The Sydney Morning Herald
· collected 2026-10-06 · by Courtney Thompson
Fashion designers are finding their footing after recent changes in leadership at major luxury houses, resulting in improved clothing designs. Nicole Kidman showcased this trend during Chanel’s Paris Fashion Week event, wearing a blazer dress complemented by sheer tights and heels. The article highlights the versatility of skirts, inspired by Miuccia Prada's preference for mixing feminine and masculine elements through skirt combinations, suggesting that skirts can adapt to various styles and seasons effectively.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A year on from the mass game of musical chairs in which almost every major luxury fashion house changed creative director, things are feeling good in fashion.
asserted
things → change → fashion
More designers – chief among them Michael Rider at Celine, Julian Klausner at Dries Van Noten and Jonathan Anderson at Dior – are joining Matthieu Blazy at Chanel in finding their stride, and the clothes are better for it.
asserted
clothes → join → it
There have been countless bras (worn under jackets, as tops or styled like tops) and abs-forward looks (if you weren’t doing your daily sit-ups, perhaps now is the time).
asserted
time → wear → ups
Nicole Kidman, a woman who understands the power of embracing your inner freak, modelled the feeling perfectly at the recent Chanel show in Paris – which she attended with daughter Faith Margaret Kidman Urban – in a blazer dress worn with sheer tights and heels.
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she → understand → tights
In Australia we’re in a unique position where the current fashion month collections are well suited to the seasons we’re presently enjoying: spring and, soon, summer.
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we → ’re → seasons
Rather than wait six months to consider the ideas designers are wrestling with on the runways, we can do it in real time.
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we → wait → time
Here are three ways you can apply lessons from the runways to your spring wardrobe.
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you → apply → wardrobe
Pull out your skirts
For years now, Miuccia Prada’s usual uniform has incorporated an A-line skirt with a simple shirt or jumper and a kitten heel.
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uniform → pull → shirt
Backstage after the Prada show she explained she prefers skirts to dresses because they allow for an element of contrast: “The way I think and feel is complicated, contradictory.
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I → explain → contrast
If I wear something feminine I want to wear something masculine, too.
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I → wear → something
So, with co-creative director Raf Simons, they demonstrated the versatility of the skirt by presenting 63 different kinds, all in various styles and styled variously.
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they → demonstrate → styles
They mostly fell to the knee.
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They → fall → knee
Beyond Prada, skirts have been a recurring motif on recent runways.
asserted
skirts → recur → runways
At Dior, Anderson sent down fluid, feminine styles with layers of silk chiffon, while Anthony Vaccarello bid (an alleged) farewell to Saint Laurent with a collection rendered almost completely in gilded gold, including wrap skirts, often sliced open at the front.
asserted
Vaccarello → send → front
Zimmermann had a denim circle skirt with butterfly embellishments, and more relaxed, asymmetrical ones that draped across the legs.
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that → have → legs
Then Blazy continued his charm offensive at Chanel with a collection that riffed off the classic skirt suit and offered plenty of choice with sheer, leather, tweed and relaxed styles all included.
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all → continue → styles
Prada had a point: you really can choose your own adventure with a skirt.
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you → choose → skirt
Go practical and utilitarian to project a sense of seriousness, or choose one that feels fun and fanciful to make an otherwise pretty plain outfit interesting.
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outfit → go → one
Invest in a tailor
While oversized suiting has reigned supreme for a while now, designers are tightening things up this season.
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designers → invest → things
At The Row and Jil Sander, suits were tailored perfectly and, at times, cinched at the waist.
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suits → tailor → waist
Strong suiting was also a big theme at Celine, Dior, Chanel, Tod’s and Dries, which encouraged going all-in on embellishments.
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which → encourage → embellishments
Plus it’s never too late to remember tailoring can entirely change the way an outfit looks and, more importantly, how you feel in it.
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you → ’ → it
Choose your fighter: belt edition
Belts of all types have been the “it accessory” this season.
asserted
Belts → choose → types
At Celine alone Rider gave us exaggerated black buckle belts, a brown leather belt with a double buckle and one as dainty as a filament.
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Rider → give → filament
Blazy, too, had skinny belts, fat belts and faux croc belts holding up hip-grazing skirts, while Klausner offered belts in snake, crocodile and leopard prints, as well as shades of blue, brown and butter yellow.
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Klausner → have → blue
Max Mara opted to keep things streamlined with a solid, practical leather style, and at Balenciaga, Pierpaolo Piccioli asked: why have one belt when you could wear two?
uncertain
you → opt → two
Meanwhile at Miu Miu, Mrs Prada seemed to suggest anything can be a belt if you’re creative: a drawstring, for instance, will do just fine.
asserted
drawstring → seem → instance
The Aporia
