The masculine look of next winter was also played out on the catwalks of Women’s Fashion Week, thanks to the so-called “co-ed” mixed collections. Explanations and things seen.
Just when we thought we knew everything about the men’s collections for winter 2026, widely deployed in January from Florence to Paris, via Milan, the “co-ed” shows came to reshuffle the cards.
The principle is not new: having men and women parade on the same podium during Women’s Fashion Week has gradually become established since the 2010s, until it became firmly established after the Covid-19 pandemic. From Valentino to Ferragamo, via Celine or Tom Ford, the most established houses are now grabbing it.
It is no longer a question of a few masculine silhouettes slipped between two feminine looks: these are real collections sometimes considered as manifestos. We think of Pierpaolo Piccioli, at Balenciaga, or Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough, at Loewe, who chose this format to assert their first masculine visions.
Multiple reasons
The reasons are multiple. Image coherence, first of all: the man and the woman now tell the same story, that of the brand. Rationalization of costs, too, at a time when luxury growth rates are under new pressure. And above all, the promise of increased visibility. In the more exposed context of women’s Fashion Weeks, these collections benefit from a multiplied echo, amplified by calibrated castings, from the appearance of Romeo Beckham at Burberry to that of the rapper Fakemink, who stops while he parades on the catwalk to consult his phone that he takes out, for the occasion, from his Gucci fanny pack.
The main thing remains: beyond the viral happening, these collections have their own strength and in turn set the tone of the season. Overview of what next winter has in store for us.
A suit or nothing
We haven’t heard the last of it. The suit and, with it, the tailored spirit are the common thread of the men’s wardrobe from one season to the next. Designers have made it one of their favorite areas of expression, but let’s just say that costume does not necessarily mean boredom.
The black blazer, designed in school style and executed imperially by Michael Rider, of Celine, demonstrates this. Tom Ford like Emporio Armani delivers a complete range, playing prince of wales or houndstooth for the city and work, satin for the big evening. No need for a tuxedo: a Fendi suit is enough, as the refinement of the strap that crosses the jacket diagonally constitutes a sophisticated and modern stylistic detail.
And when it loosens up, the costume has fun, imbued with oriental influences at Valentino, belted with an obi at the waist, with jackets with frog flaps or completely reworked backs. At Burberry or Gucci, he surprises with the material: lacquered leather flirting with fetish – proof that the costume can also be subversive. Who would have believed it.
In shapes
The man of winter 2026 appears dressed. He first assumes a homoerotic vein at Gucci, with a sleeveless turtleneck on a sculpted torso, echoing the antique statues of the decor, until appearing downright barefoot at the end of the show, like the day after a party where you can’t put your hand back on his shoes. Haider Ackermann, in great form at Tom Ford, offers a more intriguing variation, à la Patrick Bateman, where the tension lies in the balance between cut and confidence. At Valentino, Alessandro Michele pushes masculine seduction to its limits with a transparent black lace shirt, faithful to his romanticism. The three schools of sexy chic.
Monochrome
Black, monolithic, dominates everywhere, and especially at Fendi, where Maria Grazia Chiuri rightly defends fashion designed to be worn.
This does not mean the end of color. On the contrary, the houses that venture into it do so without detour: burnt orange at Ferragamo, lemon at Loewe, red at Lacoste.
At Balenciaga, Pierpaolo Piccioli further broadens the spectrum, from electric blue to purple, all injected into oversized coats. Color does not make the trend: it appears in small touches on a black background.
Monumental, the coats!
Undeniable, the long coat stands out on the catwalks as the pinnacle of masculine style. Beating boredom, it plays with double-breasted at Emporio Armani, stretches in a straight and geometric line at Jil Sander, extends the tailored spirit at Celine, Ferragamo or Valentino, asserts itself in unexpected materials: in chocolate faux fur at Miu Miu, in oversized shearling (shearling) at Burberry. We choose it structured and strong on the shoulders at Ferragamo. It is, without a doubt, the piece to invest in this season.
All leather
Everyone focuses on leather. Impossible to ignore, because this material forms the link between the different trends of the season.
We prefer it flexible rather than rigid: it accompanies the movement and gains in lightness at Miu Miu, Balenciaga, Lacoste or Celine, which each give a distinct reading.
We also choose it black and worked: varnished at Emporio Armani, patinated at Fendi, embossed in total look at Tom Ford. Finally, the most daring example: the laminated python pants by Gucci.
saw cabbage
The tie confirms its return to the men’s wardrobe, which began last season, after decades of erasure. At Tom Ford, it extends the role play, always fine and tense, but available in a range of prints. Very present at Emporio Armani, it stands out in contrasts, through color or through its extreme finesse, on sober silhouettes.
Elsewhere, it finds an anchoring function: black and thin on a white shirt at Balenciaga, almost like a marker in very constructed silhouettes. It also gains in material, satin or leather at Ferragamo, until it is fully integrated into the garment. The tie is no longer a simple formal accessory, but a real stylistic choice.
Hand in the bag
The question is thorny. Should you carry a bag when you’re a man? Yes, we answer this season, but not just any way. We choose a large format and colorful one, like Loewe or Balenciaga. Tom Ford – where the black crocodile tote is held in the leather-gloved hand – extols casualness. Make no mistake: the bag is not a detail, it is an issue.
Leather goods have long constituted the basis of turnover for women’s houses and a source of growth for men: in a sector rife with doubt, it is better to attempt than to abstain.
