Sweat vs style: How will extreme heat change the fashion industry?

If one accessory ruled this summer, it wasn’t raffia beach bags or bug-eyed shades. The handheld fan – frantically flapping in festival crowds, whizzing silently on public transport or draped over shoulders as a resourceful, futurist-apocalyptic form of neckwear – is now a summer.

But what sets it apart from polka dot capri pants or split toe footwear is that it isn’t really a trend at all. It’s a crucial adaptation for living in a hotter world.

What Happened

Since men’s fashion week in June – when temperatures reached 41 degrees celsius in Paris – Europe’s fashion industry is no longer able to ignore the practical implications of the climate crisis. Shows (including Dior and Rick Owens) were rescheduled to the.

• Extreme heat is changing the properties we expect our clothing to have.

• Whether innovations like this transition from the runway into mainstream fashion remains to be seen, but it’s not enough for summer clothes to just look good anymore.

• Outsized, inflatable black puffer jackets and matching trousers housed miniature electric fans to keep goths cool in the summer heat.

Key Details

Parasols, fans and water bottles became an essential part of the fashion editor’s toolkit. The collections themselves reflected a changing wardrobe for a rapidly changing world.

• At Rick Owens, design went beyond lightweight textiles to focus on utilitarian innovation.

• High street retailers are adapting too, with H&M recently announcing they will be designing their autumn collection out of lighter materials in anticipation of soaring September temperatures.

• There were transparent, airy kaftans at Fendi and sheer, sleeveless tweed suits at Chanel – light enough to fold up and pack neatly into a small suitcase.

Why It Matters

At Dior’s SS27 men’s show, Jonathan Anderson showcased semi-transparent pinstriped and checked suits crafted from translucent silk chiffon. “No joking: How to dress for the inferno of summer is a real fashion issue to be dealt with everywhere,” Vogue critic Sarah Mower.

• Even couture, known for heavy gowns and rich materials, was stripped back.

• Meanwhile, at Comme des Garçons Homme Plus the opening looks were made entirely from light and breezy striped shirting cotton.

What Reports Say

Coverage of the story so far points to:

• Continued reporting by Dazed as more details emerge