The season’s runways saw an astonishing number of hats. But do we crave defence – or display?

Hat by Fendi.

Hat by Durazzi Milano.

Hat by Emporio Armani.

Reinventing the rose through myth and molecule, Dior follow their north star

In her 1913 poem “Sacred Emily”, the American author Gertrude Stein wrote the indelible phrase “Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose”. The meaning of the line came from the philosophical problem of universals: what makes something a “rose” and not just a flower, a bunch of petals, a colour? Christian Dior, a notoriously superstitious man who saw his first fortune teller at 14, was uniquely attuned to the mystery imbued within everyday objects. In the same way Stein’s refrain questions the identity of essence, Dior approached beauty as a pursuit of the soul. A rose, for Dior, was never just a flower: it was history, memory, the blush of the youths who wore his dresses.

In 1946, while walking down Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris, Dior tripped on a metal star on the pavement, a moment he viewed with great significance. Soon, star designs began showing up in his garments, and he was reported to have added a five-point star to his collection of lucky charms, which included a gold coin, a four-leaf clover and a sprig of lily of the valley. Several years later, Dior purchased Château de La Colle Noire, a sprawling property in south-east France, which today is the home of his brand’s perfume line. In the château’s gardens grew jasmine, lavender, and another famous Dior signature, roses, which still bloom in resplendent array. “Roses are part of the property,” says Francis Kurkdjian, the Creation Director at Parfums Christian Dior. “Before Christian bought the property, the owners used to sell roses for perfume.” The rose also lent its name to perhaps the most iconic dress of Dior’s New Look collection, the Corolle, named for the French word for the arrangement of petals in a flower.

The brand’s new fragrance Rose Star combines two of Dior’s most beloved signatures into one perfume – a rose perfume with five distinct facets, mimicking the points of the brand’s iconic star. “When I look at the star, it’s about balance and contrast,” says Kurkdijan. “There is citronella; there is a honey-like note; there is a spicy cinnamon-clove note. Then you have a delicate, fruity note, a warm lychee that you can feel. The last note I call the umami of the rose because when you smell it, there is a dewiness, like the caress of a petal.” The ensuing fragrance, formulated with Centifolia rose oil, is a nuanced reimagining of a classic ingredient. “It’s very pale, very delicate, very bright, and yet there is something very dark in it,” notes Kurkdjian. “There is softness and strength at the same time.” With Rose Star, the flower is once again transformed into a celestial emblem, an homage to the fate and faith that guided his every move. Matteo Pini

Take a big spoonful of sugar to get these many medicines down

Iris’ dress is by Rabanne and her shoes are by Hermès.

Supplements have become the worry beads of the 21st-century escapist. Naomi Campbell is on record as taking almost 30 a day; eerily pre-pubescent Kernel CEO Bryan Johnson takes over 100. The wider industry is anticipated to reach £221 billion by 2030, yet in the wild west of supplement regulation, wellness becomes more about feeling than fact. In our era of biohacked promise, even fashion ingests the myth. This playful, pill-decorated dress by Rabanne – more overtly than ever – makes wellness wearable.

As newly-installed creative director of Sergio Rossi, Paul Andrew looks to bring others in

Shoe by Hodakova.

When Paul Andrew started his career as a shoe designer in the early 2000s, heritage shoemaker Sergio Rossi was something of a north star for the budding designer. “There was no one making shoes with such innovation in design, craftsmanship, and technique at that moment,” he says. “The first thing I would do after touching down in Milano was to run to the Sergio Rossi store to see his magnificent and unique creations.”

Twenty years later, in July of 2024, Andrew returned to Italy, not as a wide-eyed admirer but as Sergio Rossi’s recently appointed creative director. Arriving at the brand’s factory in San Mauro Pascoli, a chance discovery of a smaller warehouse filled with deadstock leathers sparked inspiration. “I immediately wanted to utilise these materials for my new collection, but there were mostly only two or three skins of each, so not a sufficient amount for a full production run.” Andrew decided to enlist two ecologically minded designers, Ellen Hodakova and Duran Lantink – winners of the 2024 LVMH Prize and the Karl Lagerfeld Prize respectively – to collaborate on shoes that would be shown at each of their AW25 collections. Lantink’s zebra-print boots were paired with zebra-print bodysuits on male models at his “Duranimal” show, and Ellen Hodakova brought her trademark deconstructive flair to her collaboration, a pair of heels with the insole used as a tongue.

This is not the first time Sergio Rossi has collaborated with other brands: across their nearly 75 years of heritage, they have worked with Alaïa, Versace, and Dolce & Gabbana, among others. Yet by engaging with emerging designers this early into his stewardship of the brand, Andrew is offering a gentle provocation: what can happen when deadstock becomes a medium, not a limitation? Matteo Pini