Every other year, luxury fashion brands engage in a particularly high stakes game of musical chairs — shuffling creative designers from one house to another to shake things up. Spring-summer 2026,  though, was a doozy. Around the world, fashion fans waited with bated breath for the music to stop and each creative director to reveal their respective visions. And while the clothes sent down the runway reflected each designer's unique sensibility, they each, uniquely, yet uniformly, gave glamor.

Let's review. Dario Vitale's collection for Versace (the first non-family member to design for the brand), was all 80s-inspired commended as "big and bold" for her pink pony hair bags and show-stopping fiber optic fringe. A week later Paris, the notoriously unfussy Jonathan Anderson (for Dior) offered skirts that were voluminous and furry, and shoes that were diamanté-encrusted. Then, in crisp shirts weighed down by chains, Matthieu Blazy sent enormous down the Chanel runway.

This is, admittedly, kind of a relief — especially considering the identity crisis we've faced these past few years. Whereas 2023 washed over us in wave of grey wool and white cotton — better known as‘Quiet Luxury,’ ‘Old Money,’ or ‘Stealth Wealth' — in 2024 we were forced to choose to become 'Mob Wives,' or 'Office Sirens,' or default to Charli XCX-brand of indie sleaze. High-waist became cheugy (a word that is, now, also cheugy) and low-rise baggy is juvenile. Maybe we should blame the battle of millennial and Gen Z egos for churn-and-burn micro-trend misery, but either way, both sides can admit that we have been lost.

So why so much sparkle, and why now? The answer is, unfortunately, obvious: our socio-economic health. When 'Quiet Luxury' was having it's moment, everything was looking up — the US dollar was markedly strong and personal income growth was positive (rising around six percent in cities and just under five percent in non-metro areas). About 72 percent of American adults reporting they were at least “doing okay” financially, and there was a notable travel boom that summer — Americans heading to Europe en masse. We didn't need to wear sequins, because life was sparkly enough.

This year, in addition to new, deeply harrowing political news daily, the dollar has fallen about 10.8 percent, which marks it's worst performance in decades. We want unadulterated, escapist, fun — life underlined with "glitter gel pen," as Taylor Swift might put it. It is not unlike the 2008 financial crisis, when we also saw unending rhinestones, ruffled satin, and whole lot of Herve Leger.

Runway aside, high glamor has, in fact, been everywhere lately. It's Addison Rae in a rhinestone two-piece with a grazed knee, or HAIM in coordinating sequins on their I QUIT album cover. It's the en masse return of bandage dresses (which despite their curve-hugging, constricting appearance, are extremely comfortable). It's the glittery creative that surrounded Taylor Swift's The Life Of A Showgirl — and, well, the showgirl theme itself. The strange symbiosis of each designer's debut collection is really confirmation that glitz is here to stay.

When you're ready to go full showgirl, we have some recs. Head straight to Ebay and search out a vintage Scala gown (you can get them for a steal!), add a fur, then finish the look with our new Rhinestone case (coming October 29).

Images courtesy of Dior, Chanel, Versace, Addison Rae / Christopher Polk</