As Paris has been baking under extreme heat all fashion week, guests have been seeking shade, gulping water and talking about the weather. But no one has really been talking about climate change.
That is until Abigail Smiley-Smith’s collection for Maison Kitsuné’s spring 2027 hit the runway, which was less than a seasonal offering and more a glimpse of an inevitable future.
Drawing on conversations with house co-founder Gildas Loaëc, who lives in Tokyo, about how the Japanese capital has already accepted a new climate reality and begun to seek sartorial solutions for the increasingly extreme heat, Smiley-Smith built the collection around protection, breathability and movement.
“We have to adapt,” Smiley-Smith said after the show. “In Tokyo, everyone’s accepting it’s already here. The heat is real. In Europe, we’re not quite there yet.” She pointed to adaptations like jackets that puff up with internal fans.
Presented in the gardens of Hôtel de Rohan, the collection marked Smiley-Smith’s first full runway show for the house and, more importantly, the moment her overall vision for the label came into focus.
What might have read as a conceptual exploration of dressing for a hotter planet instead translated into polished looks without sacrificing the label’s preppy ease.
The technical innovations were thoughtfully integrated — think cooling mesh linings, airy knit constructions and a heat-reactive jacket that shifts colors as temperatures rise — and addressed the realities of a warming world.
That jacket, which read as a nod to the on-trend acid green that has been everywhere this season, was black “until 5 minutes ago,” she said, after it left the air conditioned dressing space and transmorphed quickly in the 100-degree heat.
Her technical pragmatism was balanced by a sense of escapism. Gradient colors, washed ocean blues and sandy neutrals suggested garments left to fade under the sun, while translucent layers, disrupted wave motifs and surf-inspired details evoked the ease of moving between Paris and Bali, home to the brand’s Desa Kitsuné retreat.
The result were pieces that felt could adapt to both the city and the beach, and the translucence of the fabrics made the design of the undergarments equally important.
The collection also showed clarity and direction. Since taking the creative helm a year ago, Smiley-Smith has steadily refined Maison Kitsuné’s identity through stronger materials, sharper product and a more cohesive visual language.
This collection felt like the first time those threads came together as a complete statement, put forward with confidence.
