Cultural influences · 26,080 looks read · 673 shows
Borrowed, inherited, reworked
Which dress and craft traditions the season's collections drew on, read from every runway photograph: the block print, the drape, the stitch, the sandal.
Cultural references are rare look by look and common show by show: 38% of collections carried at least one, usually in a handful of pieces. East Asia was drawn on most often, in 306 looks from 101 houses.
The index
Share of looks and of shows drawing on each region's traditions- Houses based in the region 87
- Houses based elsewhere 109
- House base not recorded 110
- Houses based in the region 44
- Houses based elsewhere 20
- House base not recorded 228
- Houses based in the region 118
- Houses based elsewhere 59
- House base not recorded 29
- Houses based in the region 57
- Houses based elsewhere 53
- House base not recorded 70
- Houses based elsewhere 33
- House base not recorded 9
- Houses based elsewhere 15
- House base not recorded 16
- Houses based elsewhere 16
- House base not recorded 1
- Houses based elsewhere 5
- House base not recorded 9
- Houses based in the region 3
- House base not recorded 2
- Houses based elsewhere 1
- House base not recorded 1
Who made them: whether the houses drawing on a region are based there. A house's base says nothing about its designers' heritage, so read it as a pointer, not a verdict. Indigenous traditions are not split this way, because a country can't tell you.
The most referenced traditions
Looks drawing on each element, across every fashion week- Tartan / kiltEuropean folk & regional dress · 97 looks · 34 houses
- AdireWest Africa · 75 looks · 13 houses
- Pankou / frog closuresEast Asia · 55 looks · 31 houses
- ZardoziSouth Asia · 47 looks · 8 houses
- Aso okeWest Africa · 46 looks · 18 houses
- TabiEast Asia · 41 looks · 14 houses
- Buba and sokotoWest Africa · 39 looks · 12 houses
- Cowrie shellsWest Africa · 37 looks · 12 houses
- Kimono / obi brocadeEast Asia · 37 looks · 7 houses
- KimonoEast Asia · 35 looks · 15 houses
- JhumkaSouth Asia · 28 looks · 3 houses
- Fila capWest Africa · 25 looks · 8 houses
- Hand block printSouth Asia · 23 looks · 6 houses
- Ankara / wax printWest Africa · 22 looks · 10 houses
- AgbadaWest Africa · 22 looks · 7 houses
- HaoriEast Asia · 21 looks · 13 houses
On the runway
A look from each of the houses with the clearest references, and what the tagger saw
Alice YU · Look 22 · Milan
- Manton de manila · Spain
- Shawl draped open over shoulders · Spain
“Large silk shawl with dense polychrome floral silk embroidery (roses, peonies), knotted macramé-style net border and very long silk fringe, typical mantón de Manila construction.”
Kitschy Couture · Look 5 · Berlin
- Sari · India
- Sari drape · India
- Bindi · India
“Sheer pale-blue length of cloth with wide contrasting navy embroidered border, draped from waist over shoulder as pallu in classic nivi manner.”
Cote Mer · Look 30 · Tokyo
- Kimono / obi brocade · Japan
- Japanese seasonal motifs (crane, pine, seigaiha, sakura) · Japan
- Haori · Japan
“Gold-metallic woven brocade panels with chrysanthemums, cherry blossoms, maple leaves, cranes, pine and seigaiha waves, consistent with repurposed kimono and obi fabrics.”
Ugo Monye · Look 24 · Lagos
- Agbada · Yoruba
- Buba and sokoto · Yoruba
- Fila cap · Yoruba
“Voluminous wide-sleeved floor-length overrobe folded over the shoulders, worn over a tunic and trousers; layered metallic tiers rework the classic agbada.”
Lemaire · Look 63 · Paris
- Pankou / frog closures · China
- Tang jacket · China
“Row of knotted toggle-and-loop frog fastenings down the centre front, rendered in self leather rather than silk cord.”
Cynthia Abila · Look 2 · Lagos
- Coral bead necklaces · Nigeria
- Red cap (okpu mmuo / isiagu-style chieftaincy cap) · Igbo
- Chieftaincy ensemble (cap, coral, wrapper, tunic) · Igbo
“Multiple strands of red tubular coral-style beads layered at the neck, the classic Nigerian royal and chieftaincy coral necklace.”
Elena Miro' · Look 33 · Milan
- Thistle kilt pin · Scotland
- Celtic knotwork · Scotland
“Silver pin topped with a Scottish thistle head and leaves; shaft has Celtic interlace knotwork, the classic kilt-pin form, here worn on a lapel.”
Enföld · Look 36 · Tokyo
- Geta / zori · Japan
- Tabi · Japan
“Flat thong sandals with a woven straw-like footbed and thick padded white V-shaped hanao straps, the construction of traditional zori.”
Fdmtl · Look 1 · Tokyo
- Tabi · Japan
- Hakama · Japan
“Clearly visible split-toe front separating big toe, reworked as a laced teal sneaker with dark rubber sole.”
Absent Findings · Look 91 · Milan
- Jhumka · India
“Gold bell-shaped dome drop earrings with granulated surface and studded tops, classic jhumka construction.”
Kallmeyer · Look 3 · New York
- Pankou / frog closures · China
- Tang jacket · China
“Four horizontal knotted cord closures in matching black, evenly spaced down the centre front, fastening edge-to-edge in the manner of Chinese pankou.”
Anamika Khanna · Look 6 · New Delhi
- Sherwani / achkan · India
- Indian miniature painting · India
“Knee-length fitted coat with stand collar, concealed centre-front closure, long sleeves and straight flared skirt, the classic sherwani silhouette.”
By fashion week
Share of each city's looks drawing on a tradition, and the region it drew on most- New Delhi: 51 of 125 looks, mostly South Asia
- Lagos: 277 of 1,542 looks, mostly West Africa
- Florence: 12 of 140 looks, mostly European folk & regional dress
- Tokyo: 108 of 1,834 looks, mostly East Asia
- London: 27 of 620 looks, mostly European folk & regional dress
- Copenhagen: 55 of 1,469 looks, mostly South Asia
- Milan: 293 of 8,408 looks, mostly European folk & regional dress
- Mexico City: 7 of 267 looks, mostly East Asia
How we read it
Read from the runway photographs by our AI tagger: an element counts when it is recognisably drawn from a specific dress or craft tradition and the tagger is at least 60% confident. It describes the clothes only, never the person wearing them, and it is not a statement by the house.
Elements that have long been part of everyday Western dress, such as paisley, the cummerbund or madras check, are only counted when the styling points back to their source, and are kept out of these shares. Read every figure as a measure of what the clothes show, not of intent, credit or appropriation.
The fortnightly digest
Where the runway is looking
Every fortnight: the traditions the collections drew on, who drew on them, and how it shifts from one fashion week to the next.