This year more than any, Practical Magic has been on our minds, and now that fall and Halloween are well and truly upon us, we are collectively settling into a witchy state of mind. The dark romance trend, gothicism, medieval imagery, and bohemian styles have been a mainstay on our feeds, on the runways, and in real life for a few seasons now, and the colder months are always an ideal opportunity to lean deeply into dark colors, witchy silhouettes, and a palpable feeling of tragic romanticism.
Both the recent Spring/Summer 2027 runways and the Fall/Winter 2026 collections played into the dark romance trend significantly, with fully fledged witchy silhouettes emerging at powerhouse houses including Ann Demeulemeester, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Simone Rocha, Erdem, Matieres Fecales, and more. British brands gave the trend a particularly bright spotlight, with London remaining the historical and spiritual birthplace of some of our most avant-garde and anti-establishment designers today.
Sean McGirr at Alexander McQueen has been steadily toying with romanticism for a few seasons now, but for Spring/Summer 2027, staging his presentation at Lincoln’s Inn Chapel, the designer turned up the darkness element to a striking degree. The resulting collection was filled with a series of gothic, rave-adjacent, and at times overtly medieval gowns that captured the imaginations of critics and attendees alike. At Simone Rocha and Erdem, the explorations of the aesthetic were slightly more subdued, translating into feathered and lace cocktail dresses that drifted down the runway in sheer, atmospheric blacks.
Over in Paris, Matieres Fecales integrated a notable portion of their show with rich black velvets, presenting structured skirt suits featuring tattered, elongated witchy sleeves alongside black sheer veils draped dramatically over classic tailoring. At Ann Demeulemeester, as is always anticipated and wonderfully delivered, it was an explosion of nomadic, romantic silhouettes defined by all-black lace, high collars, and ribbons streaming off the garments. Meanwhile, for Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2026 show, the design team sent a series of striking black lace pannier gowns down the runway, further cementing the industry-wide embrace of the trend.
As the autumn season deepens and the cultural appetite for the mystical and melancholic reaches its annual peak, the fashion world continues to find endless inspiration in the shadows. Fall remains the quintessential time to get a little gothic with things, proving that the allure of dark romance is far from a fleeting moment on the calendar.
