8 trillion in 2024 and is projected to be worth $9.8 trillion by 2029, driven largely by preventative health and personalised wellness. This surely proves that wellness is no longer simply the umbrella term for faddy habits or January detoxes; it has expanded to shape how we think about health, and perhaps nowhere is that shift more visible than in the rise of longevity culture.

Like any cultural movement, longevity has its controversial spokespeople. Contentious social-media content comes from divisive figures like Bryan Johnson, a tech entrepreneur, who has become known for his heavily documented "anti-ageing protocol" and for utilising biomarker tracking to supposedly reverse his biological age. At the same time, the likes of Andrew Huberman and Professor Tim Spector marry the worlds of science and wellness via podcasting, whilst Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness platform Goop helped pioneer the idea of wellness as a luxury aspiration long before longevity became fashionable. There is no doubt that many of these people have faced scrutiny for their sometimes polarising messages, but their impact on wider wellness trends is irrevocable.

What’s interesting is how many worlds longevity now overlaps with: beauty, fitness, luxury travel, fashion and, of course, social media. A decade ago, the concept of "anti-ageing" and all its negative connotations sat in the beauty space in the form of products and treatments available only to those who could afford their steep price tags. Today, the luxury angle remains (it's not lost on me that the pursuit of ultimate health and wellbeing requires an awful lot of time and money), but the product is different; it's sleep tracking, blood panels, infrared saunas, cutting-edge supplements, glucose monitoring and recovery therapies. Luxury itself is beginning to look different, too. Where status was once conveyed through monetary excess, it now increasingly looks like restraint: prioritising sleep, drinking less alcohol, tracking recovery, investing in health rather than handbags and booking wellness retreats over party holidays.

This is where places like Clinique La Prairie come in. Perched above Lake Geneva, the legendary Swiss clinic has spent decades attracting royals, celebrities, CEOs and wellness insiders with its highly personalised approach to preventative health and longevity. But what once may have felt OTT and slightly futuristic now feels surprisingly aligned with the current cultural mood.

So, fully invested in the longevity discourse, I decided that 2026 was the time to finally book a stay at Clinique La Prairie to decide for myself if the new world of luxury wellness really does hold all the answers to living a better life. On arrival, what struck me most was how different it felt from traditional luxury wellness. This wasn’t simply about massages and green juices. The atmosphere sits somewhere between a medical clinic, a luxury hotel and a sci-fi-esque wonderland. Conversations revolved around inflammation, recovery, sleep quality, stress management, nutrition and cellular health.

Diagnostics and testing form a central part of the experience, creating a version of wellness that feels highly personalised and deeply data-driven. There’s something both fascinating and slightly confronting about seeing your health translated into metrics and biomarkers. It forces you to think about wellness seriously as long-term functionality. The goal isn’t simply to look better; it’s ultimately about preserving quality of life for as long as possible.

There's still an element of indulgence, though; this is Switzerland, after all. One of the standout treatments during my stay was a facial using La Prairie products, which marries high-end relaxation with results-driven formulas. My skin looked noticeably brighter and more sculpted afterwards, but what made the experience interesting was how seamlessly beauty and longevity were positioned together. At Clinique La Prairie, skincare isn't treated as separate from health; it is part of a much broader conversation around ageing well.

Since returning home, I’ve become far more intentional about my day-to-day habits. Sleep has become a major priority, and I use the Eight Sleep Pod to track recovery and better understand how stress, travel and routine affect my energy levels. I’ve also incorporated more preventative treatments into my routine, including the San Lueur Advanced LED Light Therapy Facial Mask and the Hair Regrowth Helmet, alongside saunas and more regular lymphatic drainage massages. Nutrition-wise, my focus has shifted heavily towards gut health and reducing inflammation. I eat a diet rich in bone broth, leafy greens, fibre and nutrient-dense whole foods, but one thing I learned through testing is that I actually process carbohydrates extremely well. I used to avoid carbs (because I was led to believe they were "bad"), but I now make sure to include healthy grains and balanced carbs in my diet, which has completely changed the way I think about wellness trends that encourage restriction.

Exercise has become less aesthetics-focused, for me, too. I’ve been prioritising strength training and increasing muscle mass, particularly as more research points to muscle health being one of the strongest indicators of healthy ageing. I also take a more targeted approach to supplements now, incorporating daily creatine, omega-3, zinc and vitamin D after discovering I was deficient. Of course, everyone's approach to exercise, diet and supplements should be tailored to their own health and goals, but this is what works for me. At the clinic, I learned that it's not about blindly following what’s fashionable, but about understanding what you actually need.

But perhaps the biggest takeaway from my stay at Clinique La Prairie has been that longevity really isn't about extreme optimisation or chasing immortality, despite what the tech billionaires on social media might have you believe. Beneath all the science and diagnostics, the message is surprisingly simple: the small things done consistently matter most. And maybe that’s why longevity resonates so strongly right now. In a culture historically obsessed with excess and immediacy, it offers something different: the idea of taking care of your future self in the present.

Rebecca Donaldson's Go-To Longevity Products

Sharmadean Reid MBE is a Who What Wear UK editor-in-residence, beauty entrepreneur, author and founder of 39BC, a bathing brand deeply rooted in bathing rituals. She is also the founder of The Stack World and New Methods platforms, and received an MBE in 2021 for services to Beauty and Women.

Bathing has always been about cleansing for me; physically, mentally and spiritually. I think as humans live more and more densely in cities, we’re constantly brushing up against other people and their energies and stresses. We’ve never lived in a time where we’re surrounded by so many strangers all the time, and I really feel the need to wash away those energies at the end of the day. I genuinely can’t sleep properly unless I’ve had a bath.

Bathing is so important to me that I will bathe twice a day. In the morning, I have to immerse myself in water as soon as possible. If I’m near the ocean, I’ll wake up and jump straight in. If I’m staying somewhere with a pool, I’ll put my dressing gown on and go straight downstairs for a swim. There’s something about connecting with water immediately that prepares me for the day ahead. In the evening, though, bathing becomes more meditative. It’s how I regulate my nervous system and prepare for sleep, which I take very seriously because it is when the body repairs itself.

I think people underestimate how powerful bathing can be for wellbeing, especially for women. It improves circulation, relieves muscle tension and massively improves sleep quality. I’m obsessed with practices that calm the nervous system, and my three biggest ones are breathwork, forest bathing and actual bathing in water. There’s something about immersion and stillness that completely shifts your state of mind. I also do things like wet body brushing and foot acupressure in the bath, but my rituals are actually very minimal. I’m not someone who puts tonnes of different things into the water. Most of the time, I just sit there quietly with my thoughts.

What fascinates me is that bathing rituals exist across almost every culture in history. Human beings have always been drawn to water for purification and ceremony, and in Jamaica, we have a word for all the water spirits called Mami Wata. In ancient Greece, private baths known as balnea began appearing in homes, and then the Romans transformed bathing culture completely through their heating systems, which allowed bathhouses to stay heated day and night. There are bathing traditions all over the world, from the hammams of the Ottoman Empire and North Africa to Japanese onsen culture, which developed around volcanic hot springs, and would be the place where samurai would go to recover after battle. In Japan, especially, bathing is deeply ritualistic. You’re expected to wash every inch of your body before entering the bath because the bath itself isn’t about hygiene; it’s about immersion.

That distinction is really important to me. A shower is functional and active; a bath is passive. A bath asks you to be still. I always say that showers are for hygiene, but baths are for meditation. And even if someone doesn’t have a bathtub, I think they can still access that feeling through floating, swimming or simply finding ways to experience water more mindfully. To me, bathing is really about full-body immersion in something that transports you into another state of being, whether that’s water, sound or even a forest.

Shop Sharmadean Reid MBE's Bathing-Ritual Products

The cyclic return of colour in dark times is one of fashion's most consistent relationships. Once again, the fashion people of the world are feeling dopamine-depleted and seeking a boost from their wardrobes. Julian Klausner at Dries van Noten proved he has no fear in this area with his spring/summer 2026 offering that boasts high-octane tones dripping with crystals. Matthieu Blazy’s Coco Beach debut breaks up nautical palettes with mythical mermaid brights. Michaela Coel has been spotted in multiple colour-blocked 'fits, styled by Nell Kolonji, that prove colour doesn’t have to be complex to leave an impression. Colour can be intimidating, but reimagining a simple outfit in bright, unexpected tones is the ultimate low-effort-high-payoff dressing hack.

As a devoted colour-blocker who doesn’t gatekeep, I can tell you that inspiration is everywhere. Finding the perfect colour pairings is a muscle that needs to be trained, unless you’ve been blessed with "the eye". With four of these sharp eyes between them, Jasmina and David of "#1 fashion TV show", Jasmina TV, are a colourfully dressed duo that tour the best stores across the globe so we don’t have to. Jasmina has a penchant for outfits inspired by the unending colour combos seen on Monster Energy cans. "The OG green and black Monster drink is always a classic, but they have so many flavours, and it's always two colours, like white and purple—I just had that the other day," she said. (She swears she’s not sponsored.)

David looks to children’s toys when he needs to feel inspired, which is a sentiment I am very familiar with, having a 3-year-old sidekick who enables me to buy Chanel pumps that match his Hot Wheels Monster Trucks. "They always have the most unexpected colours!" exclaims David. There’s a joie de vivre in finding the beauty in unassuming places, and as a bonne vivante in training, I present to you a starter pack for top-tier colour-blocking.

The 3 Rules for Wearing Colour in 2026

1. The more forbidden the colour pairing, the better (red and green should never be seen? I’ll be the judge of that).

2. You do not need colour analysis. Wear colours that suit your personality and the energy you want to summon.

3. Nothing matches, but everything goes; contrast is everything. If you don’t believe me, ask Patricia Fox.

4 Places to Seek Colour Inspiration

Colour in Fashion

Escada was founded in 1978 by German duo Margaretha and Wolfgang Ley. Through the '80s, Margaretha Ley’s design vision soared in popularity, with her penchant for daring colour pairings, embellishments and maximalism. When Ley passed away in 1992, design was led by Michael Stolzenberg and then Todd Oldham in 1994—another master of colour whose mischievous creations were a favourite of fictional fashion icon Fran Fine of The Nanny.

I recently bought this vintage pink-and-green houndstooth Escada suit from Lost In Roses, and inside the package was the campaign image showing the suit in all its glory on model Gail Elliott. Margaretha Ley’s Escada is synonymous with fearless colour. One quick Google search of her campaigns from the '80s and '90s produces an endless stream of pairings to try. Yasmeen Ghauri was an Escada girl, and images of her in shocking pink-and-green miniskirt suits can rewire your brain! There are very particular shades of blue and green found in Escada collections that are rocking my world at the moment. Zara Larsson would look amazing in vintage Escada as a progression from the fashions she's currently sporting for her "Midnight Sun" era!

It doesn’t end at Escada; everyone’s favourite fashion girl, Amanda Murray, often looks to the '80s as a starting point for her bright outfits. "I feel really connected to the effortless maximalism of '80s fashion," she says. She cites films like Desperately Seeking Susan and 9 ½ Weeks as recurrent references.

Colour in Art

If we can’t trust the great visual artists of the world with crafting a colour palette, then who? Think Yves Saint Laurent’s 1965 Mondrian collection that replicated the simple-but-effective use of primary colours to create something timeless. Monsieur Saint Laurent also lifted the colour palette from Picasso’s 1937 "Portrait of Nusch Eluard" for a jacket in his autumn/winter 1979 collection, which was an homage to Serge Diaghilev, who founded the Ballet Russes. It's technically a print, but Gianni Versace’s fixation on Andy Warhol’s punchy, technicolour portraits inspired Dario Vitale to birth the shoes in every It-girl's wardrobe right now from his one-and-done Versace collection.

Challenge yourself to walk around a gallery and base an outfit on your favourite painting. A few months ago, I saw Kerry James Marshall’s exhibit titled Kerry James Marshall: The Histories at the National Gallery. The colours he uses in his work are phenomenal: bright blues, teals, crimson reds, baby pinks, a slew of yellows, all offset by the deep and significant shade of black that defines his works. He doesn’t stray from his preferred palette too much, but by varying the tonality and which colour takes the lead, he can convey a different mood. Drawing inspiration from artists not only guarantees a top-tier colour story, but it also sharpens the mind. A look and a lesson in the arts? That’s a win-win.

Colour in Nature

A rule of thumb is that if a colour pairing exists in nature, it’s meant to be. From poisonous frogs to spring’s first burst of tulips, Mother Nature’s colourful outbursts know no bounds. Someone who routinely looks to natural forms for inspiration is Jonathan Anderson. At Loewe and now at Dior, we have seen his botanical shoes and foodie fashions turn into best-sellers. In 2022, Anderson showed giant peace lilies as tops and shoes at Loewe, but if you were to strip it down to just colours, it evokes Jacquemus' La Casa show in Capri for autumn/winter 2024 that shared the strong reds and buttery yellows of the peace lily, whilst also introducing contrast via aqua blue and lime green. If I didn’t know any better, I would think Roger Vivier’s SS/26 Belle Vivier slingbacks were inspired by some of nature’s miracles, with their optimistic, springlike colour-blocking.

You don’t need to fly to the rainforests of Borneo to find inspiration; you could look at the fresh colours in your fruit bowl or on your plate. In fact, let’s call it salad dressing, shall we? (Sorry, I had to.) Let a florist freestyle a bouquet for you to dictate the outfit for your next fun outing.

Colour in Interior Design

Turn your hours-long binge of the Architectural Digest YouTube channel into outfit research. If anyone tells you they don't want to dress like Paloma Elsesser’s bathroom, they’re lying. There are endless books and magazines, like Phaidon’s Living In Color and the beautifully shot Apartamento magazine, that focus on colour themes in people’s houses. I’m sure you've experienced the satisfaction of walking by a building that matches your outfit; you can do that on purpose. Take photos of interesting places: landmarks, your best friend’s kitchen, the restaurant you went to on a really good date—anywhere!

I received a postcard in the post from Boden recently (following a particularly colourful order for my son) that revealed the brand's office mantra regarding colour: "If it's unexpected, it's probably brilliant." A truer sentiment has never fallen on my doormat.

Shop Colour for Summer 2026:

Max Hurd is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence and London-based art director, tastemaker, interior stylist and creative consultant. A collaborator and advisor to leading luxury brands including Manolo Blahnik, Farfetch, Asprey, Cartier, H&M and Patrón Tequila, his exuberant aesthetic—which he describes as "Oscar Wilde meets Marie-Antoinette by way of a Brazilian bordello"—enables him to curate, write and create across interiors and culture.

"There’s no place like home," cried Dorothy, desperate to escape the madness of Oz and return to that ever-ephemeral concept—home. Ephemeral because, as Dorothy knew, home means more than just a house, even a flying one. Home is a feeling, a sentiment, even a person.

Home for me has always been about the objects and interiors within my four walls, especially those connected to my family, both alive and those no longer with us. I find intergenerational custodianship of family heirlooms deeply anchoring and reassuring. Their permanence and immortality give me great comfort in a world which so often seems to be spinning way too fast. That’s why, as I sank into an armchair at Hartwell House Hotel & Spa, I found myself agreeing with Dorothy; there really is no place like home.

Now, let me explain. Hartwell is not my home, and I am aware that I do not live in a hotel. I am not Richard Harris or London Tipton. However, my grandmother, Tatiana, did live at Hartwell before it was a hotel. (Her parents, my great-grandparents, sold the house in 1938.)

Many of the aforementioned treasured pieces from my own home come directly from Hartwell, so I am not completely delusional to feel a heightened connection to a space I grew up hearing so much about, and that, had things turned out differently, I might have lived in one day. I had wanted to visit for years, so when I finally managed to find some time after a particularly disastrous and highly stressful month, I packed my bags with a huge smile and a lifetime of stored-up excitement.

The allure of the “English Country House” has always fascinated me. What is it about these storied properties that so captures the imaginations of the millions of people who visit them every year? Is it the result of seemingly endless Hollywood-ised adaptations like Downton Abbey, Bridgerton or even this year’s Wuthering Heights? We watch as these characters swan idly around these beautiful locations, where the only thing they worry about is what time to take tea and whether a handsome Lord might drop by.

There is a slowness to the way of life synonymous with depictions of these homes that so many of us, with our chronically overstimulated minds, crave. As I arrived at Hartwell, after a mere hour's drive from West London to Buckinghamshire, I was greeted by a majestic swan on the lawn. It was then that I knew why I was really there. I needed a weekend to be like that bird and just swan, which Hartwell facilitated beautifully.

After a seamless check-in, we were shown to our room. Known as the King’s Room, it was named after Louis XVIII of France, who took up residence at Hartwell after fleeing during the French Revolution. As I sank into yet another glorious armchair, I felt like he and I were both looking for the same thing at Hartwell—to keep our heads. Although, admittedly, in my case, it was more figurative. After that, we were left to our highly demanding schedule of walking, high tea, spa treatments, drinks and dinner. The order in which to perform these strenuous tasks caused the only cortisol spike of the entire afternoon.

There is a luxury in not having to think too much, and Hartwell really provides the perfect backdrop for that. I often find that so much time on trips is spent deciding where to go, what to see and where to eat, and we cannot help comparing our trips to those of others. Are we eating in the right spot? Did we order the right thing? Did we see enough, do enough, enjoy ourselves enough?

All too often, I get back from a weekend away only to realise I spent the entire time making decisions and then second-guessing them. Hartwell takes that option away. Afternoon tea is served in the morning room, evening drinks in the drawing room and/or library and dinner is in the dining room. The "where to" decision is made for you, and in a society where we can be so overwhelmed with choice, there is a real luxury in having the ability to choose taken away.

The afternoon tea is truly special. (The scones were quite possibly the best I have ever had!) But what I really loved was the early-evening setup. As you and your fellow guests wait, dressed for dinner, for your table in the dining room, painted in varying shades of heavenly yellow, you can take a seat anywhere in the impressive array of drawing rooms, which are still laid out in the way they would have been in my great-grandparents' day. By that, I mean like a house, rather than a hotel. That lack of formally allocated seating means that, without stretching your imagination too far, you can sip your drink and imagine yourself as Lord or Lady of this magnificent manor!

The rooms are beautifully considered and decorated with artworks and antiques original to the house, whilst the bedrooms are incredibly comfortable and have everything you could ask for from a hotel room. In fact, many guests call ahead and ask to have the more modern conveniences, like the TV, removed before their arrival. On the other hand, the facilities in a luxury hotel that need to be modern are. The spa is top-notch, with treatments available from 111Skin, and there's also a fantastic pool in what used to be my granny’s stables! And then there are the grounds, which are an activity in themselves. Originally landscaped by Capability Brown, they maintain that Englishness that makes our gardens so special. The staff are on hand in a noninvasive but deeply helpful way.

Like all great country houses, Hartwell is its own little world. But if you fancy venturing out to explore the surrounding areas, there is a lot to do. Picturesque Waddesdon and the legendary Waddesdon Manor are a short drive away, and there are plenty of glorious scenic stop-offs and traditional pubs along the way. Personally, though, I recommend ditching any concept of an itinerary. Pack a book or two and curl up in front of one of the fireplaces, enjoy the spa, and in the evening, slip into something elegant and join your fellow guests for dinner.

English literature is full of references to this kind of "house party", where glamorous guests floated from beautiful house to beautiful house, enjoying each other's company and hospitality. Hartwell captures that essence beautifully, and you leave your stay swaddled in that oh-so rare feeling of being truly rested and relaxed. In a time when people are constantly demanding newness and brands are falling over themselves to keep up, hotels like Hartwell really stand apart. Places like this are proud to offer the opposite of newness. Staying there feels like stepping into that past so many of us so badly crave.

Monica Ainley is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence and a Paris-based fashion and culture writer and broadcaster. She is the co-creator of the influential Fashion: No Filter podcast and the culture podcast Fanfare. Monica also authors Mon Review, a weekly dispatch on aesthetics, literature and contemporary rituals.

I have to be honest: my style has been informed—I mean, cut-out-of-a-magazine-and-taped-on-my-wall-level informed—by Carolyn Bessette Kennedy for the better part of 20 years. Probably my mum’s too, come to think of it. If you’d asked, I’d have said CBK was the best person to picture when you’re running late and don’t know what to wear. And it’s not like I think I’m cooler than the Gen Z crowd who are only just "discovering" her; I’m just older! And so is my mum, obviously.

It is kind of annoying when everyone catches onto something you feel is lowkey yours, though, right? Even if you had no particular claim to it to begin with, like… Substack or the Brontes. Suddenly, you're as basic as anyone. But you know who I’ve recently taken up for casual outfit inspiration? Lee Radziwill, Carolyn’s aunt-in-law and Jackie Kennedy’s sister. Yes, exactly, her. Or, if you watch The Real Housewives of New York, Carole Radziwill’s mother-in-law.

I know this isn't exactly a left-field, unheard-of style reference either; Lee Radziwill was an American socialite, PR executive and basically the lifelong fashion influencer before influencers were a thing (not to mention, a princess!). She moved in rarified international circles, eventually marrying Polish aristocrat Prince Stanislaw Albrecht Radziwill. But what she was most known for was her exquisite taste, both on her person and in her apartments; she had one helluva eye for interiors, too. Lee’s imprint on 20th-century style is undeniable.

And yes, Love Story fans will perhaps have noted that Lee is mentioned in the Ryan Murphy series, but not actually shown on screen, which I think was a big mistake on the show’s part, given its main draw was aesthetics. Though Lee lived to be 85, she sadly did not escape the impact of the "Kennedy curse", which, if you understand the family tree, you may have noted. Lee’s son, Anthony (JFK Jr’s cousin and friend, died tragically of cancer at 40, just a month after the crash that killed John and Carolyn.

Anyway, let's go back to happier times and great fashion. I’m not saying Lee’s style was better than Carolyn’s (apples and oranges), but it was broader, simply because she lived a lot longer. CBK’s legacy is tragically frozen in time; Radizwill’s, we can watch evolve over many decades.

What’s compelling about Lee Radziwill is that she lived her life in parallel to her sister, not in her shadow. They were reportedly close, though quite competitive (I’m recommending the wardrobe, not necessarily the personality; but we never really know what goes on behind the scenes, do we?) Still, I'm definitely of the opinion that Lee’s style feels more… daring. Jackie perfected a specific kind of polish, especially from the '70s to the '90s, but Lee’s life gave her more room to experiment, and she did.

She showed up—to fashion week, to dinners, to fun parties—well into her later life. I remember working at a fashion office in my early twenties and my bosses whispering to each other that the Lee Radziwill was going to attend this or that show, and positively quivering with excitement. Lee was even spotted having fab tête-à-tête dinners at Le Voltaire in Paris up until her very last days, which is definitely a goal.

Looking back, her style feels effortless, but in reality, it must have been considered. She wore clean lines, exceptionally well-blended palettes with the occasional bold colour, plus had a knack for making even the most luxurious of fabrics look, well, casual. She was often dressed by Giorgio Armani and Yves Saint Laurent, but never looked like she belonged to any designer but herself. And that, my friends, is the key.

Armani once said that Lee's particular brand of chic was "never forced", and Diana Vreeland defined her kind of elegance as "refusal", as in knowing what not to wear. Whilst Jackie leaned towards overt glamour, and Carolyn stuck to '90s minimalism (let’s be clear on who invented "quiet luxury"), Lee’s style had more joie de vivre than Carolyn’s, and was often simply cooler than Jackie’s. I mean, those jackets! That kind of confidence—the truly discerning kind—is the sort that is acquired over a long, colourful life, and is exactly how I want to dress going forward, especially when I’m, like, really old.

I’ll still be wearing my CBK-inspired vintage Levi’s 517s. Obviously.

Shop Lee Radziwill's Style

Blanca Miró Scrimieri is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence and a Barcelona-based stylist. As the founder of fashion brand La Veste and co-founder of sunglasses line Delarge, her expertise lies in design, creative direction and brand building. Although you may know Miró from her collaborations with luxury fashion houses, it is likely her distinctive street style and outfit curation have brought her Instagram profile to your attention. When she isn't attending fashion week or behind the scenes at La Veste, you can also find her curating chic tablescapes at @blanca_a_table

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the space "in between". Not really "dressed up" per se, but not completely casual either. Somewhere in the middle, where things feel less defined, and a bit more instinctive.

I’ve realised I don’t really dress for specific occasions anymore. I don’t think in terms of "this is for dinner" or "this is for the day". It’s usually a mix of something that feels a bit more proper, combined with something easier and more relaxed. A skirt that could feel quite “done” with a simple knit, a tailored jacket thrown over something softer, almost undone. It’s not about balancing opposites too perfectly. It’s more about letting them sit together naturally.

1. Start With the Shoes

Very often, it’s the shoes that decide everything. I keep coming back to styles that feel almost like indoor shoes, soft leather flats, clogs, and slightly rounded shapes. Nothing too structured, nothing too “finished”. Sometimes with socks, sometimes without. They bring a kind of ease to the look, almost like you didn’t think about it too much, even when you did.

2. Play With Proportions

Sometimes it’s just a very small shift like a looser layer, that moves the whole look away from being too defined. I like what that does to an outfit—it softens it, but without making it feel too casual. It keeps a certain elegance but takes away the idea of being stuffy and overly dressed. There’s something quite honest about that.

3. Dress for the Day, Not the Occasion

This has a lot to do with how we live now, the lines between moments are less clear, and so a day can include so many different things without really changing rhythm. Getting dressed in a way that can move through all of that feels more natural than choosing one “version” of yourself.

I’m drawn to pieces that don’t belong entirely to one category. Things that can shift depending on how you wear them. A more classic silhouette worn in a relaxed way. Or something simple that becomes slightly more elevated just through one detail. t's not a look that announces itself immediately. It's quieter than that. But I think that's why I like it.

"Flattering" is a word that on the surface sounds complimentary, but let’s be honest: most often when one says something is "flattering" (at least in the context of clothes), they’re using it as a synonym for "this makes you look thinner". As a generation raised on TV shows like 10 Years Younger and What Not to Wear, an outfit that "flatters your shape" and "hides lumps and bumps" is, to many of us, as important (if not more so) than the colour, silhouette or trend. But in my opinion (and that of famous club kid James St James), "If you can’t hide it, decorate it!"

As a woman with many jobs, I moonlight as a personal stylist. One pain point my clients often have in common is wanting to try new silhouettes but feeling like they look like they’re "wearing a sack" or are "drowning in their clothes". My advice is always the same: drown in the clothes! Wear the sack! Allowing myself to exit "snatched waist" jail and cultivate a section of my wardrobe that is purely oversized is the most freeing fashion decision I have ever made.

I always point clients to an image of Rihanna in oversized grey tailoring that I think is one of her best looks of all time. Looking as achingly cool as ever, but certainly not in an outfit that makes her silhouette seem smaller, I’ve always appreciated her for having the humanness to—gasp!—allow her weight to fluctuate over the years. As every iteration of herself, Rihanna has never wavered as a fashion icon, and why should she? Actually, why should any of us?

Stylist extraordinaire Gabriella Karefa-Johnson recalls the origin of her contempt for the term "flattering". "My disdain for the word comes from my teen years. When others (usually elders) would impose their own dated concepts of beauty onto what I wore: no horizontal stripes because I am already wide, no miniskirts because I have cellulite.

"Even recently, [someone] saw me in a midi skirt. [This person is] 80 years old. She told me she loved my skirt and that it was 'so much more flattering than the silly little ones' I normally wear." If you’ve seen Karefa-Johnson style a miniskirt, that’s all the evidence you need that these outdated ideals have no place in the wardrobe of a real fashion person.

Subverting or challenging the beauty standard is nothing new, but more like a tug of war that's dragged from one side to another. In 1997, Rei Kawakubo at Comme Des Garçons showed the history-making "Lumps and Bumps" collection, which was actually called Body Meets Dress, Dress Meets Body. The collection made waves that rippled through the industry, stirring up discomfort and intrigue in its viewers. Kawakubo was exploring where the body ends, and the clothing begins, also questioning why one body part is deemed desirable and another disturbing.

Almost 30 years later, has any progress been made? Posh Showroom founder Rachael Broussard, who has been helping brands find their way into stores since 2004, is hopeful. "I do believe that designers who are truly in tune with the direction of fashion have been moving beyond the traditional emphasis on the 'snatched waist' for several years now. There’s a clear shift towards silhouette as a statement in itself, designs that feel more directional, expressive and visually impactful," she says.

Evidence of this was certainly present on the spring/summer and autumn/winter 2026 runways, where cocoon-like dresses and drop-waist silhouettes popped up frequently. One of Chloé’s most standout pieces for spring was a funnel-neck trench coat with an ultra-low waist. For Ferragamo, it was a dress that was only cinched with elasticity at the cuffs and feet, creating a very oversized, sack-like outline. Fabulous? Yes. Flattering in the traditional sense? No. I heard someone describe the drop-waist trend as the "antithesis to a flattering silhouette". Good! Imagine refusing these looks because it defaults from the perfect hourglass shape, or the newly (read: once again) lauded optimum figure: impossibly thin.

Outside of Paris, Milan, London and New York, there is increased attention on Copenhagen Fashion Week. Attendees have defined the city's look with their layered and voluminous street style; it seems like the new generation of fashion folk is expanding beyond limits in geography as well as proportions.

Broussard continues, "I’ve seen a clear shift towards more unconventional silhouettes. Designers are pushing the boundaries further than ever, and notably, the most recent brands we’ve brought into the showroom are presenting a higher proportion of statement-driven pieces than I’ve previously encountered. What’s particularly interesting is that this aligns directly with buyer demand; there’s a strong appetite for distinctive, standout designs."

The red carpet is arguably also seeing a direction change. The latest favourite starlet, singer and rapper Audrey Nuna, is constantly pushing the envelope with the silhouettes she and stylist Danyul Brown build. The KPop Demon Hunters star has shown out on the carpet in an enlarged doll dress from Marc Jacobs spring/summer 2025, equally as toy-like looks from Thom Browne and plumes of gold by Margiela, complete with mask. By deviating from the norm, she has fashion fans waiting with bated breath after awards ceremonies.

Where Nuna is artful and avant-garde in her dress, stars such as Billie Eilish, who grew into a woman before the world’s eyes, used baggy silhouettes and more typically androgynous clothing to remove her body from the conversation, yet still cultivated a recognisable and oft emulated personal style.

But how do those who aren’t so comfortable defying these norms make a start at changing their style direction? Content creator Asta Gaur has a few ideas. "Start small. Playfulness in style is a muscle; you can’t get off the couch and run a marathon the next day. If you have never worn oversized clothes, start with a T-shirt. Wear it somewhere the stakes are low, like a coffee or walking the dog. And be intentional about who you’re around when experimenting. As you get more comfortable, your confidence will grow."

Also, if you look a little closer, there are people you can look to for inspiration. Paving the way for this approach are the women of hip-hop, like Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez, who led the vision for her group TLC in its inception; Salt-N-Pepa and Roxanne Shanté, who were operating in a time when hip-hop was a man’s game, and they wanted to be seen as serious participants. And we cannot mention women in music and iconic "unflattering" looks without mentioning one Missy Misdemeanor Elliott! From Eilish to Elliott, certain celebrities have exemplified that using fashion as a tool to control the narrative is a power move, and there is power in having options.

Blanco Miró Scrimieri is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence and a Barcelona-based stylist. As the founder of fashion brand La Veste and co-founder of sunglasses line Delarge, her expertise lies in design, creative direction and brand building. Although you may know Miró from her collaborations with luxury fashion houses, it is likely her distinctive street style and outfit curation have brought her Instagram profile to your attention. When she isn't attending fashion week or behind the scenes at La Veste, you can also find her curating chic tablescapes at @blanca_a_table

I’ve never been very interested in outfits that feel perfectly "correct". You know the ones: everything matches, everything is balanced, the colours "make sense". It’s nice, of course, but after a few seconds I start to feel a little bored. What really excites me is when something is slightly wrong. A colour that shouldn’t be there. Socks that don’t exactly match the shoes. A very classic skirt worn with something a bit childish, or a proper "lady" bag next to something sporty, or slightly messy. That tiny tension is what makes an outfit feel alive to me. When everything is too harmonious, it can feel a bit flat, but when there’s a small element that interrupts the harmony, the look suddenly has personality.

I often think of getting dressed as a small daily game. I start with something quite classic, like a striped shirt, a simple skirt or a knit, and then I ask myself, "What could disturb this a little?" Maybe it’s bright red socks with brown loafers, maybe it’s lime green next to purple, maybe it’s a very elegant belt worn on trousers that feel almost too casual. The goal is not to look eccentric—actually, the opposite. I like it when the "wrong" element slowly becomes natural in the outfit, almost as if it had always belonged there.

A lot of this also comes from mixing decades; I’ve always loved combining pieces that don’t come from the same time, like pairing something that feels very '70s with something quite '90s; a vintage silk skirt with a big cotton sweatshirt, or "proper" leather shoes with playful socks. Those small contradictions create energy.

Colour is often where I play the most. I’ve always been attracted to colour combinations that feel a bit unexpected at first: red with pink, green with blue, yellow with brown, purple with almost anything. When the colours are strong, but the shapes stay classic, the outfit still feels balanced. And then there are socks. I have a real weakness for socks! They’re probably the easiest way to introduce something slightly wrong into an outfit.

A flash of colour between the shoes and the trousers can completely change the mood. Suddenly, something very classic feels younger, lighter, more playful. For me, this approach also makes fashion feel less intimidating. You don’t need a completely new wardrobe; you just need to look at what you already have and start playing with it differently. Move one thing, add one colour, break one rule.

Sometimes, the most interesting outfits appear exactly in that moment when something almost doesn’t work, but somehow, together, it does. That’s usually when I know I like it.

Shop Blanca's Edit

Chani Ra is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence and a London-based fashion commentator at her social channel The Fashion Nap, which broadcasts show reports, trend commentary and both current and archive industry analysis on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. As well as interviewing industry leaders and experts on her platform, she also often speaks as an expert on panels.

For the last decade or two, it’s become completely uneventful for 20-something women to be on a religious Botox and filler schedule, and it seems the newest normal for celebrities approaching 30 is a facelift. But there’s change afoot. As clothes become more "undone" and filler gets dissolved, expressive and unique faces are re-emerging in the public eye.

Fashion brands are catching on to the boom of mature models. Case in point: Tom Ford recently dropped the sexiest campaign of the season, featuring 59-year-old former model and The Vampire's Wife co-founder Susie Cave. A particular video caught my eye, especially when the camera pans into her face, close enough to see the fine lines that sit gracefully around her pink-shadowed stare. It was a precursor to a very sultry show, in which creative director Haider Ackermann created restraint and tension with models of all ages.

Chanel’s latest breakout star is Stephanie Cavalli, who is 50. After opening Matthieu Blazy’s debut couture show, sauntering down the runway in a sheer suit, she was back again to open the most anticipated show á Paris: Chanel autumn/winter 2026. Cavalli’s hair has become instantly recognisable: a painfully chic curly, triangular bob streaked with grey, framing her adult face in all its glory.

Catching up with Who What Wear UK's own editor-in-chief, Jane McFarland, who braved the crowds at the Paris store's opening as the spring collection landed, it’s a reminder that Chanel’s clients are women of all ages. The new face of aspiration is rooted in reality, and the brands young women want to buy are those they can grow with. Women with real-life experience are our newly crowned It girls. Even my afternoon TikTok doomscroll is currently populated with women who worked at Calvin Klein in the '90s, emerging as the gatekeepers to "Carolyn Bessette Kennedy chic". The comment sections are flooded by Gen Z viewers begging for the ancient magic, and exclaiming that they "still look so good!"

49-year-old Stephanie Cavalli opens the Chanel A/W 26 show.

Looking back recent fashion months, London set the standard for age inclusion. Karoline Vitto, a London-based Brazilian designer, is known for catering to women of all sizes. This diversity also extends to age; Vitto doesn’t shy away from dressing a 40-year-old woman as she would a 25-year-old. "We dress the baddies!" Vitto exclaimed backstage. "That comes in any age and any shape. It’s all about an attitude and a presence you feel when you wear the clothes." Indeed, presence is a far more interesting currency than youth, and much harder to replicate.

Johanna Parv showed a collection called Intimacy of Distances for women who are actively living and moving through life with purpose. The show notes chronicled creative women travelling via different modes to different places, with the clothes providing a uniform for streamlined, no-frills success. "Most models are too young for my taste," commented Parv, whose show featured models of a range of ages.

Translating this taste to the runway was casting director Lisa Dymph Megens, who has made it her mission to cast the types of women brands are actually selling to, meaning "sending 20 teenagers down the runway" isn’t an option. "Johanna Parv’s show proved that you can present something human and still be very 'fashion'," she told me. "As casting directors, you’re waiting for a brief that allows you to show what you stand for, because you still have to do what the designer wants, and this is an industry that’s obsessed with youth. [This] is linked to young women seeming easier to control."

Megens raises an unignorable point. Just one look at the so-called "elite" men in the news with anchors in every industry—fashion included—makes the quest for eternal youth feel far more insidious. You have to ask: whose standards are we catering to? Once you ruminate on that, suddenly it feels like it’s time to visibly grow up.

In the spirit of rebellion, Lueder’s runway was walked by London nightlife icon (and the only royal I will be acknowledging this season), Princess Julia. Famous for allegedly going out every night since 1976, Princess Julia is a pillar of London’s queer community and a champion of emerging designers. Rose McGowan, 52, also walked for Lueder, in a rave-ready look comprising a bleached pixie cut, dark glasses, a red silk bomber jacket, black tights, leg warmers and trainers. In the Matieres Fecales A/W 26 show, Debra Shaw (49), Michèle Lamy (82) and Daphne Guinness (58) were the scene stealers.

Representation of women over 40 is particularly meaningful in the trans community, where so many aren’t allowed the opportunity to age. Dominique Jackson, 50, walked for Conner Ives this season, and Connie Fleming—whose modelling career started in the '80s—recently appeared in MAC campaigns. I had the pleasure of interviewing Fleming in 2024, and we discussed how often, when you represent a marginalised community, there isn't a roadmap to follow. Allowing these women to stand and inspire people to look forward in a world where we witness rights being stripped left and right is a testament to the impact fashion can have.

Ultimately, the hope is that the industry continues on an upward trajectory when it comes to age, and this isn’t a throwaway fad, as we've unfortunately witnessed with body diversity, or the lack thereof. We cannot reduce our bodies or our life experiences to play things for the trend cycle. As Diane Von Furstenberg once said, "Don’t ask, 'How old are you?' Ask, 'How many years have you lived?'"

Monica Ainley is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence and a Paris-based fashion and culture writer and broadcaster. She is the co-creator of the influential Fashion: No Filter podcast and the culture podcast Fanfare. Monica also authors Mon Review, a weekly dispatch on aesthetics, literature and contemporary rituals.

Lately, an eccentric urge has been dominating a once-minimalist corner of my fashion brain. Well, not that lately. Probably since the pandemic, if I’m honest. I simply no longer have the urge to dress like I’m about to spend the day in front of a screen. In fact, I’ve grown allergic to it. During lockdown, I swore to myself that once we were free, I’d never wear a boring outfit again. Then, AI began quietly colonising our lives, and I found myself drawn to intricate fabrics and prints that require human savoir faire. When yet more global conflict broke out mid–fashion month not long ago, my romantic fate was sealed. In strange, uncertain and deeply unromantic times, the instinct is to lean on fashion for optimism, and occasionally, to escape.

My British granny always said that during the war, she and her friends obsessed over stockings. "In the Wrens [the Women's Royal Naval Service] we talked about them constantly," she once told me. Silk, seams, colour. Small luxuries mattered. It was, in its own way, the psychology of softness as armour. Fashion has always served this purpose in moments of upheaval.

Consider Marie Antoinette, history’s original fashion influencer. Sent to Versailles as a teenager and trapped in an unhappy political marriage, she built an entire aesthetic universe around herself: powdered hair, gauzy gowns and elaborate pastoral fantasies at the Petit Trianon. Excessive, certainly. But also escapist. Today, with a major exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum re-examining her legacy, it feels worth asking whether fashion wasn’t, for the former Queen of France, a form of protection as much as indulgence.

In French, the word "sublime" is thrown around with abandon. Attend Paris Fashion Week, and you’ll hear it daily, murmured approvingly in show queues or backstage after a particularly beautiful collection. As in English, it signals something elevated. However, the word carries deeper philosophical implications as well. From the Latin sublimis, meaning lofty or uplifted, the concept was famously explored in the ancient treatise On the Sublime, attributed to Longinus. In it, the sublime describes artistic expression so powerful that it overwhelms the audience with a sense of awe. Centuries later, Immanuel Kant expanded the idea, arguing that the sublime occurs when we encounter something so vast or powerful that the imagination falters.

For the Romantic poets (writers like William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge), this experience lives in nature itself: towering mountains, violent storms, endless skies. Beauty, yes, but sharpened by scale and danger. Nature was no longer simply thought of as a pleasant backdrop, but a commanding presence capable of humbling the human observer.

Perhaps this is precisely what we’re missing today. Ours is a screen-centred age, largely lived indoors and tragically devoid of windswept hair. We all need, from time to time, a long walk up Arthur's Seat. But maybe we also need a little romance in our clothing. After all, who in the history of literature dressed with more flair than Lord Byron?

The Romantic fascination with nature’s emotional force found an echo on the runways this season. Across the fashion capitals, designers captured something close to the atmosphere of the landscape itself. At Dior in Paris, Jonathan Anderson staged his autumn/winter 2026 show inside a greenhouse in the Jardin des Tuileries, complete with water lilies inspired by Claude Monet; a dreamlike promenade through flowers and water. In London, designers such as Simone Rocha and Erdem explored a softer, more gothic romanticism, featuring gauze, lace and shadowy florals that felt like wandering in a garden at dusk.

On the Paris schedule as a whole, the mood shifted toward something more elemental. At Hermès, Nadège Vanhée-Cybulski explored the tactile language of the outdoors through earthy tones and quietly rugged materials. Meanwhile at Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Ghesquière turned the runway into a rolling green topography, with models weaving between sculptural mounds resembling abstract hills. The effect felt faintly pastoral; fashion’s own gloss on a William Wordsworth landscape, where nature becomes monumental.

At Dries Van Noten (my long-term obsession), the spirit of escape felt younger and more restless: clothes that looked like the wardrobe for a romantic flight into the wild; equal parts coming-of-age reverie and great escape. A little messy, like how we dressed at uni, but with a worldly dollop of sophistication and a slightly tongue-in-cheek take on femininity.

I found myself longing for this same mix of beauty, awe and emotional intensity the Romantics once called "the sublime". So moved was I by these headwinds that I began dreaming of my spring wardrobe. For the first time in decades, it may even include a transparent lace blouse, or even (maybe) a ballet flat. The mood has already filtered far beyond the runways. Romantic dressing is appearing across luxury houses, contemporary brands and the high street alike. Designers like Erdem, Chloé and Dries have long mastered this poetic sensibility, whilst contemporary brands and retailers are leaning into lace-trim slips, ruffled dresses and delicate camisoles.

The result is a kind of wearable romanticism: clothes that suggest drifting through a meadow just as the rainclouds part and spring sunlight breaks through, even if the setting is a city street. My own interpretation will probably land somewhere between shepherdess and Lord Byron himself: a little windswept, slightly dramatic tailoring and always ready for a spontaneous escape.

Keep scrolling to discover what I’ll be wearing to channel romance and escapism this spring.

Shop Romantic Clothing

Max Hurd is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence and London-based art director, tastemaker, interior stylist and creative consultant. A collaborator and advisor to leading luxury brands including Manolo Blahnik, Farfetch, Asprey, Cartier, H&M and Patrón Tequila, his exuberant aesthetic—which he describes as "Oscar Wilde meets Marie-Antoinette by way of a Brazilian bordello"—enables him to curate, write and create across interiors and culture.

Starting anything is hard. Take writing, for instance; staring at a blank page can feel a bit like staring into the void. All too often, the endless possibilities end before they can even become possibilities. It is truly remarkable how much I can get done in a day to avoid the sheer horror of confronting the blank white page. Procrastination has actually become a way of tricking myself into completing other tasks I have been putting off. All I have to do is open up a Word doc, and boom: within minutes, I am away from my desk and folding last week's laundry.

The same can be true for decorating. The very idea of starting a renovation, no matter how small, can be so daunting that all too often, the "temporary" sofa or the "just for now" blinds hang around much longer than you had initially planned. Before you know it, "just for now" becomes forever.

That's not to say you shouldn’t take your time when it comes to decorating. In fact, I would encourage you to do so. Rushed decision-making invariably leads to unnecessarily expensive regrets. However, you should not let the fear of getting it wrong get in the way of creating somewhere special for you to live. So, where to begin?

How to Renovate Like a Pro, According to an Interiors Expert

1. Sharing Is Caring

Firstly, get excited! Be it a full-blown, rip-out-everything-including-the-kitchen-sink bonanza or a simple paint job, flip the fear into fun. If you can, draft in some trusted advisors. It doesn’t have to be a formal working arrangement, but talk to friends and bounce ideas off people whose taste you trust. Get proactive and even start a WhatsApp group with like-minded people you know, where you can all share ideas for renovations, both realistic and highly delusional.

I have a group chat called Reno & Brunch Divas (I know, just don’t—even creatives' creativity has limits) in which two friends and I go back and forth with increasingly outrageous decorative schemes. Some, thankfully, will never see the light of day, but some ideas have, and others will very soon. The accountability of actually presenting your ideas to people and having them either encourage or discourage is invaluable in itself.

2. Send Yourself a Save the Date

Set yourself a date to work towards, a date by which whatever project you are working on has to be done by. Now, the trick here is that it cannot just be a random date you’ve plucked out of thin air; there has to be a reason for it. In my case, I was having the house photographed for a magazine, so it was a frantic Manolo-Blahnik-slipper-to-the-pedal to get it ready for its close-up.

Admittedly, that's a very specific reason, but are you hosting a big family gathering one Sunday? Is your birthday coming up? Are you having friends over for a housewarming? Much like the WhatsApp group to keep you on track, setting a date by which the project "needs" to be done means you can't keep putting it off. The good news is that once you start, you have something to finish for. So find a reason, and get planning.

3. Invest in the Best or You’ll Never Rest

Now for the practical parts. Firstly, brace yourself for the financial impact. If you are doing a full-scale renovation, it's worth getting it right the first time, and to guarantee getting it right, sometimes, you need to spend. Cutting corners may get you to the end faster, but all that happens is you have to go back later and deal with the mess you dodged. Something I have told friends and clients (and myself late at night, rocking in bed, processing the horror of my expenditure) is that for most people, your home is your biggest asset. And like all assets, in order to grow, they need to be looked after properly.

Moving money from the bank into the bricks and mortar of your home adds value to the property, kind of like adding money from your savings into an investment fund. So, whilst the initial quote may look terrifying, you’re not just spending money, you're investing it. It's just that in this case, you can actually live in and enjoy your cumulative interest. (I can imagine my accountant pulling out his hair reading this.) Once you have allocated the budget—and I would advise you to go into any project with a number in mind—add 10%. Then, it's time for the fun to begin.

4. Map It Out (and Don’t Be Sample-Shy!)

The question I probably get asked the most is, "How do I decorate with colour?" The answer I give every time is simple: Be bold with your samples. Diddy-widdly, perfectly painted squares offer no true sense of what the room will actually look like when it is done, so go big, and then live with those samples for at least a week, making sure to notice how the light affects the colour throughout the day, and how the colours interact from room to room.

I often find that the most successful colours in my projects are the ones I least suspected would work from the tin, but shone when I plastered them on the wall. Colour often needs space to breathe, to show you what it can do, and that can't happen in a microscopic square. For a really easy visual tool, create a document with all the fabrics and paint colours you want to use lined up next to each other in the order you want them to appear in the house. It allows you to "walk" through the house as a whole.

Remember that each room is an individual chapter in an overarching story, and the best stories are ones in which every chapter directly contributes to the plot. Rooms need to work together, and the best way to ensure that is to create a physical colour and textural map. Starting is often the hardest part, but in my experience, ending is sometimes even harder. Once you catch the reno bug, it's hard to shake, and once you train your eye to look for improvements, it's important to enjoy what you have already created, without constantly looking for elements to improve.

Rebecca Donaldson is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence, a model and tastemaker who is celebrated for her refined aesthetic and authoritative presence in the luxury space. Amidst a fast-paced career of work and travel, Rebecca is equally dedicated to wellness and balance, making mindful living a cornerstone of her personal and professional journey.

I've always taken my skincare routine seriously. If my complexion looked dull, I refined my exfoliation. If I experienced breakouts, I reached for targeted ingredients like azelaic acid. If it felt dehydrated, I layered hydrating serums beneath a rich cream. I’ve always believed in the power of well-formulated skincare, and I always will.

However, a few years ago, I realised that my skincare products work at their highest level when my skin is supported holistically. When I started paying more attention to eating food that prioritises healthy nourishment, I got a lot more out of my skincare products. My naturally dry, dehydrated skin has become noticeably more hydrated and healthy-looking. So, these are the changes I hold responsible for the transformation.

Understanding My Skin

The first step was really learning to understand the ways in which my diet was personally affecting my skin (and I say "personally" because it's important to remember that things are different for everyone). At the time, I had to learn all of this through trial and error; however, nowadays, there are devices on the market that would have made things easier for me. Things like the Zoe glucose tracker could have helped me see, in numbers, how my body (and subsequently my skin) responds to days of higher sugar intake.

My skin was always slightly puffy in the mornings, perpetually dehydrated and uneven in tone due to sensitivities. I had always assumed the solution was topical, and I didn’t stop to consider that my skin might be reflecting something deeper. The turning point came after experiencing minor stomach issues that led me to see a doctor. Whilst I was given medication to help with the problem, I also began researching other ways to reduce internal inflammation and support my gut health. I learned that scientific studies on the skin-gut relationship remain ongoing and are, so far, relatively inconclusive. This meant I needed to commit to understanding my own skin's relationship with specific elements of my diet.

After months of paying close attention to the way in which my skin was reacting to certain foods, I learned three key things.

1. Sugar spikes → dullness
2. Alcohol → dehydration + puffiness
3. Ultra-processed foods → reactive, sensitised skin

Small Adjustments

Once I had identified my skin's "triggers", I started with small changes. Cutting back on alcohol was the first step—not eliminating it entirely, but being more intentional with my drinking. Almost immediately, I noticed calmer skin in the mornings: less puffiness and a subtle brightness returning. Then I began some of the healthier choices into my diet that I had discovered researching gut health.

First thing: bone broth. It’s rich in collagen, amino acids and gelatin, and for me, it feels like a gentle way to support digestion and hydration before any caffeine intake. It also has a noticeable difference in steadying my energy levels throughout the day. I follow that with a high-protein breakfast, usually scrambled eggs with avocado. Creating this stable foundation before introducing coffee has been surprisingly impactful.

Hydration has become a non-negotiable for me. Drinking more water consistently throughout the day sounds simple, but the difference is visible. When I get a sugar craving, instead of reaching for a fizzy drink, I’ll go for a low-sugar kombucha, and more often that not, it satisfies.

Now, my skin feels plumper and more alive rather than tight or fatigued. Even makeup artists began commenting that my complexion looked more hydrated than ever.

My 5 Top Skin-Loving Foods

1. Bone broth to provide collagen-building amino acids, minerals and gelatin, which are thought to help with skin elasticity and hydration
2. Leafy greens, like spinach and kale, which are full of vitamins A, C and K to support a healthy gut microbiome.
3. Blueberries, loaded with antioxidants are thought to support collagen production.
4. Avocados, because they're rich in healthy fats and vitamins E and C, thought to help boost skin moisture.
5. Sunflower seeds, which are rich in vitamin E and considered to be potent antioxidants.

My Gentle Skincare Routine

I like to keep things as gentle as possible to support my skin barrier and its natural moisture levels for long-term skin health. These are just some of the products I lean on regularly to keep my skin glowing.

Harriet Westmoreland is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence and cofounder of Westmoreland Cosmetics. She is one of the most sought-after manicurists, having tended to the hands of celebrity clientele such as Zendaya and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Her signature minimalist and luxurious manicures have garnered her worldwide demand, and she is one of the leading tastemakers in nail trends.

As a celebrity manicurist, I see so much demand for micro nail art, especially at this time of year. My clients often ask for it in the spring, as it's a cute and chic way to have a little bit of fun with your usual manicure and tap into a seasonal nail trend. My clients and I wanted to find a way to have some fun with their manicure whilst keeping it elegant and timeless, and the micro floral is such a great way to do this.

Personally, I love doing floral nail art on a milky nail base and choosing one accent nail for the art. At first glance, it just looks like a milky manicure. It's only if you see the nail art on the thumb that you notice the little pop of colour and the flower, and I think that's part of the appeal of milky nail art.

My nail art style is definitely minimal, so I like the micro nail art to be super small and detailed. I love to work with intricate details because you get that classic finish to the manicure, and the nail art is very wearable. That tiny little bit of colour catches the light and is honestly such a joy every time you see it.

Below, I'm sharing my tips and tricks to help you create a "milky floral" nail art design, alongside my favourite products to achieve the look.

How to Do "Milky Floral" Nail Art

For a milky manicure, once you've prepped your nails, start by applying Westmoreland Cosmetics Glass Base Coat (£20), followed by Glass Gel (£25) in shade 1 or 2, which suit all complexions. Shade 1 is a little bit milkier, and Shade 2 has a touch of pink, but is still milky. They both have that beautiful sheer finish.

If you're working with nail polish rather than gel, be aware that, obviously, polish dries faster, so you need to paint it as quickly as possible to avoid any dragging. If you're using gel polish, cure it and then wipe the nail with acetone to remove the sticky layer.

For the nail art itself, I would paint the individual leaves of the flower one by one using a tiny nail-art brush. Then, I would place a dotting tool into the centre of the leaves to create the little heart of the flower. I do it intuitively as I go, so I'll look at the size and the shape of the nail and then build the design around that. I only ever do one tiny flower unless the client asks for more; I like to just do one so it feels balanced rather than overcrowded.

The biggest technical challenge is spacing the petals correctly, but once you put the dots on top, it'll all pull together and look neat, so trust the process! If you have short nails, a small flower in the centre of the nail works perfectly if you don't have much space for your nail art. Don't worry if they're not perfect; they can be a little bit messy, and the petals can be different sizes.

I personally find that simple flowers always look best. I usually do cute, cartoon-esque flowers because I think they're super cute, and my clients all love them. We'll usually do this in a pastel colour; yellows, greens, blues and pinks all look great for floral nail art.

To finish off the manicure, you need to lock it in with a top coat. After you've cured, you can then scrub with soap and a nail brush. This cleans the nail, helps smooth surrounding skin and is a super-easy way to elevate your manicure and look after your nails for that polished, luxurious finish.

Shop the Look

Victoria Magrath is a Who What Wear UK Editor in Residence and founder of byfrow Beauty, a premium brand rooted in multi-use products designed to "enhance your everyday". One of the UK’s most established luxury creators, she is known for her expertise across beauty, fashion, travel and refined living, with over 12 years of experience working with leading global brands.

I don’t remember the last time I finished a whole bottle of perfume before this weekend. I swap between scents constantly, like some sort of fragrance floozy. Wherever my mood takes me, my scent will follow, and so I never usually stay true to one perfume or another. That was until a few days ago, when I finished a bottle of Guerlain’s Vanille Planifolia (£495), and cried a little inside at the fact that I needed to buy another bottle. Alas, even though I’m flippant with my fragrances and can’t commit to a monogamous relationship, there is one aspect of my beauty wardrobe where I’m well and truly wedded: my handbag non-negotiables.

It’s Monday morning, and you’re running out the door with a coffee in hand and your collar bent inwards, finding yourself ticking off that mental list of items you always have with you. Keys, glasses, purse—check. The door closes behind you, and you’re off. That used to be me, but over the years, my list has become longer and more specific, and now I’m a woman very set in her ways. I don't even need one of my "lists" to remind me, because my everyday essentials don’t ever leave my handbag. And if the bag were to change, everything would get decanted into the next, and then the next. So, let’s talk about what’s in there.

Victoria Magrath's 7 Handbag Beauty Essentials

1. byfrow Pigment Pencil

2. Clé de Peau Beauté Concealer Stick

3. Laneige Cream Skin Cerapeptide Mist

4. Phlur Missing Person

5. byfrow The Lip Companion

6. Armani Luminous Silk Bronzer

7. Victoria Beckham Sculpt & Blend Brush

You've probably heard of Who What Wear UK editor-in-residence and celebrity stylist Angie Smith from her work with household names like Holly Willoughby, Eva Mendes, Davina McCall and Rochelle Humes. Smith has a gift for making her clients look effortlessly chic, usually on an affordable budget. She's an advocate for shopping the high street, often mixing high and low pieces in her styling, and her own wardrobe and talent for uncovering the most expensive-looking finds is unrivalled. She's here to share her expert shopping picks for the season along with some styling wisdom. Keep scrolling to see her key buys for summer 2026.

I’ve been a stylist and brand consultant for over 20 years now, and I'm a strong believer in buying less and wearing your pieces more. I've learnt from reworking clients' wardrobes that after editing them down to a smaller capsule, it becomes much easier to pull outfits together, because you can actually see what's in there.

September is on the horizon, and already there's a back-to-school feeling in the air. Suddenly, I want tailoring, a richer colour palette, and everything in my wardrobe to feel a little more considered than the throw-on-and-go pieces I've been living in through summer. With the warm weather still holding on, it's a balancing act rather than a full pivot.

This is the month I invest in a proper pair of ballet flats, beautifully cut black trousers with a slight ankle crop, and an oversized shirt to ease layering back into my wardrobe. Alongside, it's time to start thinking about knitwear, whether that's snapping up great cashmere knits, light jackets for the cooler moments or a versatile cardigan to throw on for milder evenings. The grey one below is giving chic French woman, and honestly, that's exactly what I want to emulate at the start of the new season. Not quite autumn, not quite summer, just the in-between bit where a good wardrobe does all the heavy lifting for you. These are the kinds of pieces that can slot straight into your existing rotation and still feel relevant for many years to come.

SHOP ANGIE SMITH'S EARLY AUTUMN 2026 EDIT

1. The Cashmere Knit

2. The Sleek Trousers

3. The Soft Ballet Flats

4. The Midi Skirt

5. The Staple Necklace

6. The Silk Scarf

7. The Light Denim Jacket

8. The Alpaca Polo

9. The Funnel-Neck Trench