It is frigid in Kyiv, where many people lack water, electricity and heat. Still, Anna October and her team soldier on, hope being a prerequisite for creation.
In times of crisis it is common to look back at the times before through the rose tint of memory. On a Zoom call from Paris, October said she had been thinking a lot about her late mother, whose admonition—‘Anna, you’re a lady, behave in an elegant and ladylike way’—was instrumental in shaping her own personality. Yet, as October wrote in her notes, the collection was not based on nostalgia; rather she took an almost kaleidoscopic view of her childhood and pulled out fragments that were meaningful and delightful. One of the floral prints, for example, referenced the pattern on a china cup Mrs. October used to sip tea from. The matriarch, who October said was a wonderful hostess, also inspired a piece of jewelry in the form of a golden muselet that holds the promise of pop, fizzle, and celebration.
One of the newer silhouettes in the line-up of party-ready designs was a strapless dress made of a celadon satin with corset-like construction that extended in points over the hips (shapewear as muselet?), before pouring out into flowing tiers. The same material was used for a slink of a bias-cut dress with a shirred fabric belt at the waist and its long sleeves finished with streamers.
October loves a dramatic caped look (a pre-fall 2026 trend) and there were a number of them here, all airy. “The woman who is wearing a cape is definitely owning the room,” October said. “Capes are here to give more of the movement—and also make you want to dance!”