Outfit Details: Bode Shirt, Alex Mill Sweater, Redone Skirt, Margaux Flats, Vanessa Bruno Bag, Saint Laurent Sunglasses

September was booked and busy, with events and two big photo shoots in Charleston, a weekend at Blackberry Mountain, a home install, and a whirlwind of outfit changes at New York Fashion Week before finishing the month in Paris. My outfits spanned just as many moods, from the last late-summer looks snuck in at home to pieces worn with the designers whose runway shows I attended.

Fall dressing has started to take over, even as I wait for Charleston to cool down. It’s been so much fun to dress with bold intention during some of the busiest weeks on the fashion calendar, all pointing toward October in Daily Looks.

 

Outfit Details: Boden Sweater & Jeans, Chan Luu Scarf (old, similar here), Etro Belt, Loeffler Randall Heels, Vanessa Bruno Bag | Chan Luu Top (old, similar here and here) & Similar Scarf, Reformation Pants, Jimmy Choo Bag, Saint Laurent Sunglasses, Vibi Venezia Flats

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Outfit Details: La DoubleJ Top, Reformation Shorts, Gabriela Hearts Sandals (here in black), Vanessa Bruno Bag, Sherman Field Necklace | Alemais Top, Mother Jeans, Loeffler Randall Heels, Irene Neuwirth Earrings (similar, less expensive here)

 

Outfit Details: Celine Jacket (last seen here, similar here), Le Bop Sweater (more colors here, similar here), Perfect White Tee Pants, Margaux Flats, Valentino Bag (sold out, similar here) | Hill House Vest & Pants, Chanel Bag (similar here), Roger Vivier Heels

 

Outfit Details: Libertine Coat, Eterne Tank, Agolde Jeans, Prada Pumps (similar here and here), Saint Laurent Sunglasses, Chanel Bag | One/Of Dress (more colors here), Dior Heels, Chanel Bag (similar here)

 

Outfit Details: Bode Shirt, Alex Mill Sweater, Redone Skirt, Margaux Flats, Vanessa Bruno Bag, Saint Laurent Sunglasses | TWP Top, Pants & Belt, Paige Clogs, Vanessa Bruno Bag, Saint Laurent Sunglasses

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Outfit Details: Kallmeyer Top, Adam Lippes Skirt, Dior Heels, Chanel Bag, Sherman Field Earrings (similar here), Dior Sunglasses | Tory Burch Bodysuit, Skirt, Belt, Heels & Bag, Sherman Field Necklace

 

Outfit Details: Liberowe Dress (worn as jacket), Saint Laurent Tank (old, similar here, less expensive here), Alemais Pants, Dior Heels, Chanel Bag, Dior Sunglasses | One/Of Jacket, Perfect White Tee Tshirt, Michael Kors Skirt (old, similar here), Roger Vivier Heels (more sizes here), Sherman Field Necklace

 

Outfit Details: Altuzarra Top, Pants, Belt & Bag, Dior Sunglasses | Chanel Sweater, Maria McManus Shirt, Veronica Beard Skirt & Bag, By Far Boots

 

Outfit Details: Conner Ives Top (sold oout, similar here), Anna Sui Skirt, Chanel Bag, L’Agence Belt (last seen here), Jimmy Choo Pumps, Dior Sunglasses | Valentino Jacket (last seen here, similar here), Alessandra Rich Dress, Roger Vivier Heels, Sherman Field Necklace

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Outfit Details: Guest In Residence Cardigan, Perfect White Tee Tshirt, Ossou Jeans, Margaux Flats | Chanel Jacket, La Veste Shirt, Ossou Jeans, Margaux Flats, Vanessa Bruno Bag

 

Outfit Details: Ossou Jacket, Anna Suit Tank, Destree Pants, Celine Flats, Chanel Bag | Harris Tapper Jacket (pants seen here), Suzie Kondi Shirt (last seen here), Ulla Johnson Shorts (last seen here), By Far Boots (last seen here), Chanel Bag

 

Outfit Details: Carolina Herrera Top, Skirt & Bag (similar here), Sauer Necklace (last seen here), Prada Pumps (old, similar here & here), Sherman Fields Earrings | Chanel Sweater (last seen here), The Tiny Big Sister Jeans, Alaia Flats (old, similar here), Chanel Bag

 

Outfit Details: Hunter Bell Dress (skirt version here), Toteme Heels (old, similar here), Chanel Bag | Malene Birger Top, Sea Jeans, Madewell Flats, Alaia Bag (similar here)

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Outfit Details: Alemais Shirt (old, similar here & here), Flore Flore Tank, Kallmeyer Short, Hermes Mules (old, last seen here), Parker Thatch Bag | Attersee Tank (old, similar here and here), Pucci Skirt (old, similar here), Dries Van Noten Heels, Prada Bag (more colors available, last seen here), Sauer Necklace (last seen here)

 

Outfit Details: Alemais Dress, Saint Laurent Heels (old, similar here), Valentino Clutch (old, similar here) | Call It By Your Name Shirt (more colors here), TWP Tank, High Sport Pants (similar here and here), Chanel Flats (similar here, less expensive here)

 

Outfit Details: Valentino Shirt (last seen here), DL1961 Jeans | Couper Dress (more sizes here)

 

Outfit Details: Isabel Marant Sweater, Perfect White Tee, Frame Jeans, Gucci Slides (old, similar here, less expensive here) | Chanel Jacket (last seen here), Agolde Tee, Frame Jeans, Manolo Blahnik Flats, Chanel Bag & Belt, Dior Sunglasses

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As autumn settles in and wardrobes shift toward wool, wax jackets and anything the colour of a good Bordeaux, an unlikely trend is quietly asserting itself in the gaps between sweaters and coat collars: lace. Not the bridal, curtain-like lace of a bygone era, nor the full-throttle lingerie-as-outerwear look that occasionally storms the red carpet, but something far more restrained — a flicker of it, glimpsed at a hemline, peeking from beneath a jumper, or edging the strap of a camisole tucked under a blazer.

It’s a curious idea on paper. Lace has always carried a double identity: the fabric of weddings and the fabric of boudoirs, equally at home on an altar or under a coat you’re not supposed to take off in public. That tension between innocence and intimacy is precisely what makes it such a compelling addition to an autumn look right now. Worn on its own, lace can tip into costume — either too romantic or too racy. But layered, half-hidden, contrasted against something sturdier, it becomes something else entirely: a hint rather than a statement.

This season’s runways have leaned into exactly that kind of restraint. At Miu Miu, gauzy camisoles and scalloped underlayers surfaced beneath tailored coats and prim skirts, turning what could have been overtly sexy into something almost administrative — lace as a secret rather than a declaration. Saint Laurent balanced barely-there lace skirts with dramatically plush faux-fur outerwear, letting texture do the work of taming exposure. Khaite, meanwhile, spliced lace panels into leather jackets and trousers, proving that the fabric reads as fashion rather than underwear the moment it’s paired with something a little tougher.

The common thread across all of these approaches is contrast. Lace next to more lace slides quickly into lingerie territory; lace against leather, wool or fur becomes an outfit with an edge. It’s the difference between an ensemble that looks unfinished and one that looks deliberately, knowingly undone — a few centimetres of delicacy peeking out from beneath armour.

There’s also something to be said for why this particular trick works so well in a professional or social context, not just a romantic one. Lace inevitably conjures skin, softness, vulnerability — qualities that can feel entirely out of place in a boardroom, yet oddly humanising when deployed with subtlety. A lace-trimmed cardigan or a camisole glimpsed beneath a structured jacket doesn’t scream seduction so much as it whispers personality. It suggests there’s a person underneath the professional exterior, which, in an era of increasingly buttoned-up workwear, can feel like a small act of rebellion.

Stylists have long understood this instinctively. Alexa Chung, often cited as a reference point for off-duty polish, has built entire looks around the idea of a cardigan buttoned to the throat with just a whisper of lace sneaking out beneath — proof that the trick isn’t about showing more, but about showing exactly the right amount.

The appeal, too, is seasonal logic. In high summer, when bare skin is already on full display, lace can feel redundant or overly suggestive — there’s nowhere left for the “reveal” to land. But in the shoulder season, when jumpers and jackets are creeping back into rotation, a sliver of lace at the neckline or hem provides exactly the kind of textural surprise that makes an outfit memorable rather than merely warm.

None of this requires an overhaul of the wardrobe. A lace-edged tank worn under a plain sweater. A slip skirt with a scalloped hem beneath a chunky knit. A bra strap that “accidentally” catches the light at a deep V-neck. These are small interventions, not costume changes — proof that a single unexpected texture, deployed sparingly, can do more for an autumn look than another layer of cashmere ever could.

Knitwear will have its turn, as it always does, once the weather turns properly bitter and buttons stay firmly done up. But for the next few weeks — while there’s still a sliver of warmth left in the air and a reason to leave something artfully unbuttoned — lace deserves its moment in the spotlight, however brief and however lightly worn.

The Princess of Wales debuted several new pieces for a visit to West Sussex today.

West Sussex is about 90 minutes south of London, and the Princess was there to learn about and celebrate West Sussex Minibus, a volunteer-led community transport organization. In the photos above and immediately below, you see the Princess with 94-year-old Stella Drewett. We learn details via this Rebecca English story for The Daily Mail.

She waited politely outside before being invited in by Mrs Drewett, who insisted on getting herself outside telling her: ‘I like to do these things myself.’

‘I bet you do!’ the princess said. ‘I’ll follow you.’

The royal then helped her up the steps onto the bus and told her she was coming to the lunch club ‘because I want to see what it’s all about’.

Catherine took a place next to her and joked about always forgetting her handbag. ‘Everyone always runs after me [shouting] ‘you forgot your handbag’.’

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Encouraging her to put her seatbelt on, the princess added: ‘I have to remind my children to put their seatbelts on too.’

The Sussex Express reports the bus service “acts as a vital lifeline for people who cannot easily access public transport due to isolation, mobility challenges or financial barriers.” Here is a quick video from Rebecca English of The Daily Mail as the driver and Princess arrived to pick up Ms. Drewett.

The Princess of Wales has surprised elderly travellers in Sussex as she joined a volunteer-run community transport association.
She is in Pulborough with the West Sussex Minibus, a vital lifeline for people who cannot easily access public transport due to isolation, mobility… pic.twitter.com/yZAEFWgL74

— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) September 30, 2026

The Princess helped the former school cook onto the minibus, joining others headed to Pulborough Town Hall.

We learn more from The Telegraph’s story by Hannah Furness. 

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The Princess put a reassuring hand on Mrs Drewett’s arm as she manoeuvred her walking frame along the garden path and told her: “Well done.” She then stood behind Mrs Drewett as she climbed on board the minibus, putting her hands against her back as a precaution.

When the Princess asked about her trips out for lunch, the 94-year-old quipped that they meant “one day of not cooking”.

We return to The Telegraph piece. 

Mrs Drewett was told of her VIP guest shortly beforehand and said: “I couldn’t quite believe it. I am quite a new member.

“It’s a great service. I used to drive myself until I decided to spare the other road users. Everyone said to me: ‘But what are you going to do now?’

“But they take me to the supermarket once a week and we go down to the village hall for the lunch club. It’s a very valuable service. It’s wonderful.”

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This year the Minibus Service celebrates fifty years of service. The Sussex Express offers background.

Established in response to the decline of rural public transport, the organisation has grown from a single volunteer-led minibus service into a community transport network operating from eight village hubs, supported by 284 volunteers and a fleet of 11 minibuses. Its fleet travels approximately 60,000 miles each year, providing around 13,000 passenger journeys.

Below, the Princess exits the minibus at Pulborough Town Hall.

She joined those who arrived on the bus and others for their weekly lunch.

The weekly lunch is marking its 60th anniversary in the community. 

Below, the Princess and 74-year-old Lynda Jones. We go back to The Daily Mail story and the Princess’s conversation about doing the dishes.

She told her: ‘I love washing up. I really do.’ ‘Oh good, a volunteer,’ joked another guest.

Asked whether her husband helped, Catherine said: ‘He does the drying. We are a good double act. And we get the children involved.’

Examining the food on the table, the princess noted there was a bowl of crisps. ‘I bet you never eat crisps,’ Lynda teased her.

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‘I do. I love salted,’ Catherine said, and took one to prove her point, gently nibbling on it as they chatted.

The Barnet Borough Times gives us details on the lunch in this article. 

The Princess of Wales made new friends when she sat down with an elderly lunch group and asked them to pass the crisps.

Kate met diners during their Wednesday lunch in a village hall, where regular Lynda Jones handed over the snack after telling Kate the event “makes a lot of difference if you’ve lost your partner”.

We return to the Barnet Borough Times piece. 

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Chatting at the table, Kate said: “What a lovely way to make friends” as around 50 people in Pulborough village hall enjoyed red pepper and sweet potato soup with hunks of bread, cheese and crisps on the side.

Mrs Jones said: “She asked for some crisps, and I let her (have some). She said she liked it, they were ready salted, crinkle cut.”

“Kate was a natural.”

It looked like these two had a rollicking good time. 

After lunch, the Princess greeted some of the people gathered outside the village hall. 

A Getty Images video of the Princess greeting well-wishers. 

Catherine, Princess of Wales, visits the volunteer-lead West Sussex Minibus service in Pulborough, England.#GettyVideo 🎥 Justin Goff 👉 https://t.co/sbu9MpcDpJ pic.twitter.com/PqwvuDxsTs

— Getty Images Entertainment (@GettyVIP) September 30, 2026

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Here you see the Princess with one-year-old Albie Botley-Greenslade.

A brief video of the Princess with Albie and his family.

The Princess of Wales meeting families in Pulborough during her visit today. pic.twitter.com/SkyEchBsUZ

— Anna (@tokkianami) September 30, 2026

The Daily Mail offers details.

She also stopped to speak to Thea Botley, 25, with her sons Alfie, one, and Arthur three.

Catherine immediately hunkered down on her heels to say hello and helped Albie jump off the kerb, holding his hands.

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‘What’s your name? Hi. Hi Albie. Look at your cool boots. Jump? Well done. One more? Well done.’

‘Sorry I’ve started something,’ she laughed as Albie continued to jump as she walked off.

Thea said afterwards: ‘I’m so surprised he warmed to her and held hands as he can be shy with strangers. She was amazing.’

She even joined a FaceTime call and waved to Amanda Ridley’s mother, who is under the weather. We go back to Rebecca English’s Daily Mail story one last time. 

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The princess smiled broadly and waved. ‘Hello! What are your names? Oh no, I’m sorry you are not feeling well. Poor you. Have you got someone looking after you?’

She also said hello to her daughter Paloma, five, who was also unwell. ‘Are you missing school today?’ she asked her sympathetically, running her head. ‘I hope you get better soon. Have lots of sleep.’

Ms Ridley told her: ‘Thank you so much.’

She said afterwards: ‘I really admire her and the way she has conducted herself given what she has been through. We are very lucky to have her. ‘

Here is a video via Rebecca English. 

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Word had spread in the tiny village of Pulborough that the princess was there this morning and a small group of locals stood outside the village hall as she left. The Princess of Wales shook every hand, FaceTimed a poorly mother, helped a toddler to jump and cooed over a dog! pic.twitter.com/nQoMKukFTS

— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) September 30, 2026

In this image, you see the Princess petting a cocker spaniel as she chats with a youngster.

Now, here’s what Kate wore.

Some will remember the Jigsaw MaxiCity Wool Coat (currently available in navy and khaki), first noted in September 2025. It is 100% wool with a recycled nylon lining, and design elements include notched wide lapels, flap pockets, and a center back vent.

The Princess debuted a new blouse by Reiss, the British brand’s ‘Kathlyn’ Matte-Silk Tie-Neck Blouse ($400) in grey. As the name suggests, it is 100% silk with a tie-neck, concealed front buttons, and studs at the cuffs instead of buttons. 

The Princess’s trousers are also new to us. Middleton Maven suggests the Bacall Doeskin Wool Trousers in grey melange ($348) by Polo Ralph Lauren. The high-rise style is menswear-inspired, with a wide leg, pleats, side-seam and back pockets, belt loops, cuffs, and a front zipper.

The Princess carried a new Smythson handbag today: the label’s Red Leather Day Cross-Body Bag (£695, currently out of stock) in calfskin leather. It measures roughly 7.5″ x 10″ and comes with both a top handle and a detachable, adjustable shoulder strap.

Today’s ensemble included a new Victoria Beckham belt: the Portofino Mirror Belt in Dark Burgundy ($390). The belt is done in shiny calf leather with a gold-tone buckle. It is also offered at a discount in limited sizes at Cettire ($272) and from $263 to $350 at Farfetch.

A big thank you to Middleton Maven for quickly identifying the blouse, belt, and trousers today!

We saw the return of the Gianvito Rossi 85 Pumps ($850), first noted at the Windsor Castle tea for Three Peaks Challenge participants.

The Princess repeated her Kiki McDonough Classic Gold and Diamond Hoops (£1000, about $1325 at today’s exchange rates) with her Annoushka Baroque Pearl Drops ($625) in 18k gold.

Here is one more photo of the Princess today. 

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Our daily workwear reports suggest one piece of work-appropriate attire in a range of prices.

I received this Anthropologie cardigan in my most recent Nuuly and I think it may have to become part of my permanent wardrobe. The cashmere is SO soft and even though it came from a clothing rental company, it doesn’t look like it’s pilling, which is a good sign.

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I’m a long-waisted gal, and this hits me right at the top of my hip, so I’ve been wearing it with high-waisted pants and skirts. The chocolate brown color is perfect for fall, but I may have to grab one of the striped colorways just for fun. 

The sweater is $158 at Anthropologie and comes in sizes XS-XL, XXSP-XLP, and 1X-3X. There are 22 colorways available, but the petite and plus ranges are more limited.

Psst – we’ve rounded up clothing rental services in the past. What are your favorites right now?

Psstx2 – Based on the comments I remembered that we rounded up ways to tell if a cardigan is frumpy! – Kat

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Sales of note for 9/25:

• Boden – Up to 50% off sale + extra 15% off (I’m trying to figure out which color(s) of this sweater I should order…)
• Ann Taylor – 25% off the weekend collection and extra 50% off sale section
• Anthropologie – Extra 50% off sale!
• Athleta – Lots marked down to 40% off; with an Athleta card you get an extra 20% off.
• AYR – Archive sale, up to 60% off
• CVS – Epic beauty sale
• J.Crew – Fall styles start at $39
• J.Crew Factory – 40% off new arrivals, extra 20% off orders $125+
• Nordstrom – over 9800 new markdowns
• M.M.LaFleur – Labor Day Sale Event, save sitewide! (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
• Nordstrom Rack – Extra 40% off select clearance
• Talbots – 40% off one item, 30% off everything else
• Theory – End of season sale is on!

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Article by: Fashanista

There is a particular kind of British fashion figure who never quite retires, who simply keeps turning up at the right shows in the right decades, quietly reshaping what “cool” means for a new generation while everyone else assumes she’s tending roses in Shropshire. Celia Birtwell, 85, is exactly that figure. And this autumn she is having, improbably, one of the biggest moments of her career.

A new exhibition, Ossie Clark + Celia Birtwell, opens at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum, revisiting the partnership that made her and her late former husband the defining design duo of Britain’s psychedelic late 1960s and early 1970s. At the same time, Birtwell has just co-designed Burberry’s entire London Fashion Week collection with creative director Daniel Lee — a collaboration she mentioned to a journalist almost as an afterthought, tucked between talk of her grandchildren and her ongoing battle with fine hair and unforgiving hot rollers.

That mismatch between how Birtwell describes her own life and what she is actually still doing is, in a way, the whole story. She has never traded on the mythology of her past the way the fashion industry might expect her to. Yet that mythology is extraordinary, and it is worth remembering exactly why.

In the years between Mary Quant’s miniskirt and the arrival of punk, Birtwell and Clark were London’s most fashionable couple, full stop. She drew the botanical, dreamlike prints — chiffon patterned with loose, romantic doodles that somehow captured the entire loosening of manners and morals happening around them. He cut those fabrics into bias-cut dresses that blended old Hollywood glamour with rock’n’roll recklessness. Together they ran Quorum, the Chelsea boutique where Talitha Getty, Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg came to shop and to be seen. Two Beatles, Cecil Beaton and Brigitte Bardot once sat in the audience at one of Clark’s shows. He later designed stage costumes for Mick Jagger and toured with the Rolling Stones. David Hockney’s 1970-71 portrait of the couple, Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy — painted while Birtwell was pregnant with their second child — didn’t just capture a marriage; it canonised an era.

The romance behind the clothes was, by Birtwell’s own account, a mixed blessing. She met Clark as an art student in Manchester, introduced by a friend eager to show her “a really mad boy.” He was, in her recollection, dazzling in those early years — turning up from Portobello Road with vases and fabric scraps he thought she’d love, bringing home a new record every week. “The first two or three years were very nice,” she says now, with the understatement of someone who has had five decades to make peace with what came after. Clark left her at home, pregnant, the day after their wedding to honeymoon alone in Barbados. He was openly bisexual, prodigiously gifted, and, in Birtwell’s words, ultimately more interested in partying than in almost anything else. Fame only accelerated that. The marriage ended in 1974, and Clark’s later years brought addiction, bankruptcy and, eventually, his murder at 54 by a former boyfriend.

It would be easy for an exhibition built around that history to lean into tragedy, or into nostalgia for its own sake. But what makes this particular fashion moment interesting is how directly the past is being folded into the present rather than simply displayed behind glass. Birtwell isn’t just the subject of a retrospective; she’s an active collaborator on a major luxury house’s current collection. That is a genuinely unusual position for a designer whose signature prints are more than half a century old, and it says something about where fashion is looking right now.

The industry has spent the past several seasons in a prolonged flirtation with 1970s bohemia — sheer fabrics, romantic floral prints, loose bias cuts, a general softness in silhouette that owes an obvious debt to exactly the aesthetic Birtwell and Clark pioneered. Daniel Lee’s decision to bring her in directly, rather than simply gesturing at the era through a moodboard, is a tacit acknowledgment that the real thing still has more to say than any pastiche of it. There’s a lesson there for an industry often accused of recycling its own history without crediting the originators: sometimes the originator is still very much alive, still has ideas, and would rather be asked than referenced.

For Birtwell, the renewed attention seems to sit lightly. She talks about Pattie Boyd’s figure and Ossie’s talent with the same warmth she brings to complaints about Carmen rollers scorching her hair. That ease is its own kind of style — a refusal to perform either grief or triumph on demand, even while both are clearly present. She has, by all accounts, spoken with real sorrow elsewhere about losing David Hockney, her friend and one-time chronicler, whose portrait of her and Clark remains perhaps the single image most responsible for keeping their story alive in the public imagination.

What the Fashion and Textile Museum show and the Burberry collaboration together suggest is that Birtwell’s real legacy was never just the prints, or even the marriage that generated so much period gossip. It’s a way of working — instinctive, unhurried, personal — that the current fashion cycle, for all its algorithms and trend forecasting, still can’t quite manufacture on its own. Sixty years on, that apparently remains in short supply, and increasingly valuable.

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At Torishéju, the room felt like an opera awaiting its first note. Chandeliers flickered above red velvet and gold-trimmed chairs, while a circle of sand cut through the grandeur. Classical music played beneath whispered conversations in French and English.

Torishéju Dumi met that ghostly setting with clothes that were anything but shy. Miniskirts showed their pockets; dresses bared the back. Leopard print paired with pinstripes, jackets bristled with nail-like embellishments, and a strapless dress revealed the unmistakable shape of unbuttoned trousers from behind. A red-and-white striped dress finished with an oversized bow brought a flash of playfulness.

Lace, tulle, checks and sharp tailoring moved between hourglass minis and sweeping lengths. Double-brimmed hats, scarf-draped headwear and sheer knee socks added to the collection’s delicious unease. The towering heels proved precarious when one model fell, but the clothes left a clear impression: seductive, strange and entirely Torishéju.

Following the show, Fashion Bomb Daily caught up with Edward Buchanan, who in 1995 became Bottega Veneta’s first design director at just 26 years old, straight out of Parsons School of Design. Buchanan built the foundation for the house’s ready-to-wear line and led its first-ever runway show, work that went largely uncredited for decades until Bottega Veneta honored him in its 50th anniversary campaign. Today he runs the knitwear label Sansovino 6, serves as Fashion Director at Perfect Magazine Milan, and is preparing to launch The Situation, a creative space in Milan supporting emerging design talent.

Buchanan shared his thoughts on Torishéju Dumi’s collection and gave us a first look at what’s coming next with The Situation.

https://youtube.com/shorts/nf5-d4yVWl8?is=4uptdq00xyqj1pRpWhat do you think?Photo credit: It’s Bruno Again

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There is a particular kind of power that comes from making an entire runway wait. Designers plan for months, editors clear their calendars, and photographers line up before dawn to capture a show that might last twelve minutes. And then, occasionally, all of it pauses for one person to walk in. On the opening night of Paris Fashion Week, that person was Rihanna.

The singer-turned-mogul arrived at the Matières Fécales spring 2027 show a full hour after it was scheduled to begin, delaying the presentation for the assembled crowd of editors, buyers, and fellow celebrities. Rather than being treated as a breach of etiquette, the delay played out as the evening’s real event. By the time Rihanna took her front-row seat, the show itself had almost become a formality — the true spectacle had already happened in the doorway.

It is a dynamic fashion insiders know well: the bigger the star, the longer the room will wait, and the less anyone seems to mind. Rihanna, who has spent the better part of two decades cultivating a reputation as one of the industry’s most reliably late and most reliably worth-the-wait guests, leaned into the moment fully, treating her tardiness less as an inconvenience than as an entrance cue.

And what an entrance it was. Rihanna arrived in a shimmering gold tinsel two-piece that seemed engineered for maximum movement — long dramatic sleeves, a peplum waist, and a plunging neckline that revealed a sheer black bra beneath. The ankle-length matching skirt caught the light with every step, transforming her into what onlookers described as the most glamorous pom-pom to ever grace a front row. It was maximalist, unapologetic, and precisely the kind of look built to dominate a sea of photographers’ flashes.

Where the outfit shouted, the accessories whispered a sly joke. Her black Christian Louboutin pumps looked, from the front, like a perfectly classic pointed-toe heel — demure, even. It was only from behind that the shoe revealed a softly curved, sculptural heel, a small design twist that rewarded a second look. She paired the shoes with a patent-leather handbag and a single gold necklace, keeping the rest of the styling restrained so the tinsel ensemble could do the talking. Her makeup carried the same red thread through to her fingertips, with a bold red lower lash line matched to her manicure.

The look, and the lateness, together underscore something fashion month regulars have long understood: at Paris Fashion Week, the clothes on the runway are only half the show. The other half plays out on the sidewalk outside the venue and in the front row, where celebrities like Rihanna wield real cultural gravity — enough to reset a schedule and still walk away as the story of the night.

As Paris Fashion Week continues, designers and brands will keep courting exactly this kind of moment, knowing that a single arrival can generate more coverage than the runway itself. For now, though, the takeaway is simple: nobody does a grand, gilded, gloriously late entrance quite like Rihanna.

Paris Fashion Week has never been short on spectacle, but sometimes the quietest look in the room says the most. At the Dior Spring/Summer 2027 ready-to-wear show, Jennifer Lawrence arrived front row in a draping baby-blue slip dress that traded the season’s usual maximalism for something softer, and in doing so reminded the industry why understated style still holds real power on the world’s biggest fashion stage.

The Oscar winner, a longtime ambassador for the French house since 2012, slipped into a lingerie-inspired sheath in a cloudy, pastel blue, trimmed with delicate white lace along the hems. Held up by whisper-thin spaghetti straps, the backless dress fell loosely across her frame, gathering in soft folds pinned at the hip for shape. She paired it with a matching mini Lady Dior bag, icy-blue mules, and oversized black sunglasses, a combination that felt less like a red-carpet statement and more like an off-duty daydream translated into couture.

What makes the appearance notable isn’t just the dress itself, but the contrast it offers to Lawrence’s recent style choices. Over the past few months, she has been experimenting with bolder color, stepping out in a highlighter-yellow book tote, bright orange trousers, and a scarlet Adidas track jacket. Against that backdrop, the pastel restraint of her Dior look reads as a deliberate pivot, proof that a wardrobe built around a signature house doesn’t have to repeat the same trick twice. It can flex between electric and ethereal and still feel unmistakably like the same person.

That flexibility is part of what has made Lawrence such an enduring fixture of the Dior universe. She isn’t a constant presence at fashion week; her front-row sightings are relatively rare, which only heightens the anticipation each time she does show up. She was there for the January Haute Couture presentation, and again for the Spring/Summer 2026 ready-to-wear show last October. Each appearance has functioned less like routine press duty and more like a reaffirmation of a relationship that has now spanned well over a decade, one of the longest-running actress-to-house partnerships in contemporary fashion.

The slip dress itself also fits into a broader style conversation playing out this season. Lingerie-inspired silhouettes, once relegated to red-carpet risk-taking, have increasingly become daytime and front-row staples, prized for how effortlessly they photograph and how easily they can be dressed up or down. Lawrence’s version leaned into softness rather than sensuality, using pale color, lace trim, and a relaxed drape to keep the look feeling more romantic than provocative, a distinction that matters in an era when audiences are quick to parse the difference between a fashion moment and a mere shock tactic.

Under creative director Jonathan Anderson, Dior’s ready-to-wear shows have leaned into precisely this kind of tension between structure and ease, tailoring and undress. Having one of the house’s most recognizable muses model that tension from the front row, rather than the runway, is its own quiet endorsement of the direction Anderson is taking the brand. It suggests that even the label’s most established ambassadors are eager to be photographed in pieces that feel current rather than merely iconic.

Front-row style at fashion week often gets dismissed as background noise to the real spectacle happening on the catwalk, but moments like this one complicate that framing. Lawrence wasn’t walking for Dior; she was simply sitting and watching, dressed by the house she represents. Yet the resulting photographs are likely to circulate as widely as anything from the show itself, a reminder that in the attention economy of modern fashion week, who shows up and what they’re wearing can carry as much weight as what walks the runway.

As Paris Fashion Week continues, with more celebrities, editors, and buyers filing into the front rows of the city’s grand old houses, Lawrence’s baby-blue appearance offers an early contender for the season’s most talked-about non-runway look, proof that sometimes the softest color and the simplest silhouette can still stop a room.

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Last year, when we rounded up extremely comfortable business casual shoes that readers liked, a number of readers said they loved Boden’s flats… and true to form, the store has a TON of cute ones at the moment.

My favorite, I think, are these pointy-toed flats… the seam down the middle of the vamp gave me pause, but ultimately I think I like it as an interesting feature. I also like the way the leather texture changes at a similar seam at the back of the heel.

(I also like these ruched Mary Jane ballet flats and these “flexi” loafers.)

The Nigella flats are available in sizes 36-42 in four colors; they’re $190 but you can take 10% off today with code.

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Sales of note for 9/25:

• Boden – Up to 50% off sale + extra 15% off (I’m trying to figure out which color(s) of this sweater I should order…)
• Ann Taylor – 25% off the weekend collection and extra 50% off sale section
• Anthropologie – Extra 50% off sale!
• Athleta – Lots marked down to 40% off; with an Athleta card you get an extra 20% off.
• AYR – Archive sale, up to 60% off
• CVS – Epic beauty sale
• J.Crew – Fall styles start at $39
• J.Crew Factory – 40% off new arrivals, extra 20% off orders $125+
• Nordstrom – over 9800 new markdowns
• M.M.LaFleur – Labor Day Sale Event, save sitewide! (Try code CORPORETTE15 for 15% off on other items)
• Nordstrom Rack – Extra 40% off select clearance
• Talbots – 40% off one item, 30% off everything else
• Theory – End of season sale is on!

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