Julien Macdonald Fall 2026: The Sun Never Sets
He’s back, and on top of the world.
Julien Macdonald returned to London Fashion Week for the first time in three years and with the first-ever show at The Shard, the Renzo Piano-designed skyscraper near London Bridge Station. Models dressed in sparkles strode past guests against a backdrop of the London skyline, more than 70 floors above ground. It was a good thing none of them looked down.
Macdonald fell in love with The Shard last summer when he watched it from ground level, at sunset, with a rainbow of light bouncing off it, and convinced the owners to let him stage the show there. He replicated those sunset colors with a glittering collection of resort wear, including some va-va-voom swimsuit styles, part of a new strategy to make only hot weather clothes.
Macdonald is also focusing on ready-to-wear, lowering his prices and indulging those customers who want to buy into his brand of glam without having to spend tens of thousands of pounds every season. Going forward, he’ll be selling from his website, through salon shows at luxury resorts, and doing special pieces for stores including Harrods and Selfridges.
He picked a great moment to make a comeback. It’s been raining nearly ever day in London since the start of the year and the skies are relentlessly gray.
Yet in Macdonald’s world, there were bursts of sunshine everywhere, in the slinky rose gold gowns, some with strong shoulders and slits up the front; in the yellow fringed flapper dresses, and in the feathery-edged, floaty capes as turquoise as the Tahitian sea. It was fun, and offered up more light than Londoners have seen in weeks.
