So Charli xcx just staged a runway show in Paris. She’s full of surprises this year! Firstly, she pronounced the dancefloor dead and said she’d be making “rock music” from now on. Then, we all realised we’d been trolled when she dropped the lead single, literally called “rock music”, earlier this month. Now, she’s back on our feeds, this time taking a detour into the world of fashion with her new release, “SS26”. The track takes its name from the Spring Summer 2026 fashion shows that she was dashing between last October, while writing her upcoming album. Of course, she recreated a runway for the video – complete with an invite, industry guests and luxury clothes. And so, in the spirit of “SS26” and how we’d cover any other fashion show here at Dazed: here’s everything you missed from Charli xcx’s SS26 presentation.
Two days ago, Charli dropped the invite on her finsta @b.sides (formerly known as @360_brat). Following the same format as most other show invites, it was simple, elegant and spelt out the necessary information, inviting guests to attend the “presentation of Charli xcx SS26, directed by Torso”. Some of us jumped to the obvious conclusion: Charli is staging a show and launching her own fashion brand. Sadly not, we’re yet to see the artist become creative director of her own luxury label – but she did deliver on the show part.
Sitting on the front row were all the usual subjects. Fashion industry heavyweights such as Carine Roitfeld, former editor-in-chief of Vogue Paris and current editor of CR Fashion Book. Next to her was Anthony Vaccarello, creative director of Saint Laurent. The only model walking the show was Charli herself; meanwhile, legendary supermodel Debra Shaw sat in the audience. Fashion influencer Lyas was there, alongside fellow commentator Loïc Prigent. Meanwhile, the most famous man in the show soundtrack business, Michel Gaubert, was also present. Even the design duo behind buzzy label August Barron, Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø, couldn’t resist a Charli xcx runway show. And how could we forget, fashion shows are only made possible by the powerhouse PRs that run them like a well-oiled machine. Charli tapped not one, but two leading men from the world of PR: David Siwicki and Lucien Pagès.
Rather than debuting her own label, Charli gave us a tour of her favourite designers – both established and emerging. As she strutted down the catwalk, she wore a mixture of Ann Demeulemeester, Balmain, Saint Laurent, Lou De Bètoly and Chrome Hearts, to name a few. Surprisingly, the clothes were not all from the SS26 season, but largely from the AW26 shows that took place in March this year. Naturally, there were multiple Saint Laurent moments – after all, Charli is a brand ambassador, and Vaccarello was sitting front row.
The show set up was reminiscent of the 90s, when the runway was often slightly elevated, and the models’ path was lit with stark, white light. The most obvious example of this is Tom Ford’s Gucci shows, which often featured one beam of light and models entering onto a white backdrop – recreated by Demna during his Gucci debut in February. Towards the start of the show, one version of Charli (wearing a white Lou De Bètoly look) bashed into another version of Charli (wearing a black Chrome Hearts two-piece), creating drama on the runway just like Amber Valletta and Shalow Harlow at Todd Oldham in 1995.
Later in the show, one of the many versions of Charli pulled out a cigarette – joining the likes of Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Edie Campbell and Cara Delevingne, who have all lit up on the catwalk. The most obvious reference was when she fell over in towering platform heels, recreating the famous moment when Naomi Campbell tumbled to the ground during Vivienne Westwood’s AW93 show, or, when Carrie comes crashing down mid-walk in Sex and the City. Like Charli, Carrie simply lies on the runway, unable to move, while other models walk around her.
As with any other runway, the show notes landed in our inboxes first thing this morning, listing all the credits. Unfortunately, there was no press release. However, Charli did post a statement on @b.sides. “Went back to Paris last week to shoot the SS26 video with Torso,” she writes. “Landed at Charles de Gaulle and immediately had flashbacks of running around on the tarmac with them shooting the Von Dutch video in December 23. This time I didn’t have to balance on the wing of a plane, but I did have to balance in platform heels, which was honestly fabulous and equally hard. It felt full circle making this song in Paris and coming back to shoot here.”
