The spring collections for 2026 at Paris Fashion Week came to a close this month and the most common thread was darker than a winter’s night. On the runway at leading French fashion houses Chanel, Celine, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent, the stand-out spring colour was black.
Yes, there were florals, stripes and metres of fringe, but black was the inky backdrop to looks that should last well beyond next season.
Silhouettes were more diverse than little black dresses – although there were plenty of those – encompassing big black dresses, nipped black jackets and silky black trousers with twisted waistlines at Dior.
Common Hours “Humbug” jacket dress, $5600.Credit: Hugh Stewart
“There’s a personal nonchalance that comes from wearing black,” says designer Charlotte Hicks, who frequently turns to the dark side of her fabric swatch book when creating shadowy suits, coats and dresses for her label, Esse Studios.
You will find rich plums, buttery yellows and deep browns on her racks and in her wardrobe, but black remains Hicks’ fashion “palate cleanser”.
Bianca Spender “Hazel” dress, $925. Zara heels, $80.Credit: Hugh Stewart
“Black is not a look-at-me colour,” Hicks says. “It’s all about the little details. That’s one of the challenges when you’re trying to sell black pieces. You can’t see those details when they appear online. It doesn’t pop like colour.
“You need to see black in person and feel it. That way, when you wear it, you will know that the special details are there.”
