As is customary for any collection designed by Jonathan Anderson, the autumn/winter 2026 Dior show in Paris was big on references. There were 18th-century frock coats, water lilies, classic Dior Bar jackets, Sénat chairs and, erm, peplums.
Anyone who lived through the 2010s – a heady era in fashion that featured Tumblr, Ed Hardy, ghds and Coachella flower crowns – will naturally approach the peplum with a degree of caution. The design detail dates back to the 19th century, and it had moments in the 1940s (at Dior, for one) and the ’80s (Princess Diana was a big fan), but it was in the 2010s that it became almost ubiquitous – whether purchased from an Erdem boutique or Topshop Oxford Circus. So evocative is the style it was recently included on a list of Gen Z’s biggest fashion faux pas.
But with the endorsement of Anderson, a man who holds more than a little sway over women’s wardrobes, could the derided piece actually be… so back? In addition to Dior, peplums popped up on the runways at Givenchy, Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney. They’re also being worn by celebrities. Kim Kardashian loved a peplum in the 2010s and is clearly feeling nostalgic – she has worn revisited them a few times recently, as have Jenna Ortega and Demi Moore. They were at the Oscars too – see Amelia Dimoldenberg in black vintage Ralph Lauren, Nicole Kidman in feathered Chanel, or ballerina Misty Copeland in (appropriately) a tutu-style peplum by David Koma.
Pop star Jade, meanwhile, wore an Off-White peplum-ed zip-up jacket, leggings and long skirt, all in the same print, for the Brits last month. Put together it could be described as “a lot” – in the best way. Jamie McFarland, who styles Jade with Zack Tate, argues that this is the way to wear a peplum in 2026. “It fit Jade’s style because it was a play on her love for a parka and still keeping it red carpet-worthy,” he says.
McFarland associates peplums specifically with the period 2014 to 2016, and “Kim Kardashian when she had all the girls in the club in pencil skirts and peplum tops looking like they were about to start their day in the office”. It’s a vision that’s intensely familiar to Rosamund Urwin. Now with the very serious title of chief news correspondent at the Sunday Times, she worked in features at the Evening Standard in the 2010s, and wrote about trying on the “tricky” peplum trend in 2012. She remembers the era fondly, particularly the clothes. “It was a fun time in fashion,” she says now, reminiscing about an Alexander McQueen peplum dress snapped up at a sample sale, and other favourite designers of the era like Mary Katrantzou and Erdem. “They’re fun to wear, and a bit of a statement – you can’t ignore them.”
That bit is still true today. This season’s peplums are frill-tastic – ideal, as several stars illustrated on Sunday night, for a “go big or go home” red carpet like the Oscars. In the 2010s, the appeal of the peplum extended beyond celebrities to she-EOs and dignitaries’ wives. See Obama, Sam Cam and – as she was then – the Duchess of Cambridge. Urwin thinks this is because the peplum is powerful, but won’t scare the horses. “It’s gentle, not the ’80s level of power dressing, but definitely a nod to that,” she says.
But will this trend take off beyond demographics where a lot of thought is given to style semantics? Data analyst Molly Rooyakkers, who runs the Style Analytics Instagram account, says searches for “peplum top” have increased by 48 per cent in the past year, while on Pinterest, searches for “peplum top outfits” are up by 72 per cent. “Peplums have been treated as a bit of a joke trend for quite a few years – mostly used to stir up buzz and clicks, largely because we’re not that far away from the early 2010s version of the trend,” she says. That’s changed now – especially as the trend cycle speeds up: we live in an era in which the year 2016 can become a bona fide trend, after all.
But before you dig out a Topshop peplum from 2013, a note of caution from McFarland: “It will become a trend again,” he says. “But it will also be one of those we regret again and then it will come back round [again].” How to safely navigate it now? “Just make sure to avoid wearing it with a peep-toe wedge shoe.”