Whether it was Tommy Hilfiger’s East Coast prep or Comme des Garçons’s Anglophile collection, Balenciaga’s 18th-century dream dresses or Prada’s flapper frocks, the spring 2006 collections offered variety with a soupçon of fantasy. And 20 years later they just might offer a road map for the trends of the spring 2026 season to come. While combing through spring collections from two decades ago, I was mentally ticking off trends from the recent shows in Copenhagen. These included sportiness, a touch of militarism, some great pantsuits, romantic flourishes, legginess (often via bike shorts), fun with foulards and tassels, and new takes on the Ivy look.
Kicking things off in New York, a marching band played “Smells Like Teen Spirit” at the Marc Jacobs show, which included school uniforms and prom dresses. Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez added Arts & Crafts-inspired embellishments to their garments, while Narciso Rodriguez went sparer than spare. Over in London, Gareth Pugh and Erdem Moralıoğlu made their runway debuts, with the support of Fashion East and Fashion Fringe, respectively. And C-Neeon, a brand that has been forgotten to time, made a bold impression with handblocked prints in the Bauhaus spirit.
