It’s been a minute since we put our GINGER acronym to use, but recent global fashion weeks offered the perfect excuse! While we covered NYFW backstage beauty in person, we’ve been watching for overall fashion developments to inspire planning and development in adjacent beauty, wellness, and lifestyle. Think Spring/Summer 2027 and beyond.
G is for Gold
According to TAGWALK, the keyword “gold” was down 18% for New York Fashion Week (thanks for saving some gilded pieces, Ralph Lauren), but by Paris, King Midas turned many runways gold. For what may be his final bow at Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello drew on Yves Saint Laurent’s longstanding fascination with the color and its association with evening glamour. Sahariennes and trench coats appeared in crinkled metallic fabrics, accompanied by mousseline scarves, while gilt brocades shaped cropped jackets and trousers and metallic lace brought shine to cocktail dresses. The styling remained firmly within Vaccarello’s established Saint Laurent vocabulary, with oversized earrings and towering stilettos. Similarly, at Dior, Jonathan Anderson created a trio of metallic jean-style pants, one in a noteworthy gold finish.
Ginger Spark: Gold has long been associated with well-being, particularly in Ayurvedic traditions. Additionally, gold brings radiance and warmth to a wide range of skin tones, particularly in the warmer spring and summer months. So channel Rihanna, or Charlize Theron, with golden touches for metallic beauty, body care, and packaging. Gingers have always loved gold!
I is for LIngerie
Next spring, apparently fashion folks want you to stop hiding your bra, with visible bras one of the biggest runway trends the past few weeks. Seems we’re back in the early ’90s again… Gaultier made the cone bra, Dolce & Gabbana showed corset bustiers, and Versace’s 1992 collection had a whole bondage theme! Instead of discreetly peeking out from beneath sheer layers, designers featured bras worn openly as standalone tops or primary statements. Prada featured prominent looks in which models wore lace bralettes and bandeaus paired with statement skirts, alongside novelty accessories like bra-shaped handbags. Fendi marked Maria Grazia Chiuri’s return with a 1970s-inspired tribute to Raffaella Carrà, putting the body and lingerie at the center: camisoles, bras, slips. Sandy Liang & Altuzarra (New York) presented delicate bralettes and satin lingerie paired with skirts or peeking through unbuttoned shirts and tailoring. McQueen & Erdem (London) styled draped satin dresses and tailored blazers over full lace balconette and rhinestone-encrusted bras.
Ginger Spark: Cue the opportunity to emphasize bust and décolleté care in 2027 to focus on specialized peptide- and retinol-infused targeted treatments, barrier-repairing body serums, and preventative sleep support. Nobody wants avoidable early-onset chest creases! The emphasis on lingerie also provides an opportunity to offer more skincare-oriented body makeup (and application brushes) rather than self-tanners. Miss Kimberly Noel Kardashian, if you’re reading, this is your cue to bring back the body foundation in 2027!
N is for Newspaper
While there’s been a lot of buzz around John Galliano lately, the iconic newspaper print from his Dior Fall/Winter 2000 collection has been making even more waves, most recently revived for Chanel Cruise 2026/27, and inspiring global designers. On the global runways for Spring/Summer 2027, Dries Van Noten offered bold, glamorous poster prints (the brooches were drool-worthy, too). Bottega Veneta featured a newspaper-themed accessory: a leather Intrecciato-woven newspaper notebook and a newspaper holder/print piece.
Ginger Spark: While we just wrote Ginger Sparks No. 39 Everyone Wants a Masthead, the Bottega Veneta newspaper and tactile everyday objects transformed into luxury items became one of the standout talking points of the season’s collection. Check out Ginger Sparks No. 39 for more, but we feel brands will want to use analog reading and print to connect with fans; it has potential across Substack, coffee-table books, and beautiful packaging, from marketing to advertising.
G is for Gravity
Gravity-defying, suspended draping emerged from adventurous designers such as Antwerp-based designer Julie Kegels, this year’s LVMH Prize winner, and Haider Ackermann for Tom Ford. Julie kept the look innocent and feminine, with emerging silhouettes featuring falling shapes, weighted draping, and playful construction that visually pull and shift downward. The Tom Ford Spring/Summer 2027 collection featured dangerously draped jersey and silk gowns and gravity-defying tailoring that created a sense of precarious, fluid movement with plenty of skin on show.
Ginger Spark: These innovative design concepts could inspire daring perfume bottles, gravity-defying packaging, and floating bottles (with sculpted negative space). We encourage product developers to move beyond simple novelty and whimsical packaging, into the downright awe-inspiring, taking cues from architecture.
E is for Embellishment
Embellishment and tactile dimension were major highlights on the Spring/Summer 2027 runways, breaking away from flat minimalism in favor of rich craft, 3D textures, and opulent details. At Prada, co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons featured inventive surface work, incorporating removable Velcro panels, prints, and distinct embellishments across a comprehensive study of 63 unique skirts. The Attico Milan presentation leaned heavily into glamour (pour the martinis), showcasing high-energy, crystal-embellished sheer pieces. Thom Browne leaned deep into maximalism, staging theatrical ladybug egg-shaped dresses and colossal butterfly prints inside a transformative garden runway.
Ginger Spark: In an upcoming special “Ginger Metro: Chic Questions” reel, the Gingers will discuss how they unquestionably favor maximalism over minimalism (to quote our favorite maximalist Iris Apfel: “more is more and less is a bore”). While we adored Veronica Leoni’s Calvin Klein this season and the whole CBK momentum, in this environment, to get people to buy something new, we believe a little craft and embellishment go a long way. With Whimsymaxxing in full swing, think accessories, hair jewelry, packaging, and just about anything you can embellish for value.
R is for SheeR
We’re cheating here, but we’d be completely remiss not to mention the trend that grew on just about every runway: some form of sheerness. From Jonathan Anderson at Christian Dior (amplified by the Jardin des Tuileries) to Max Mara and Stella McCartney, brands highlighted and mastered sheerness, with many providing strategic linings and opaque effects.
Ginger Spark: When we see a major shift towards sheer, beauty formulators and product developers should be prepared to follow by sheering out eye, lip, cheek, and nail formulas and calling it out. Similarly, beautiful packaging materials can innovate with sheerness. Vellum, frosted and sandglass effects, and calming pales that create emotional and sensorial wellness will begin to define 2027.
Spelling it out made one thing clear to us: after several quiet seasons, fashion is ready to be looked at again. Gold catches the light, bras come out from under the shirt, bottles float, and everything gets a bit sheerer and shinier. We’ll keep the maximalism debate going; in the meantime, if you’re developing for 2027, start with the letter that scares you most.
