Fashion’s love affair with looking in the rearview mirror is a tale as old as time. The biggest runway designers frequently return to the stripped-back minimalism of the 90s, the chintzy glitz of the 1920s, the glam rock of the 70s, the doll-like dress sense of the 1960s and the indie sleaze sensibilities of the 2000s. But for 2026, a particular period is coming back with a serious bang, ushering in a new wave of clashing brights, unabashed prints and patterns, decadent silhouettes, and high-camp accessorising. It is, of course, the 1980s, and the most headline-grabbing designers went all-out on this retro mood across the runways for the spring/ summer season.

From the blingy debutantes premiering at Richard Quinn to the Molly Ringwald doppelgängers at Caro Editions, the leather-clad club rats of Dario Vitale’s Versace and the boho jet-set babes of Chemena Kamali’s Chloé, designers hailing from Paris, Milan, London and Copenhagen leaned in to the multifaceted era of the 80s, giving it a fresh and wearable POV for today. Like, totally.