The Dual Souls of Etro
Review of Etro Fall 2026 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
Marco De Vincenzo renews the idea of what the Etro woman can be with every season. Now fully settled and versed in the archive and brand codes after three years, the designer has become adept at evolving what the brand can be, whether for summer or fall. With the former season benefitting from the dialling up of surface decoration and the merging of prints, the latter allows the designer to propose a focus on new silhouettes and a subtle shift towards a more modernised image of what was previously considered an unbound vision of bold romance.
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Closing the loop, Elegant Opulence, Embracing Duality
Titled ‘Etro Loop Forward’ Marco de Vincenzo acknowledged the way in which fashion tends to move in a circular motion that may seem as if it is constantly going back on itself, but is actually used as a mechanism to propel forward. Knowing where one has come from in order to navigate where to go next if you will.
Under his creative direction that is exactly what the brand has achieved in under four years. A moving forward of ideas of who the Etro woman is and a modernising of archival codes that have made the brand more appealing to the next generation. While still maintaining its reverence for its longtime supporters.
Speaking backstage the word that was swirling around de Vincenzo’s mind was ‘circular’, as he contemplated how many codes he can fit into a season. Whether they are from the archive or a vintage find he manages to continuously find the new in his influences. As with Simone Bellotti at Jil Sander and Maria Grazia Chiuri who debuted at Fendi earlier that day there was an understanding among the three creatives of not abandoning house codes. A process that matters more now that creativity is being cannibalised by technology and moves on at the speed of a 24-hour cycle.
In this way the designer finds himself lucky that he has such a deep well to pull from, telling The Impression backstage “There’s a system of elements, of decoration, and of key codes that I can’t abandon, but I am lucky because they are strong enough to look different season by season, even if there’s always a touch of British masculine in the suits, fluidity in the dresses, and in the printed chiffon.”
For fall there was a bringing together of the two (according to the designer) souls of the Etro woman, one who is preoccupied with formality and the other opulence. On the runway this was seen in the masculine wool coats with a military handwriting – think double-breasted officers coats with domed buttons in khaki and navy – that tapped into the origins of the brand which were revealed backstage as part of their long heritage “When I met the family for the first time, three and a half years ago, the first thing that they told me was that Etro was born selling Scottish fabrics, and they started within the masculine textile world!” While 3D textured knitted sweaters with crest emblems – created with chunky frogging – provided a new outlet for surface decoration that the designer has been exploring in recent seasons.
The twin soul who embraces the bold was catered to with shaggy furs over cut-about stripe midi dresses, animal applique knitted dresses, and a highly-stylised take on casual daywear in the form of a jacquard paisley coat paired with brown denim and patterned shirt cinched with a corset. Corsets were also a key accessory used throughout, but instead of feeling as if a historical throwback, these felt fun, worn as they were with button-downs and graphic T-shirts.
THE QUOTE
“[On his inspiration] I would like to use the word circular, because I thought, how many codes can I use every season at Etro? But everything comes back, and it’s always new. So Etro moves in circles, and I’m working on continuity.”
Marco de Vincenzo, Creative Director, Etro
THE WRAP UP
For fall 2026 de Vincenzo floated the idea that the Etro woman could change herself with the seasons, and this season she was, as he put it “less bold than usual” Yet, thankfully she never quite relinquishes her love of the bold maximalism that the brand has come to represent. Surfaces were the playground for prints and texture, but were always paired with something more subtle, such as a solid sheer layer, casual knit, or tailored trouser. And Scarf prints were creatively embedded into silhouettes that were kept long and lean.
This collection was another example of the way the creative director can bring together bold prints, patterns, colours, and textures yet harmonise them while ensuring to always innovate, as he told The Impression “What could be a contrast outside, here is our balance.”
