For Spring 2026, Designers Embraced the “Statement Skirt, Simple Shirt” Phenomenon

Going somewhere fancy? This season, designers are flipping the formula by calling for party skirts to take center stage while the predictable “going out” top is left firmly at home.

Over the past few weeks, Milan and Paris’s spring 2026 runways were rife with a delightfully mismatched formula: festive, cascading skirts paired with deliberately mundane tops. Think a plain office button-down anchored by a New Year’s Eve–ready sparkle skirt, or a fitted black coat thrown over a princess-worthy maxi. It’s very Carrie Bradshaw, with a hint of Sharon Stone’s infamous 1998 Oscars moment taken to its logical extreme. Let’s call it the “statement skirt, plain shirt” phenomenon.

On the final eve of Paris Fashion Week, Chanel’s new designer Matthieu Blazy seemed especially drawn to the idea. He presented a sequence of skirt-forward silhouettes, including a cropped pinstripe Charvet shirt worn with a 3-D floral skirt in bold orange. One skirt, a low-waisted piece inspired by the camellia flower, was shown with a silk blouse featuring a bateau neckline. A similar blouse defined the finale look, which featured a floor-length ball skirt lined with flowers in every color of the rainbow. Model Awar Odhiang couldn’t help but smile with joy as she wore it.

At Balenciaga, Pierpaolo Piccioli presented a light pink t-shirt (a very luxe one, at that) with a feathered fluorescent orange maxi cut just high enough to reveal the model’s platform flip-flops. In Milan, Bottega Veneta designer Louise Trotter made a strong-shouldered terry-cloth tee feel party-ready by pairing it with a textured, tea-length skirt crafted from recycled fibers. Trotter, for what it’s worth, also designed the inverse: plain shift skirts and “look-at-me” tops.

While not entirely novel, the pairing does speak to a modern way of getting dressed. It departs from the rigidity of formalwear—the idea that certain items must be styled in certain ways—and the casual feel that usually comes with loungewear. It’s a thoughtful approach to styling that takes into consideration both form and function. (No, not every look needs to be overdone and weighed down with showpieces—one statement item is more than enough most of the time.)

Loewe’s new designers Jack Mccollough and Lazaro Hernandez reflected that essence. They created a beaded bright blue number with a high-low hemline, worn with a bomber coat featuring pockets so big, no handbag was required for a night out. Even Alaïa’s off-the-shoulder body con tops looked simple in comparison to the lime green skirt with fringe tassels Pieter Mulier sent down the runway.

So consider this your cue to rethink how you wear that polka-dotted or sequined skirt: its most modern partner might just be a humble t-shirt.