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 distinctly witchy state of mind. The dark romance trend, gothicism, medieval imagery, and bohemian styles have been a steady mainstay on social media feeds, on global runways, and in real life for a few seasons now, and the colder months are always a natural opportunity to lean into deep, dark colors, dramatic witchy silhouettes, and a pervasive feeling of tragic romanticism.
Both the recent Spring/Summer 2027 runways and the preceding Fall/Winter 2026 collections played into the dark romance trend significantly, with fully fledged witchy silhouettes emerging across major design houses including Ann Demeulemeester, Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Simone Rocha, Erdem, and Matieres Fecales, among others. British brands gave the trend a particularly bright spotlight, with London serving as the historical and contemporary birthplace for some of the most avant-garde and anti-establishment designers operating in fashion today.
Sean McGirr at Alexander McQueen has been quietly and deliberately toying with romanticism for a few seasons now, but for the Spring/Summer 2027 season, presented at Lincoln’s Inn Chapel, the designer turned up the darkness element substantially. The collection was filled with a striking series of gothic, rave-infused, and at times overtly medieval gowns that challenged traditional notions of seasonal brightness. At Simone Rocha and Erdem, the examples were slightly more subdued yet equally evocative, featuring feathered and lace cocktail dresses that drifted down the runway in shades of sheer, impenetrable blacks.
Over in Paris, Matieres Fecales incorporated a rich portion of their show featuring heavy black velvets, structural skirt suits finished with tattered, elongated witchy sleeves, and black sheer veils dramatically draped over classic tailoring. Meanwhile, at Ann Demeulemeester, as has become a house signature, the presentation was an absolute explosion of nomadic, romantic silhouettes—defined by all-black lace, high victorian collars, and delicate ribbons streaming off the pieces. Looking slightly backward to Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent Fall/Winter 2026 show, the design team sent a mesmerizing series of black lace pannier gowns down the runway, further cementing the industry-wide embrace of the trend.
Fall is traditionally the time to get a little gothic with our wardrobes, and as these collections prove, the pull of the dark and romantic shows no sign of fading as the colder months approach.
