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Annie Brown

There is an inherent, and entirely alluring, contradiction about black. Partly because of course it’s not a colour at all. It’s the absence of one.
We say we are ‘in the black’ when times are good, and yet in many cultures we wear it to the funerals. It’s the colour of the goths and the classicists. Of Audrey Hepburn nibbling a croissant in front of Tiffany’s in black Givenchy and Morticia Addams’ signature look in The Addams Family. It’s sombre and modest. It’s also the sexiest colour you can wear. A little black dress – ask Princess Diana and Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel – can be the ultimate form of revenge.

Indeed the revenge dress was on Matthieu Blazy’s mind for his first cruise collection for Chanel, held in Biarritz in April. In a collection that brought to mind glamorous mermaids, the first look was a drop-waist, deep V black shift dress. Backstage, Blazy spoke of Gabrielle Chanel creating what he called the first “revenge” outfit in 1926 with a simple black dress. Chanel believed black to be the superior colour (or absence of one), once stating, “Women think of all colours except the absence of colour. I have said that black has it all. White, too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.”
Blazy was not the only designer to be thinking about the power of black – its balancing act – in recent seasons. Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo, usually opaque to the point of taciturn in her show notes, expanded on black’s power ahead of her fall 2026 show, writing, “In the end, there is black. Ultimately Black. I have come to realise that, after all, black is the colour for me. It’s just the strongest, the best for creation, and the colour that embodies the rebellious spirit. And has the biggest meaning: the Universe and the Black Hole.”

Kawakubo then sent 16 all-black looks – ruched, padded and swathing the body. Then the music cut out, and six bubblegum pink looks completed the show. What did it mean? Well, in Kawakubo’s world, everything can be distilled to the questioning of things, of challenging ideas of the body, of clothes and of beauty. When Kawakubo made her Paris debut in 1981, her acolytes were dubbed “crows” by the fashion press. And Comme-heads are not the only “crows” this season.
This was especially so at Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut show as chief creative officer at Fendi. Almost every look not only played on Chiuri’s take on the Fendi silhouette, but on black. There were lean black suits, inky, chubby mid-length fur jackets and wrought iron-like lace midi-skirts and off-the-shoulder dresses.

Pierpaolo Piccioli was another to explore dimensions of black for his fall 2026 collection for Balenciaga, opening with an all-in-one voluminous leather bomber jacket and pencil skirt, the hard-edged glamour of it leading to more classic black coats with funnel necks and cinched-in jumpsuits. Throughout the collection – one that danced between the couture classicism of Cristóbal Balenciaga and the streetwear legacy of Demna, the house’s previous creative director – the use of black allowed for such stretchiness of ideas.
Nadège Vanhée too opened this season with all black looks at Hermès, in a collection that explored the tension between practicality and sensuality.

The use of black may well be capturing the mood too. Fashion is after all a lens through which to see the world, and right now both restraint and contradiction have appeal.
Sydney-based stylist Ilkin Kurt believes the propensity towards black captures this exactly. “When economic and cultural uncertainty rises, fashion often moves towards restraint. Not necessarily minimalism – but seriousness. Black can function as a refusal of all that. It asks the viewer to pay attention to shape, proportion, movement, fabric and construction rather than colour,” she says.

Certain designers, she adds, use black to underline what they want to say. “What always fascinates me about Miuccia Prada is that she often uses black to make ideas sharper. When people talk about Rei Kawakubo’s use of black, they’re often really talking about how she uses black to erase conventional beauty, which is quite fascinating,” she says. “Black becomes a way of obscuring information. It flattens, hides, distorts. It allows garments to become objects rather than clothes. For me, Yohji Yamamoto and arguably Azzedine Alaïa are perhaps the greatest masters of black clothing.”
Sophie Coote, co-founder and creative director of Sir, says black allows the brand to push ideas in their designs. And how their clients wear them. “Black is a wardrobe staple, so it runs through our classics while we play with silhouettes and fabrication to give it a different feel in each collection. Our core range features a lot of black, which acts as the building blocks for an easy-to-wear wardrobe. This season, we also applied black across our Sona print to bring depth to the graphic,” she says.

Sir’s other co-founder and creative director Nikki Campbell adds that opting for black in your wardrobe necessitates taking careful note of the fabric and cut. “The way it’s worn comes through in the silhouette and fabrication – whether it’s a silk dress that feels soft and fluid, or something more masculine through tailoring that feels sharp and structured,” she says.
Camilla Freeman-Topper, co-founder and creative director of womenswear label Camilla and Marc, says black is a constant in the brand’s collections – albeit in perpetual evolution, just like her woman who wears it.

“Black is the most versatile colour (or the absence of) in a wardrobe. It can be refined and polished, but also minimal and effortless. Our woman wears black in every part of her life, from considered tailoring to the office, to a sexy black dress for an occasion,” says Freeman-Topper. “The key is finding those pieces with beautiful proportions and thoughtful details that make black feel individual rather than expected.”
For Freeman-Topper, working with black remains a constant source of inspiration. “Black is absolute. It can feel powerful and understated all at once. The focus though is in the details, the quality of the fabric, the precision of the cut and the way it moves with the body,” she says.
Or to borrow from Yves Saint Laurent, “I love black because it affirms, designs and styles. A woman in a black dress is a pencil stroke.”


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Fashion

Black reigns supreme, from Chanel and Hermès to Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons

Fendi fall/winter 2026, Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut show as chief creative officer at Fendi. Photo: Handout

Princess Diana arriving at London’s Serpentine Gallery in 1994 in her “revenge dress”, a gown by Christina Stambolian. Photo: Getty Images

Chanel cruise 2026-27 collection. Photo: Handout

Fendi fall/winter 2026. Photo: Handout

Balenciaga fall 2026. Photo: Handout

Black beauty … a gorgeous riff on the little black dress that made Chanel a household name in the 30s appeared in the maison’s collection for fall/winter 1995. Photo: SCMP Archives

Sir Mathias oversized blazer. Photo: Handout

An all-black look from Australian label Camilla and Marc. Photo: Handout

How Taylor Swift and Zendaya are driving the trend for bespoke engagement rings

Graff engagement rings showcase a trend towards vintage glamour. Photo: Handout

Loletta Lai of De Beers Group. Photo: Handout

Graff’s Icon radiant-cut fancy yellow engagement ring. Photo: Handout

Stones with warmer tones are the trend for engagement rings. Photo: Handout

Meet the Zendaya glam squad behind her best red carpet looks for The Odyssey press tour

The team behind Zendaya’s best red carpet looks (from left): Coree Moreno, Ernesto Casillas and Ursula Stephen. Photos: @coree.moreno, @ernestocasillas, @ursulastephen/Instagram

Zendaya at the premiere of The Odyssey in New York on July 14. Photo: AP

Ernesto Casillas switched from studying studio art to doing make-up. Photo: @ernestocasillas/Instagram

Salon owner Ursula Stephen knew she wanted to be a hairstylist from the age of six. Photo: @ursulastephen/Instagram

Coree Moreno is a self-taught celebrity hairstylist. Photo: @coree.moreno/Instagram

Jude Bellingham’s best looks – from his LV suit at Paris Fashion Week to airport style

Jude Bellingham is one of the best-dressed footballers of his generation. Photos: Getty Images; @judebellingham/Instagram

Jude Bellingham leaves the Adidas World Cup shoot in Madrid in his Y-3 NBHD leather racer jacket. Photo: Getty Images

Jude Bellingham is a regular front-rower at Louis Vuitton shows. Photo: @judebellingham/Instagram

Jude Bellingham nailing travel fashion with this Louis Vuitton polo sweater. Photo: @judebellingham/Instagram

Jude Bellingham (right) and his younger brother Jobe, all dressed up for their morning joe. Photo: @judebellingham/Instagram

Jude Bellingham tends to favour neutrals. Photo: @judebellingham/Instagram

Jude Bellingham is frequently seen with Louis Vuitton luggage at the airport. Photo: @judebellingham/Instagram

Jude Bellingham feeling fruity by the sea. Photo: @judebellingham/Instagram

Jude Bellingham looks sunny in a monochrome holiday look. Photo: @judebellingham/Instagram

Paris Haute Couture Week 2026: Balenciaga and Jean Paul Gaultier unveil bold new visions

Dramatic shapes and vivid colours at Balenciaga haute couture fall/winter 2026-27. Photos: Handout


A hooded dress in purple chiffon at Balenciaga. Photo: Handout

A balloon dress in black. Photo: Handout

Colour reigned supreme. Photo: Handout

A silk tank top paired with a ruffled balloon skirt. Photo: Handout

Child’s Play at Robert Wun. Photo: AFP

Inflatable balloons adorned a black look. Photo: AFP

US rapper Cardi B attended in a dress that later appeared on the runway. Photo: AFP

A striking silhouette at Jean Paul Gaultier haute couture fall/winter 2026-27. Photo: Handout

A stiff denim jacket paired with Capri pants. Photo: Handout

Exquisite pleating in this coat from the Jean Paul Gaultier collection. Photo: Handout

A moulded torso worn by a male model. Photo: Handout

Style according to … Marie-Louise Sciò, CEO of Pellicano Hotels

Marie-Louise Sciò at Hotel Il Pellicano. Photo: Stephen Ringer

A scene from Schitt’s Creek. Photo: Handout

Handblown Murano glass stocked at Alex Eagle Studio. Photo: @alexeaglestudio/Instagram

Irene Forte skincare. Photo: Handout

Atelier Bomba in Rome. Photo: Handout

Alpe Pragas jams. Photo: Handout

Bibi Van Der Velden Smoke collection Opal Infinity ring. Photo: Handout

Deetjen’s Big Sur Inn on the Pacific Coast Highway near San Francisco. Photo: Handout

The sunrise in Mongolia’s Orkhon Valley. Photo: Handout

Legendary Hollywood actress Katharine Hepburn (1907-2003), shown in a 1942 photo. Photo: Reuters

La Posta Vecchia Hotel, Italy. Photo: Handout

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From Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy look and Princess Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ to Balenciaga’s fall 2026 show, black is fashion’s enduring contradiction


From Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy look and Princess Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ to Balenciaga’s fall 2026 show, black is fashion’s enduring contradiction.


Black reigns supreme, from Chanel and Hermès to Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}From Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy look and Princess Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ to Balenciaga’s fall 2026 show, black is fashion’s enduring contradiction

From Audrey Hepburn’s Givenchy look and Princess Diana’s ‘revenge dress’ to Balenciaga’s fall 2026 show, black is fashion’s enduring contradiction