After briefly pretending she’d abandoned pop for “rock music”, Charli’s latest identity crisis comes with a runway and a descent into hell. “Yeah, we’re walkin’ on a runway that goes straight to hell. Nothing’s gonna save us, not music, fashion, or film.” Hate to disagree with the original brat, but fashion might actually save us. Or at the very least, a few archival references and a cameo-filled industry fever dream are enough to temporarily revive a fashion editor’s serotonin levels. And if nothing’s going to save us, the least fashion can do is provide a look.
An invite posted through her finsta (@b.sides), set the tone for SS26, slightly unwell. First of all, because the internet immediately worried about the emotional stability of the “Angels” if Charli actually decided to release a fashion collection unannounced. Secondly, because we are already well beyond Spring/Summer 2026, with Cruise 2027 collections already looking hard to top. Fortunately, music remains the grounding force.
And hell, apparently, comes with a front row. A guest version of Charli, sandwiched between Carine Roitfeld, ex–Vogue Paris editor-in-chief, now leading CR Fashion Book, and Anthony Vaccarello, creative director of Saint Laurent, watched model-Charlie walk down the runway. Supermodel Debra Shaw, Zadig & Voltaire’s Dan Sablon, La Watchparty’s Lyas, Supreme’s Zac Ching, filmmaker Loïc Prigent, the August Barron duo alongside their go-to PR lead David Siwicki, as well as Lucien Pagès, and Michel Gaubert (the man behind Karl Lagerfeld’s and Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel runway soundtracks), did too.
Model-Charli (who also was the only one there), walked the very 90s-inspired runway (also seen in Demna’s Gucci) in Saint Laurent (that’s what ambassadors do, right?), Balmain, Ann Demeulemeester, Chrome Hearts, and Lou De Bètoly, as examples. She even managed to bump into herself, recalling Shalom Harlow and Brandi Quiñones on Gianni Versace’s Spring/Summer 1995 runway. She later twisted her heel, fell, and laid on the floor for a moment before getting back up, much like Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City. A few scenes later, she’s lighting a cigarette and walking it off. Something Carrie would romanticise, and Kate Moss would probably treat as a standard Tuesday. Nothing is saved, but at least it’s well-dressed.
