From bra tops to opulent Regency looks, the Spring 2026 men’s and women’s fashion week shows presented new wardrobe and styling inspiration, as well as assurances that some of the styles we’re currently wearing will endure.
With the new year just around the corner, we wanted to take a look at the sartorial mood. To help us identify and decode the trends that will remain relevant and the styles that promise to take hold, we asked three fashion experts to weigh in: Canadian stylist Ashley Galang and global trend forecasters Nick Paget and Emily Gordon-Smith.
The overarching message is that change is afoot. Fashion’s centre is shifting from quiet luxury and minimalism into something more staunch and eclectic. Paradoxes abound, but the experts agree that a more personal, expressive approach to fashion will feel right in the year ahead.
Conservative codes
Ivy-inspired fashions have been popular for a few seasons, and Gordon-Smith, content director at trend-forecasting firm Stylus, expects the preppy trend to stick around but evolve in 2026, with people personalizing their looks instead of following a strict formula.
She sees prep wear as tied to a more conservative way of dressing, and “indicative of a broader macro sentiment that’s in the ether.” Mentioning British designer Jonathan Anderson’s work for Dior, she predicts that an aristocratic or “old money-inspired” esthetic will prevail.
This new take on conservative dressing moves beyond preppy styling cues to something more complex. Gordon-Smith sees it as “responding to the financial and political climate,” and said that “it feels quite aspirational, in a very traditional way.”
Paget, who is senior menswear editor at trend-forecasting company WGSN, also links the return to the office as fuelling a conservative-dress comeback. “Some people won’t want to stand out in that environment,” he said. “They’re going to be looking for a degree of anonymity.” Paget believes that the trend will take hold among those who want to “show up in a professional way and probably not give too much of their personality away in that moment.”
Personal appeal
At the same time as the move toward traditionalism, the experts foresee a pushback against conformity — a response to the pervasiveness of popular trends on social-media platforms. Personal takes on fashion will dominate in 2026.
Gordon-Smith believes that this renewed emphasis on personal style is a response that goes “against the algorithm.” In her words, we’ll be getting our “personal style mojo back.”
In practice, that could mean swapping out monochrome or neutral looks for bolder hues, mixing colours and piling on accessories. On the Spring 2026 Prada and Miu Miu runways, for example, designers leaned into quirky colour combinations, fresh proportions and lighthearted accents.
Galang, a Toronto-based fashion stylist, points to thrifting as a catalyst for the move to more idiosyncratic looks. “There is a return to individualism with the progression out of quiet luxury,” she said. “It’s easier to create looks that reflect personality.”
Paget notes the same instinct in menswear, even in the realm of formal designs. Men don’t want to look “the same as all the other penguin tuxedos at an event,” he said, so they are opting for less traditional colours for suiting, such as blue, green, dark reds and browns.
Modern history
Citing the sculptural hats, frock coats, capes, dropwaist dresses and more at the Dior show, Galang sees “character dressing,” or history-inspired fashion, as a trend that will continue to resonate.
In womenswear, Gordon-Smith notes a rising emphasis on the waist, with designers embracing corsets, crinolines and bustiers. She sees the interest in bygone eras “as a form of escapism,” and believes designers are tapping into a “costume-led playbook.”
In menswear, Paget observes a movement connected to “redefining masculinity.” Using Harry Styles as an example of someone who has embraced this trend, he said that, “Designers are using things like lace, drapier wools” and “fancier knits to create outfits that are much more daring.” Traditional menswear codes are being “worn down or even completely thrown out,” he said, at least for more adventurous men who are not afraid to embrace the fashion spotlight.
Practical makes perfect
At the same time that colourful and historic looks are making waves, our experts predict that utilitarian styles will still be top of mind for many consumers. “We are seeing active and outdoor touches in everything,” said Gordon-Smith, “even in dressed-up, special-occasion apparel.”
Menswear in particular reflects a demand for “utility, functionality, practicality,” said Paget. “We talk a lot about garments that are weatherproofed.”
People want high-tech fabrics, practical design details and clothes that can be worn throughout the year. “You might have bizarre weather that’s not true to the season,” said Paget. He also identified “a prepper mentality” as one driver of the utility esthetic, noting that “people really are hunkering down for things to get worse in society and starting to dress that way.”