Anyone keeping half an eye on the fashion world will know: this isn’t just any September. Fashion’s traditional January comes supercharged this season, with debuts stacked up like boarding passes at the departure gate. After a churn of exits and entrances, the merry-go-round of creative directors is slowing just long enough for the industry to catch its breath and take stock.
Demna is set to unveil his Gucci in Milan; Simone Bellotti is sketching out a new Jil Sander after Luke and Lucie Meier’s departure; and Dario Vitale is stepping into Versace - now Prada-owned - after Donatella. Sunderland-born Louise Trotter will break cover with her first Bottega Veneta line-up, while Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler are preparing to show what their Loewe looks like. Fashion’s most charming man, Pierpaolo Piccioli, takes on Balenciaga; Duran Lantink inherits Jean Paul Gaultier; and Matthieu Blazy is tipped to steer Chanel into its next chapter. And that’s not even the full roll call. Little wonder the industry is entering September with bated breath.
But in an age where paparazzi gleefully spoil every film set and streaming plot twist, designers have learned to stay a step ahead of the leak economy. Their solution? A soft launch via the red carpet. And Venice Film Festival , in particular, became the laboratory: looks from newly helmed ateliers dropped softly, styled onto actors and ambassadors, like amuse-bouches ahead of the main course. The effect is twofold: anticipation levels rise steadily, rather than peaking in a single 15-minute runway sprint, and the earned media value multiplies with each red-carpet hit. Risky, yes - trial by Twitter (now X) weeks before the collection is shown - but also a useful gauge. A safety net, perhaps. A pressure valve, certainly, with a time buffer to tweak things last-minute.
Jonathan Anderson for Dior
Take Jonathan Anderson at Dior. His couture preview in Venice was no half-measure. A navy silk gown on Alba Rohrwacher, gathered at the bodice and flared into a bustle, was Anderson in excelsis: smart, off-kilter, exquisitely odd. His Dior Bar jacket cropped up on Greta Lee, Mia Goth floated by in liquid silk, Monica Barbaro in another evening iteration. Known for upending proportions at Loewe, he applied the same deftness here, marrying his cerebral oddness with Dior’s innate polish. The result? A series of images that make Paris feel less like an unveiling and more like the next act in a performance already underway.
Dario Vitale for Versace
At Versace, Vitale made headlines before the clothes themselves: Amanda Seyfried and Julia Roberts in the same look, borrowed between premieres like a well-worn paperback. Add a lozenge-print gown for Roberts’s After the Hunt appearance and suddenly the house looked less OTT, more minimalist. Notably absent? Medusa heads and chainmail that defined the house so far. A recalibration in progress.
Louise Trotter for Bottega Veneta
Louise Trotter’s Bottega, meanwhile, is the one to watch. And her arrival at the house carries particular weight. A designer with a reputation for precision - honed at Joseph, Lacoste and Carven - she inherits a brand synonymous with craft, discreet luxury, and sculptural forms. In Venice, she flexed her vocabulary: she sent out an olive leather shirt-and-Bermuda ensemble, followed by a sculptural black dress with leather trims. Jacob Elordi, in spotless white, fanned the flames of virality. This was Bottega as we know it - meticulous, architectural, Italian to the bone - but filtered through Trotter’s defiant steel.
Matthieu Blazy for Chanel
Even Chanel - or rather, Blazy’s Chanel - opted for the archive as stage whisper, feeling decidedly deliberate, and not derivative. Ayo Edebiri in a white tweed suit reconstructed from an autumn/winter 1999 creation and a crimson gown recalling an autumn/winter 1986 design. Tilda Swinton turned up in variations on the theme in a carousel of looks, while Fernanda Torres wore a black velvet dress by the maison. All semaphoring that Blazy’s new chapter for Chanel may hinge on the past, while bringing artisanal depth into ostensibly simple clothes.
The lesson? Designer debuts in 2025 aren’t about waiting for the runway reveal. They’re being trial-ballooned on the red carpet, assessed in real time, turned into memes, and debated weeks ahead of the official show. If Venice is any indication, the biggest trend this September isn’t a silhouette or palette - it’s the soft launch. The risk, naturally, is ubiquity. If everyone does it, it ceases to surprise. But for now, the strategy is working: anticipation is at a steady simmer, the houses are gathering earned value, narratives are being built, and the stage is set. All that remains is for the shows themselves to deliver on the promise.
Henrik Lischke is the senior fashion news & features editor at Grazia. Prior to that, he worked at British Vogue, and was junior fashion editor at The Sunday Times Style.