By Jesse Scott
Entitled “Chiarascuro,” Zuhair Murad Spring/Summer 2026 transported guests into a dream-like reality anchored in emotion and seemingly suspended between space and time. For Murad, this season marked a rebirth, and a portal into an “optimistic, radiant world.” Models emerged onto the Palais de Tokyo runway from behind a massive chandelier, candlelight playfully if ephemerally flitting between the stones on their elaborately jewel-frosted dresses. Mermaid trains flowed behind silhouettes in seductive shades of rose, cerulean, and sea-foam green, joyous messengers of Neptune leading the way out of the abyss. Meanwhile, the combination of richly embroidered conical corsets with the voluminous layers of fabric that enveloped the models’ hips recalled the powerful if mythical women brought to life by the paintbrushes of Titian and Paolo Veronese some five centuries ago. Of course, Murad’s women belong to a modern Renaissance: a new humanist era revitalizing and nourishing timeless values that society has often strayed from.
Shades of Chiarascuro
The Murad show drew among the most exclusive audiences of this Haute Couture Week. Among the standout looks front row belonged to influencer and designer Mara Lafontan, the image of a Titian-esque nymph in a delicate white dress and fur stole, model Annie Schröter, who wore a dramatically cut and discerningly bejeweled green blazer, and actress Ariadna Gutiérrez in a sparkling ensemble that would converse with those on the runway.
Look 1, a sparkling gold strapless sheath, set the tone for the Renaissance undercurrents that would dominate the show. One could imagine this dress, or the structured jacket in Look 3, at a dinner in Firenze’s iconic Palazzo Medici as philosophical debates extended long into the velvet night. Later on, corsets with sumptuous embroideries appeared above monochromatic yet meticulously crafted gowns to balance different expressions of luxury. Each piece was handcrafted, with sparkling cabochons, delicate metallic strands, and precious chains drawing inspiration from both the “sacred and profane” elements in Renaissance frescoes and cathedral ceilings.
Zuhair Murad Spring/Summer 2026: The opening look and Look 3 (Images courtesy of Zuhair Murad)
It is in Looks 12, 30, and 38 that the Titian influence shone through most. One can easily recall such paintings as Sacred and Profane Love in Rome’s Galerie Borghese, or Pentitent Magdalene and Woman with a Plumed Hat in St. Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum. The voluptuous form of Titian’s women was referenced by the expansive silhouettes of Murad’s dresses - and all was swathed in a particular sumptuous grace. Drama heightened as the collection unfolded with complex double-hourglass pieces like Looks 41 and 42 dancing alongside billowing semi-sheer florals such as Look 45. My personal favorite piece, Look 39, was an entirely bejeweled Persian blue sheath with a mermaid train; at once glamorous and melancholic, and above all a symbol of feminine strength, it immediately transported me back to Murad’s tour de force “Lumineuses Cicatrices” collection from Fall/Winter 24/25.
One of the final shows of my Haute Couture calendar, Zuhair Murad Spring/Summer 2026 offered a perfect send-off into a long Parisian evening. At a time when the world is as uncertain as ever, Murad engaged with darkness then emerged with optimism in soothing shades of chiaroscuro. “Art asserts itself as a necessity,” he told us. “Beauty remains capable of mending what is broken.”
Zuhair Murad Spring/Summer 2026: Looks 12, 30, 38, 39, 41, 42, 45, closing look (Images courtesy of Zuhair Murad)