This fashion month presented some of the most anticipated designer debuts of the decade. (If you’re not caught up on the fashion industry’s recent game of musical chairs, here’s a cheat sheet.) Expectations for the spring 2026 shows across New York, London, Milan, and Paris were, understandably, all over the place. But now that every new creative director has made their case (and every incumbent designer has planted their stake even deeper into their respective ground), there are some catwalk commonalities we must analyze.

Even during a mainly womenswear-centric cycle, the menswear trends that emerged from the runways ran the gamut from shoppable (think snakeskin shoes and padded trench coats) to totally ineffable (for example, how does one master the wrinkled look?). Though we here at GQ don’t regularly recommend letting your silk shirts crumple and crease, we do think it’s important to consider the attitudes behind these styling decisions and what they say about the state of fashion, our algorithms, and the rules we feel we must follow. From hulking shoulders at Bottega Veneta and Versace to the louche prep revival at Celine and Tom Ford, we are all still teeter-tottering between sartorial rebellion and status quo.

Scroll on to see our favorite fashion-month throughlines from the spring 2026 runways.

Advanced Layering

Despite the triple-digit heat over the summer, we couldn’t ignore the ubiquity of double collars, skirts over pants and, in some cases, pants over pants. Increasingly, it feels like TikTokers are ahead of the curve. Such is the case with extreme layering, which became popular online for its DIY facility. It’s a look that feels uniquely internet-borne, since it doesn’t require any fanciful design or budget to achieve—just the items that are probably already in your closet. Few better than New York’s Eckhaus Latta found a way to reinterpret this styling hack across several runway looks: combining a long-sleeve, T-shirt, and tank top in one ultra-Canal Street, vintage-Issey-Miyake-feeling fit. (Notably, Issey Miyake sent several improvised, apocalyptic-feeling layers down the catwalk this season as well.)

Detention-Core Prep

As a former Catholic school student, I know a uniform infraction when I see one. In a system guided by what some might consider pointless decrees (of dress, of course), one must satisfy themselves with quiet rebellions. Oftentimes, in the form of a bratty, half-tucked shirt collar à la Michael Rider’s Celine. Or an undone tie and a rolled up cuff like Marco Falcioni for Boss. Or a preppy sweater haphazardly tangled around the neck like those in Haider Ackermann’s Tom Ford. This feels like a rebuttal to the sometimes rigid dress codes of prep style. Mini acts of opposition that might be perceived as thoughtless and sloppy by those who don’t know the rules, but uber-transgressive among those who do.

Big Ol’ Shoulders

We’re in the bulking phase of men’s fashion—and what better way to define your frame than with big ol’ shoulders like the ones we spotted in Louise Trotter’s debut for Bottega Veneta? These are not the slick, spiked, Rick Owens shoulders of the early 2020s, nor are they the classically structured, subtly stacked shoulders of the Italian ilk. These shoulders are floppy, Armani-esque, and excessively broad, like they belong to an ’80s-era white-collar criminal. They hit the same sort of in-your-face chord as the high-crown hat. It’s a gaudy opulence that’s perhaps not en vogue yet, but increasingly creeping into power.

Creased and Crinkled

If the intention was to present smooth, creaseless looks this fashion week, then perhaps there are a few stylists out of a job right now—but given how specific runway styling was this season, we seriously doubt someone forgot their steamer. In fact, we think the chunky folds we spotted on Issey Miyake’s hyper-structural polos and the myriad micro-wrinkles in Calvin Klein’s pulled-out-of-the-dryer-too-early outerwear were on purpose (as were the creases left on Valentino’s silk coats.) If quiet luxury was the subtle art of placing oneself within a certain echelon of economic prosperity, then are intentional wrinkles the not-so-subtle practice of appearing…normal? It’s not lost on us that these frumpled fits were paired with quotidian props like car keys and groceries. Increasingly, it feels like simple, suburban relatability is a rarity, and perhaps designers are attempting to bring that sensibility back into the fold.

Power-Clashing

Another mark of the eighties: power-clashing. Bright, dissonant, Crayola-box color combinations filled the catwalks this season. If you scrolled through Dario Vitale’s debut collection for Versace with your eyes closed, and landed on a random look, you may find a combination of colors you’d never think to put together, even on the most desperate of laundry days. (When I tried this exercise, Look 60 proved this point rather immediately.) But power-clashing to this cocaine-era degree doesn’t come naturally to most. Simone Bellotti’s debut for Jil Sander presented a more understated take on the power clash by teasing out pops of rose and persimmon underneath suits made in muted grays and rich, deep blues. If you’d like a clash that sits in the middle of the two, may we suggest you peruse Alessandro Michele’s latest for Valentino?

High-Key Belts

As a 305 native, I know from experience that acquiring a designer belt is a hallmark moment in every teenage Miami boy’s life. It’s flashy, like the city itself, and regarded as an investment piece, something to mark the transition from boy to man. Over the years, however, the rise of quiet luxury eradicated the party-boy logo buckle among men striving for a more lowkey look, but the prominence of bold, big-bellied fasteners this season was worthy of note. Demna’s debut for Gucci offered both a new take on the house codes via a chic horsebit belt, but also a revival of the clubby double-G of yesteryear. Similarly, Burberry updated its buckle with a familiar insignia: the equestrian knight, lance held high. Looks like it’s time to dust off that logomaniacal crotch-grazer. (There were jingly-jangly statement belts, too, at Miu Miu, if actual crotch-grazing is more your thing.)

Spiritual Sleaze

Remember when Lena Dunham’s character, Hannah Horvath, worked at GQ for a few episodes during season three of Girls? Among her many incredible pitches in a meeting discussing different modern male archetypes was the Kaballer, a pseudo-yogi who might give you a yeast infection. This term is the best way to describe the stacks and stacks of low-hanging, trinket-bearing necklaces we saw across runways. From the talisman-toting chains on otherwise Olympic-ready Lacoste models and the all-too-familiar feather headbands in Ann Demeulemeester, to the tattered, gem-carrying threads Pierpaolo Piccoli wore while taking his victory lap after his debut collection for Balenciaga, spiritual (indie) sleaze is back.

Snakeskin Steppers

Incidentally, interest in snakeskin footwear piqued in the middle of fashion month, by way of New Balance. In collaboration with Ganni, the American brand dropped a sneaker loafer (already a contentious hybrid) made in a strangely athletic snake-skin material. Around the same time, Burberry sent models down its free-loving, ’60s-inspired runway donning reptilian Chelsea boots; they paired wonderfully with the barren, clay-like material laid out on the catwalk. Valentino, too, created not only snakeskin loafers, but ones with branded V buckles, taking us back to 2016, when “high fashion” and “flashy logos” were one in the same. At that time, it was Michele leading the logomania, and it only makes sense that he’s one of the designers bringing it back.