Paris Fashion Week Model Predicts the Biggest Fashion Trends of 2026

Jennifer Atilémile has seen fashion from angles most of us haven't. One of Australia's most successful curve models, she splits her time between runways and real life in the States, where she's been watching Australian design land with a force that the local industry has been building toward for years. When she talks about what's coming next, it's not speculation pulled from a mood board. It's what she's seeing on the ground, on bodies, in stores, and at the shows.

"There are so many great Australian brands, there's like a plethora to choose from," Atilémile says. "Australian fashion is having a massive moment overseas, in the States, where I live." That observation carries weight. Australian labels have been quietly building international credibility for years, and right now, that credibility is cashing out.

So what does someone with her vantage point see coming for 2026? Four things keep surfacing: sharp tailoring, jewel tones, well-fitting denim, and a return to simple-but-chic dressing. Not one of those is a fleeting micro-trend. Each one represents a recalibration toward clothing that actually works on the body and holds up across seasons.

Tailoring Is the Foundation

Structured, intentional tailoring isn't new, but the version arriving in 2026 feels different from the oversized, deliberately slouchy takes that dominated the past few years. Atilémile's forecasting points to tailoring as a cornerstone of the coming year, the kind of dressing that communicates effort without announcing it. The Camilla And Marc Ember Trench Coat at $800 represents exactly this energy: a clean, considered outer layer that works as the centrepiece of an outfit rather than a finishing touch. The label's Mackinley Taylored Mini Dress ($550) pushes the same idea into a shorter, sharper silhouette, the kind of piece that reads polished whether you're heading somewhere important or nowhere in particular. This is tailoring as a default setting, not a dress code.

Jewel Tones: The Colour Story of the Year

If there's one thing Atilémile is absolutely certain about, it's colour. Deep, saturated jewel tones are having a moment right now, and she wants everyone to get in on it. "Jewel tones are really having a moment... a deep purple, a maroon," she says. "I think that owning something that is loud and bright, and it kind of makes you feel fun and happy... everyone should own just a little pop of colour."

The key word there is "pop." You don't need to rebuild your wardrobe around burgundy and amethyst. One piece in a deep, rich hue does the work. The shopping edit that accompanies this conversation offers a few strong starting points across different price points. The Commonry Sophia Top in Plum sits around the $223 mark, a considered entry price for a brand that's earned its following with quality basics that don't look basic. On the other end of the spectrum, the Gucci Signora Pump in Burgundy at $1,800 is an investment in the kind of shoe that anchors an entire wardrobe season after season. For something in between, the Dissh Colette Merlot Silk Midi Skirt, currently marked down from $229.99 to $160, is a genuinely smart buy: silk-look fabric, a midi length that flatters across body types, and a merlot tone that hits the jewel-toned brief exactly.

The range here is intentional. Jewel tones work at every price point, and the pieces above illustrate that a colour trend doesn't have to mean an expensive one.

Well-Fitting Denim: The Wardrobe Reset

Denim is always present in trend conversations, but the emphasis Atilémile places on fit sets this apart from the usual discourse. It's not about a specific wash or cut so much as it's about denim that genuinely fits the person wearing it, which sounds obvious but is genuinely rare to get right. The Camilla And Marc Maja Denim Dress, currently available at $250 (marked down from $500), is the kind of piece that validates the argument. A denim dress in this construction range offers the casual familiarity of the fabric while functioning as a complete look. The silhouette does the work; the styling doesn't need to be complicated.

Well-fitting denim also connects to the broader theme running through Atilémile's predictions: the idea that clothes should serve the wearer, not the other way around. When denim fits properly, it stops being something you wrestle with and becomes a genuine wardrobe tool.

The Simple-But-Chic Principle

Threading through all of Atilémile's forecasting is a philosophy more than a single trend: the preference for pieces that are quiet in concept but strong in execution. Simple-but-chic is how it gets described, and it's a harder standard to meet than it sounds. A trench coat that doesn't try too hard. A plum silk top with clean lines. A midi skirt in a colour that does the talking so the cut doesn't have to.

This is the aesthetic register Australian brands have been operating in for a while, and it's part of why they're travelling so well internationally. The Camilla And Marc pieces in this edit are a case study in that approach: nothing over-designed, everything considered. When Atilémile says there's a "plethora" of great Australian brands to choose from, she's pointing at a broader industry that has quietly developed a shared design language around restraint, quality, and wearability.

Why Australian Fashion Is the One to Watch

The trend predictions here aren't happening in isolation. They're emerging from an industry that is, by Atilémile's account, in the middle of a significant international moment. Australian designers have built reputations on producing clothes that work in real life, and that practicality is now reading as sophisticated in markets like the US where maximalism has been running the conversation for years. The shift toward tailoring, towards jewel tones as punctuation rather than wallpaper, towards denim that respects the body wearing it, these are all moves that Australian labels have been positioned for.

Atilémile is both a product of that industry and one of its most visible advocates. Her read on 2026 isn't detached analysis; it's the perspective of someone who wears these clothes, walks in these shows, and lives in the market where Australian fashion is currently making its biggest impression. That context is worth more than any runway recap.