Fashion thrives on fantasies of the unknown. What would a socialite from another galaxy wear to a cocktail party? Perhaps a sequined Prada slip dress. What will women wear fifty years into the future? Rick Owens predicts "glunge," a blend of glamour and grunge. But as much as it's fueled by surreal imaginations, some of fashion's best work comes from elements that already exist in nature—like Christian Dior's floral prints in the 1940s, which led to a much-needed return to romanticism after World War II. Or, cut to the most recent Paris Couture Week, where Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen showed a luminous "living" dress made of bioluminescent algae, an unprecedented creation that belongs in both fashion history and biology textbooks.
Looking at the fall 2025 collections, Mother Nature was once again a powerful muse. Creative director Sarah Burton's debut at Givenchy featured garden fresh evening gowns stitched with wildflowers and swallows. Meanwhile, Prada topped its coats with faux Sable pelts, and Brandon Maxwell showed silk dresses and tops hand-painted to resemble the fur of an Arctic wolf. Even looks that went in a more avant-garde direction were grounded with natural components: Ferragamo presented a feathered midi dress in bright cardinal red, which, while fantastical, was reminiscent of the birds chirping outside your window.
