On the closing day of Amsterdam Fashion Week, Natan brought us a moment of quiet splendour. Instead of spectacle, the Belgian fashion house invited its guests into a serene, light-filled space that unfolded like a secret garden. Here, silhouettes emerged one by one, as if carried in by the breeze, each look infused with an air of cinematic romance.
The S/S 26 collection took its cue from Alfonso Cuarón’s Great Expectations, a modern, romantic adaptation of Charles Dickens’s 1861 novel, filtered through Cuarón’s signature cinematic eye. Its sensual, painterly and atmospheric scenes were what Natan sought to capture. Natan drew on the film’s colour palette, with yellows, golds and touches of green providing inspiration for the designs. The polished interiors and industrial textures of the film were also echoed in the choice of location for the show. Guests were greeted by white couches and tall ceilings in a space that was clean and architectural, where simplicity ruled the day. The audience was well acquainted with Natan’s world: impeccably dressed across generations, some in sharp tailoring and others in playful colour.
The first look appeared in lemon yellow with a relaxed cut. The top draped loosely over a floor-length skirt in lightweight fabric. Hair was slicked back into a clean bun, allowing the garment to take full focus. The collection offered flowing tops and tailored bottoms, waists accentuated and shoes in perfect harmony with the looks. Volume abounded, necklines elongated with slim scarves. Transparency and fluidity came through in silks, crepes and ultra-fine knits, moving with the light and unveiling the skin like a well-kept secret. Tone-on-tone embroidery, openwork weaves and foliage-relief jacquards spoke of atelier craftsmanship.
The show continued, moving from yellow into icy pastel blue, sunglasses slipping on as if to punctuate the mood, before power suits arrived in deep green. Tailored tops were adorned with beadwork. The palette shifted to burgundy, with floor-length dresses draped and voluminous in asymmetrical one-shoulder designs. As the beat of the music picked up, sequinned gowns swept across the floor. The finale came in deep black: a monochromatic look with a structured blazer wrapped over the shoulders, paired with a voluminous floor-length skirt in crisp, slightly reflective fabric. All the drama lay in the silhouette.
By the time the final look swept across the runway, Natan had left its audience with more than a seasonal collection: a meditation on refinement, atmosphere, and the subtle power of detail. The show balanced softness with structure, intimacy with grandeur. A fitting finale to the week, and a reminder that elegance can be both timeless and newly imagined.
words by inês Lopes
