At sunrise at the legendary Glastonbury Festival, a curious heroine steps out of her tent. Her bow-trimmed boot touches the wet grass first. It is none other than Marie Antoinette—though not quite as history remembers her. She brushes mud from her piled petticoats, removes a stray leaf from her powdered wig, and pulls an oversized sweater over her bodice before striding across the misty fields of Somerset toward the Pyramid Stage.
This surreal image perfectly captures the spirit of the Nina Ricci Fall/Winter 2026–2027 collection. The woman imagined by the house moves effortlessly between regality and realism. She is dressed up yet relaxed, aristocratic yet unmistakably everyday. The mood of the season hums with a dual soundtrack: the refined strings of a courtly violin and the rebellious rhythm of an electric guitar.
The starting point of the collection lies in an unexpected archive moment. In 1991, longtime creative director Gerard Pipart sketched an embellished ballgown as a ballet costume for Cinderella at the Kremlin Theatre in Moscow. That delicate drawing became the seed for the season. Alongside it came another reference from a very different world: lo-fi images of Kate Moss and her iconic festival wardrobe at Glastonbury.
The result is a collision of rococo opulence and rock-festival spontaneity. The grandeur of Marie Antoinette appears in millefeuille cheetah-print skirts, shimmering floral jacquard tailoring, and dramatic flounced taffeta crinolines. A deconstructed riding coat arrives in lustrous silk moiré, while a rose-motif jacket trimmed with petrol-blue faux fur echoes an archive silhouette from the 1950s.
Yet the collection never drifts too far from reality. A powder-blue fisherman’s sweater, tied with ribbons inspired by festival wristbands, introduces a relaxed charm. Charcoal sweaters in a cashmere blend are worn as protective hoods, while a timeless khaki peacoat recalls coats quietly hanging on the hooks of country houses.
Silhouettes feel spontaneous, almost instinctive—as if thrown on without a second thought when dusk settles over the fields. Embroidered floral collars cascade freely, delicate scarves sweep the ground, and corset lacing remains languidly undone.
The palette of Autumn/Winter 2026 balances tradition with sweetness. Classic tones of black and moss green are woven together with confectionery shades: sugared-almond blue, macaron yellow, and bonbon pink. These hues appear in luxurious velvet, duchess satin, and French lace. Metallic tiger prints and decadent florals recall the flamboyant stage wardrobes of rock legends such as Mick Jagger and David Bowie, long-time sources of inspiration. Spotted transparencies and rippling chiffon continue the recognizable design signatures of the French house.
Accessories underline the tension between aristocracy and practicality. Knee-high boots with bows and buckles take inspiration from the courtly footwear of Louis XIV. Strings of pearls, velvet ribbons, and ornate corsages evoke the ceremonial sashes worn by royal families.
But the collection never forgets the mud of the festival grounds. Downpour-ready Wellington boots appear beside reflective visor sunglasses—an echo of a pair worn by Reed at Coachella. And perhaps the most poetic symbol of the season is a blush-pink satin purse with dramatic fringe that sweeps the floor, whether gliding across the marble of the Palace of Versailles or trailing through the trampled grass of a music festival.
With this collection, Nina Ricci imagines a heroine who moves between palace and festival field with equal ease. She is regal yet grounded, romantic yet rebellious—a modern aristocrat dancing somewhere between Versailles and Glastonbury.
