The Diesel SS27 show included performance art with audience members kissing and dancing, choreographed by (LA)HORDE. Photo: Photo: Courtesy of Diesel Save Story Save this story Save Story Save this story For Spring/Summer 2027, fashion got horny.
At Tom Ford, a woman panting — almost reaching climax — soundtracked the show as models engaged in various forms of play-acting, including one female model running her hand over another’s breasts as she walked past. Halfway through the Diesel show, more and more of the crowd started passionately making out with each other, in a sort of orgy flash mob. And at Mugler, the mood was set before the first look appeared, with screens beaming erotic footage that included mating snails, sweaty skin, a woman’s tongue and two people kissing. The accompanying show notes opened with a quote from Georges Bataille’s Eroticism: Death and Sensuality , with creative director Miguel Castro Freitas declaring that he wanted to explore the “lustful pulse of nature” and our animal instincts.
It begs the question: are designers leaning into more visceral, arousing runway spectacles in search of something that has felt elusive in the industry lately: a genuine sense of desire?
“The interest in fashion and the fashion economy is not going so well right now, with people choosing to spend their money on other [categories],” says Dr. Valerie Steele, director of the Museum at Fashion Institute of Technology and author of Dress, Dreams and Desire: A History of Fashion and Psychoanalysis . “I think as a result a lot of executives at fashion houses are thinking, ‘Can you sex it up so we can get people to want to buy this?’ Because they know that some level of desire is necessary before you buy anything.”
There are signs that it can work. Under Glenn Martens, who joined the brand in 2020, Diesel’s sales grew 13% in 2023 and a further 3.2% in 2024, even as much of the luxury industry was contracting. Horniness has been baked into Martens’s vision since the beginning, from the orgiastic inflatable at his SS23 show to the 200,000 boxes of Durex condoms for FW23. London-based R&M Leathers , founded by Ruby Mariani, has built a fast-growing business around made-to-order leather and fetishwear, reporting roughly 45% annual growth since 2024. Sex positivity is embedded in the brand’s DNA, and for its SS27 Pornhub-backed London Fashion Week debut, OnlyFans stars featured among the cast.
“Whether it’s sexual symbolism, exposure, or something much more tactile about the clothes themselves, there are lots of ways fashion can make you feel turned on,” says Steele. “Even sharp tailoring and exaggerated silhouettes can make you feel more confident, as if they’ve sucked the narcissism and self-consciousness out of you. We’re constantly being told that we’re not enough. If the clothes feel special, they might make you special, too.”
Still, we’re so used to advertising trying to push our buttons that obvious attempts at sexiness can feel almost too easy. “I think there may be a step missing between, yes, this is a sexy image, video, soundtrack,” continues Steele, “but does that necessarily take you to the next step where you pull out your wallet and put it onto your body?” The more interesting question perhaps then is what else in fashion can get under our skin in 2026.
Backstage at the R&M Leathers runway show.
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