By June Roberson
Whether defined by angsty teenage films or high-born coming out balls, the term “Coming-of-age” elicits the same reaction in us all. Adolescence, and its bittersweet impermanence, will always summon something dreadfully nostalgic. An ache that lingered, not so discreetly, throughout The Westin Palace Hotel Madrid on Wednesday night. Adulthood, often seen as a black-and-white in contrast to youth, also occupies a grey area. Is it the journey that defines it, or the destination of age? Alejandro Gómez Palomo’s Eighteen unfolds as a 38-look meditation of our universal passage through, and out of, adolescence. In a telling return to its birth country and expansion on its venture into womenswear, the brand has had no shortage of metamorphosis this year. Debuting as Palomo’s 18th collection, the title honors the designer while evoking the threshold year of adulthood. A perplexing “coming-of-age” moment when society suddenly declares us mature enough to belong.
Bloomers Are Back
Departing from innocence into uncharted maturity, Alejandro’s inspiration was infused with Sofia Coppola from beginning to end. Think soft glow filters, white-slip dresses, and the impending deadline placed on juvenescence. Film inspirations from Marie Antoinette and The Virgin Suicides materialized as the opening look cascaded down the runway. A lace-trimmed neckline and similarly adorned sawtooth hem disrupted the serene white dress. A narrow polka-dot band wrapped the foot of the skirt uniting it with the abstract, almost avian, headwear, a classic Mary Jane pump, and pantyhose that appeared on several looks (Look 1). Modest knit-tube dresses molded gently to each body as oversized leather ascots offered subtle flair. Shallow depressions formed figure-enhancing shapes before a peplum base broke free at models’ shins (Looks 13, 19). One monochromatic powder pink ensemble allowed European summer to reappear through frill embellished plackets, petite lacework bloomers, and complementary sheer ankle socks (Look 30). Dainty pastels may have perpetuated the looks, but pops of scarlet and bold striped motifs dressed more than just the damsel.
Palomo 'Eighteen' Spring/Summer 2026: Looks 1, 13, 19, 30 (Images courtesy of Palomo)
Last September, faux feather overcoats and brightly colored wigs that bordered on being ostentatious dominated Palomo’s style, a stark contrast to his most recent unveiling. However, the leap from New York’s more audacious fashion scene to the understated Madrid stage did not feel desperate, but deliberate. Having once revealed feeling intimidated by womenswear, his collections offer no confirmation of such insecurity. For any designer versed primarily in the masculine, his use of femininity this season felt anything but forced, providing testimony to his personal evolution.
Todo Se Transforma: Everything Transforms
Complete aesthetic, and in that case sartorial, transformations can seem like a brand that is searching for its identity rather than establishing it. That said, perhaps we have grown so tethered to the archival codes of heritage houses that any deviation feels like betrayal. At what point does ambiguity establish growth or contradict it and who is fit to make the distinction? Welcoming change as a challenge to evolve, Palomo frames “Eighteen” as exactly that, a diversion from what has always been, a conscious break from the familial nucleus that defines our formative years. Change here is not uncertainty but intention. Delicate and melancholic, with reminders of the unexpected, the spectacle urged us to consider less of the world at large, and more the ways it shapes who we become.
Palomo 'Eighteen' Spring/Summer 2026: Looks 3, 9, 18, 31 (Images courtesy of Palomo)
