Fashion Futures: Ten Visionary Catwalk Shows

A catwalk show is the ultimate moment for a fashion brand to make its mark. More than just a presentation of the latest collection, a show reflects the spirit of times: an apotheosis of influences, innovations, and intuitions. Through choices in setting, styling, location, and performance, it sends countless signals about who we are and who we aspire to be. Catwalk shows are pure theatre, where small details and grand gestures alike reveal something about our culture, our dreams, and our vision of the future. 

Jan Agelink of buro jantrendman selected ten catwalk shows that left a lasting impression. His personal top 10 highlights how fashion and society continually influence one another – and how the catwalk consistently offers a glimpse into the world of tomorrow. 

1. Chanel – Fall/Winter 2014-2015

Supermarket Chic

Karl Lagerfeld transformed the Grand Palais in Paris into a full-fledged Chanel Shopping Center, complete with aisles stocked with Chanel-branded food, cleaning products, and gadgets. Instead of a traditional runway, models as Cara Delevingne strolled through the supermarket, wearing outfits that combined sporty elements (leggings, sneakers, sweatsuits) with luxurious tweeds, jewellery, and statement bags. 

This show marked a turning point: sportswear was no longer seen as merely functional or countercultural but found its way into high fashion and everyday life, from office to restaurant. With this ‘Supermarket Chic’ show, Lagerfeld perfectly captured a new lifestyle in which ease, luxury, and self-expression seamlessly merge.

2. Zomer – Fall/Winter 2025

Rewind Mode

The young Dutch label Zomer, by Danial Aitouganov and Imruh Asha, took the fashion world by storm with a show presented entirely in reverse. The curtain call came first, the runway finale moved backward, and the garments were designed inside-out, upside-down, and back-to-front. Coats closed at the back, trousers were worn as tops, and shirts draped like sculptures around the body. 

With ‘Rewind Fashion,’ Zomer captured a widespread sentiment: the world is upside down, and we long for a rewind button. One of the most photographed pieces? An IT-bag without a bag – just a loose strap – as an ironic statement in an era where form and function have been radically untethered. The show received international acclaim: a disruptive debut of Dutch talent on the Paris stage.

3. Duran Lantink – Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter 2021

Drone Couture

Dutch designer Duran Lantink presented his first solo collection for “Spring-Summer-Autumn-Winter 2021” at the former Palace Soestdijk, with drones following the models as they walked through empty corridors and grand halls. The entire collection was upcycled, made from deadstock by brands such as Balmain, Balenciaga, and Prada. Taking place mid-pandemic, the show was streamed online, with Lantink offering live commentary from his Amsterdam studio. 

With this presentation, Lantink once again affirmed his status as an original innovator who fuses sustainability, technology, and storytelling. His relentless search for boundary-breaking approaches has earned him global recognition. In 2025, he received the ultimate acknowledgment for his independent and forward-thinking path: his appointment as Creative Director at Jean Paul Gaultier. 

4. Courrèges – Fall/Winter 2025-2026

Confetti State of Mind

During Paris Fashion Week, Courrèges – led by Nicolas Di Felice – showered confetti over the audience at Carreau du Temple. Throughout the show, blue and red paper snippets rained from above, inspired by a work by American artist Dan Colen. What first seemed simple and playful revealed itself as a layered tribute to movement, transformation, and the joy of the present moment. 

With this poetic show, Courrèges delivered a refreshing message of optimism and playfulness, just when the world needed lightness most. The confetti symbolized not just celebration, but the ability to find beauty in the fleeting and the small – a visual gesture perfectly matched with the collection’s dynamic, fluid silhouettes. 

5. Miu Miu – Spring/Summer 2025

Truthless Times

At Art Basel Paris, Miu Miu turned the Palais d’Iéna into a powerful fashion statement and exhibition exploring female identity, storytelling, and our collective search for truth. Under the title Tales & Tellers, the brand brought together archive pieces, new collections, and short films, all set against the backdrop of a fictional newspaper factory. Newspapers floated above the audience, spinning press projections danced on the walls, and each seat featured a Truthless Times newspaper filled with vague headlines and QR codes linking to hidden content. 

The show tapped into a timely sense of confusion and fragmentation, while also leaving space for imagination, storytelling, and the fluidity of identity. By intertwining fashion with fiction and fake news, Miu Miu explored how femininity is constantly reconstructed – as a living, ever-evolving narrative. 

6. Saint Laurent – Spring/Summer 2021

Desert Mirage

For the Spring/Summer 2021 collection, Saint Laurent chose a breathtaking setting: the Agafay Desert just outside Marrakech. In collaboration with world-renowned set designer Es Devlin – known for her iconic stage designs for Beyoncé and Coldplay – a mystical landscape was created featuring a glowing metal ring rising from a reflective pool. Mist, sand, and the setting sun blurred the lines between reality and dream. 

The show not only paid homage to Yves Saint Laurent’s deep connection to Morocco but also brought a sense of hope and mystery in uncertain times. Fashion, nature, and art fused into a single sensory experience, with sustainability at its core: the show was entirely CO₂-neutral, and materials were reused in local projects. Desert Mirage proved that pure beauty and responsibility need not be mutually exclusive. 

7. Alexander McQueen – Spring/Summer 1999

No. 13 – Futurecraft

In a stark warehouse in London, Alexander McQueen presented his iconic Spring/Summer 1999 show, known as No. 13. In the finale, Shalom Harlow stepped onto the stage in a layered white paper dress, only to be spray-painted by two industrial robots with black and neon yellow paint. As Harlow spun on a rotating platform, a live artwork was created – a hypnotic dance between vulnerability and power, human and machine. 

With No. 13, McQueen ushered in a new era where craftsmanship and technology – futurecraft – collided. The show touched on deep themes of control, chaos, creativity, and emotion, and proved that fashion could be an explosive experience. More than two decades later, No. 13 remains one of the most groundbreaking and emotionally resonant moments in fashion history. 

8. Coperni – Spring/Summer 2023

Spray-On Future

During Paris Fashion Week 2022, Coperni created one of the most viral fashion moments of the decade. On a lit platform at the Musée des Arts et Métiers, Bella Hadid stood in her underwear as two scientists sprayed her body with a liquid that hardened within minutes into a white, wearable dress. The fabric was then adjusted slightly before Hadid walked the runway in a freshly created, perfectly tailored piece. 

This performance – developed in collaboration with textile scientist Dr. Manel Torres – explored the intersection of technology, fashion, and sustainability. Spray-On Future envisioned a world where garments are made on demand, locally, and fully custom-made. A spectacular and poetic vision of how innovation can redefine luxury, creation, and identity. 

9. Maison Margiela – Spring/Summer 2024 (Artisanal Couture)

Theater of Life

Beneath the Pont Alexandre III in Paris, under the first full moon of the year, John Galliano presented a couture show that was less watched than lived. The setting – a smoky Parisian nightclub filled with mirrors, wet wood, and moonlight – felt like a scene from a forgotten film. Models moved like living paintings through the decaying decor: their faces frozen like porcelain dolls, their bodies marked by emotion, imperfection, and longing. 

With Theater of Life, Galliano pushed the boundaries of fashion. New techniques such as “emotional cutting” and “retrograding” brought the fragility and force of human expression to life. What made this show unforgettable was not only its virtuosity, but its heartbeat: a hypnotic, raw ode to existence itself – to beauty, transience, and the endless urge to live, feel, and dream. 

10. Atacama Fashion Week – 2024

Catwalk of Waste

In the heart of Chile’s Atacama Desert – home to one of the world’s largest illegal clothing dumps – the very first Atacama Fashion Week took place in April 2024. All outfits, designed by Brazilian stylist and artist Maya Ramos, were made entirely from garments found on-site among the heaps of discarded fashion. The runway show was held directly on the contaminated ground – literally amidst the waste of fast fashion. 

Catwalk of Waste confronted its audience with harsh reality: an estimated 39,000 tons of clothing are dumped in the Atacama Desert each year. The collection, inspired by the four elements – earth, fire, air, and water – symbolized the destruction of our ecosystem through overconsumption. Here, fashion was not an aesthetic celebration, but a cry for help: a confronting mirror forcing us to face the true cost of cheap clothing. 

The organizers hope to make Atacama Fashion Week an annual statement – a living reminder that urgent change is needed.