Since the boho renaissance following Chemena Kamali’s debut at Chloé (SS24), there’s been a rise in soft femininity season-to-season. And the trend is set to continue for SS26. “Big macro trends like romance never go away. There’s always that little bit of an evolution happening every season,” says Kim Cupido, catwalks senior strategist at trend forecasting agency WGSN. It’s expected, in the challenging times we are living in, that some people will seek escapism and whimsy from fashion, he adds, which is galvanising certain hyper-feminine items like blouses, bows and babydoll dresses.

There are signs already on the red carpet: early looks from Jonathan Anderson’s Dior womenswear at Venice Film Festival align with this mood, from Rebecca Marder’s pussybow, silken shirt dress to Greta Lee’s showstopping navy blue number, with a giant bow at the hem, and Chloë Sevigny’s baby pink Simone Rocha dress, covered in satin ribbon and bows.

Blouses have been trending already this Spring, with arrivals in stores up 28 per cent vs. SS24, according to retail intelligence firm EDITED, which tracks the arrival and sellout of certain styles online and in-store, to determine trends bubbling up for future seasons. Bold and feminine blouses with statement sleeves and collars, including Peter Pan, pussybow ties and ruffles, are set to trend for SS26, says EDITED retail analyst Aoife Byrne.

“I think we’re going to see a soft voluminous blouse come through quite strongly, specifically, because it’s very versatile,” says Cupido. “You can dress it up easily. You can dress it down more casually, easily. I think we’ll see a lot of that coming through.” Soft voluminous dresses, as seen frequently in Copenhagen Fashion Week, will be another key item to watch out for, notably those with big sleeves, per WGSN.

Lace skirts were identified as a key trend both on and off the runway at Copenhagen SS26, and arrivals of lace in early season arrivals have grown by 121 per cent year-on-year, according to EDITED data. According to Heuritech, fine lace is set to grow 29 per cent for SS26, while English embroidery will grow 16 per cent.

Sixties feminine silhouettes like the babydoll dress will also be a key silhouette, trend forecasters agree. They were prominent in Copenhagen at Cecilie Bahnsen’s anniversary show. “The babydoll silhouette has been a growing trend of interest on TikTok following Chloé’s Boho revival and we can expect to see other designers following suit, integrating this trend into collections to capture the Gen Z consumer,” says EDITED’s Byrne. On Pinterest, search is already up for “babydoll dress 60s” (+982 per cent); “1960s babydoll dress” (+119 per cent); and “babydoll crochet top” (+111 per cent).

Bad romance

Cate Blanchett during the Venice Film Festival, in a dress with a skirt made entirely from faux bird wings.

Photo: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images