Celebrity Style: The Wackiest Fashion Trends of Fall 2026

Every season, fashion hands us a few trends that make us wonder whether designers are serious or just testing us.

Fall 2026 has delivered more than its share. A handbag that looks like it came from under the kitchen sink. A suffix borrowed from internet bros that’s now attached to everything in your closet. Feathers. Skirts with something to say. And, yes, underwear that has decided it no longer wants to stay under anything.

Here’s the thing, though. Wacky isn’t the same as unwearable. Almost every one of these trends has a grown-up version hiding inside it, and some of our favorite women over 40 are already showing us where to find it.

Here are the five wackiest fashion trends of Fall 2026, the celebrities wearing them and how to borrow the idea without borrowing the shock value.

A Beautiful Mess 

You’ve probably seen the headline by now: a famous actress walks a red carpet carrying what looks like a $1,790 Balenciaga trash bag, and the internet loses its mind.

Here’s what most of those stories got wrong. When Chinese actress Zhang Jingyi carried a crinkly yellow plastic bag at the Beijing International Film Festival, it wasn’t Balenciaga at all. It was an ordinary plastic bag and a nod to her film The One, in which a yellow bag is how her character communicates with her deaf parents. The photos resurfaced this spring, someone added a price tag and a myth was born.

The real Balenciaga Trash Pouch does exist, though. It first appeared on the brand’s Fall 2022 runway and is made of glossy calfskin designed to look exactly like a garbage bag. And one of the first owners? Kim Kardashian, who received one after the show and proudly showed it off on Instagram. Watch the video here. 

In case you’re interested, you can get on the waiting list at Saks for the Balenciaga trash bag in white or get the medium size crossbody for only $1,225!

So why is it back in the conversation in 2026? Because “dirty fashion” and “ugly luxury” are the latest crazes. Fashion houses are turning things we’d normally throw away, from garbage bags to singed-looking shirts and scuffed leather, into status symbols. Who What Wear calls it a “messy girl” moment.

Think Odessa A’zion at the Oscars. 

The less precious it looks, the more expensive it often is. 

 

In February, Vetements released a plain white button-down with a printed iron scorch mark over the chest pocket, the kind of laundry accident most of us would have thrown away, and priced it at $1,017. 

The beat-up bag even has a godmother: Balenciaga’s City bag, which started life in 2001 as a slouchy, unbranded, deliberately distressed motorcycle bag. Kate Moss, now 52, insisted on having one, and the Olsen twins carried theirs everywhere. Balenciaga brought it back for 2026 in its Fall campaign, but the new version is far shinier, in rich, jewel-toned leather. Fashion insiders still want the originals: faded, slumped vintage bags that look as if they’ve actually lived a life.

The groundwork was laid last year. Prada gave its Bowling and Galleria bags darkened, worn-looking edges, Matthieu Blazy gave Chanel’s classic flap a deliberately squashed shape and Coach sent out bags folded up as if they’d spent a week at the bottom of a tote. Lady Gaga also stepped out in Paris with a vintage Hermès Kelly so scuffed and warped it looked like it had been through a war. She bought it secondhand back in 2013.

The wearable version: Skip the faux garbage and embrace the slouchy, worn-in bag instead. Soft, unstructured leather, a drawstring pouch or a vintage designer bag with a little patina says “I actually use my things,” which is the whole point of the trend.

Try it with: a soft suede or leather drawstring bag, a well-loved vintage shoulder bag, or a slouchy hobo carried open and a little undone.

Adding the Word “Maxxing” to Your Wardrobe

If you’ve spent any time on social media this year, you’ve seen it. Looksmaxxing. Sleepmaxxing. Londonmaxxing and Beigemaxxing. The internet has decided that anything worth doing is worth “maxxing,” and fashion was never going to sit that one out.

I know it seems a little odd to take your fashion inspiration from Kendall Jenner, but it’s a great example of Beigemaxxing. And she takes it to the max!

We also have print-maxxing (clashing patterns on purpose), texture-maxxing (as much tactile embellishment as one outfit can hold), jewelry-maxxing, colormaxxing, hat-maxxing and our personal favorite, whimsy-maxxing. That’s basically adding bows, charms and brooches long after you thought you were finished getting dressed.

It sounds silly. It is silly. But underneath the slang is a real shift: quiet luxury is out, and personality is in.

 

And honestly? It’s a bold claim, but I think women over 50 may have invented this. Sarah Jessica Parker, 61, was spotted in New York pinning a burnt-orange floral brooch to a simple T-shirt, reminding us that she (and Carrie Bradshaw) were brooch-maxxing decades before Chanel’s Spring 2026 chrysanthemum pins made it cool again.

Another accessory-maxxing look

Then there’s Lady Gaga, who was recently spotted in San Francisco carrying a BÉIS weekender bag so enormous it could double as carry-on luggage. Call it bag-maxxing. Call it practical. Either way, the XXL bag is everywhere this fall.

The wearable version: Max out one thing, not everything. A stack of bangles. Two or three brooches clustered on a lapel. One oversized bag with an otherwise simple outfit. One maxxed-out category looks intentional; five can look as if you got dressed in the dark.

Try it with: a cluster of vintage brooches on a blazer + jeans + a white tee.

Birds of a Feather

Nobody has committed to the feather trend quite like Demi Moore, 63.

At the Oscars in March, Moore arrived in a custom Gucci gown by Demna that was covered in feathers from top to bottom: long black plumes rising from the bodice, iridescent green feathers through the waist and a feathered train trailing behind her. Her stylist, Brad Goreski, said she wanted to wear a work of art. Mission accomplished. Some called it peacock, others called it bird of paradise. Nobody called it boring.

She wasn’t alone, either. Nicole Kidman, 59, also went feathered on the same red carpet, and feathers turned up on gown after gown that night. Kidman has made the feathered couture look something of a signature, wearing the wispy trend at the Oscars and the Emmys. 

Feathers are fall’s favorite way to add drama: on hems, cuffs, collars, bags and even shoes.

She wasn’t alone, either. Nicole Kidman, 59, also went feathered on the same red carpet, and feathers turned up on gown after gown that night. Kidman has made the feathered couture look something of a signature, wearing the wispy trend at the Oscars an

And it can also be a little much. 

The wearable version: You don’t need to look like an exotic bird to try it. A feather-trimmed cuff, a skirt with a feathered hem or a pair of feather earrings gives you the movement and fun without all the plumage.

Try it with: A black sweater with feather-trimmed sleeves, slim black trousers and simple pumps.

Personality Skirts

Speaking of feathers, meet the skirt that ties this whole list together.

The “personality skirt” is fashion-speak for a skirt that does all the talking. It might be covered in fringe, sequins, crystals or feathers, printed in something impossible to ignore or cut into a dramatic shape like a bubble hem. The formula is simple: a basic top half and a skirt with main-character energy.

Prada made the strongest case for it with a show in which every single look featured a skirt. Chanel, Dries Van Noten and Valentino followed suit.

But nobody is wearing it more loudly than Julianne Hough. The Dancing With the Stars co-host (a youthful 38, so consider her our honorary over-40 for this one) has turned her hosting gig into a weekly personality-skirt showcase. For Super Bowl Night, she paired a burgundy Balenciaga crop top and long leather gloves with a fluffy pink feathered pencil skirt. Earlier in the season, she wore a sculptural Tom Ford skirt in bright blue with a backless black crop top, as well as a Saint Laurent bubble skirt for a photo shoot..

Not everyone loved it. Viewers took to social media to complain, and one even suggested she fire her stylist. Which is exactly how you know it’s a personality skirt.

The wearable version: Swap the crop top for a fine-knit sweater or a crisp shirt and let the skirt do the work. A sequined midi, a fringe skirt or a bold print paired with a plain cashmere crewneck makes one of the easiest party outfits you’ll ever put together.

Try it with: A sequin or fringe midi skirt, a simple knit and loafers or kitten heels.

Underwear As Outerwear

And finally, the trend that just won’t stay in the drawer.

Underwear as outerwear has been circling for a few seasons, but Fall 2026 has pushed it further: bras worn as tops, visible bras under sheer blouses, lace slips and “pantsless” looks featuring little more than tights or briefs.

Also known as naked dressing. 

If there’s a patron saint of this trend over 50, it’s Heidi Klum. Last year, she walked the Vivienne Westwood runway in a pantsless look. In September she walked through Milan for Vogue World in a sheer black lace gown with nothing but black briefs underneath. This month she fronted Calzedonia’s new lace tights campaign in a see-through lace top with her lingerie on full display. And just last week she wore a nude, lingerie-style corset gown with lace details to the InStyle Imagemaker Awards.

Over in Paris this fall, Rihanna wore a sheer black blouse over a black bra with a voluminous pleated skirt, while WWD declared that bras are now officially the main event.  Also seen on Dua Lipa. 

Is this the trend we’re most likely to skip? Probably. It reminds me too much of the leggings-and-bra athleisure look seen on every college girl who wants to look as if she’s going to Pilates.

But there’s a softer version that has been quietly working for women of every age for decades.

The wearable version: Think slip, not bra. A silk slip skirt with a chunky sweater, a lace-trimmed camisole peeking out from under a V-neck or blazer, or a sheer blouse layered over a matching camisole gives you that boudoir texture without the shock factor.

Try it with: A lace-trimmed cami, an oversized blazer and straight-leg jeans.

The funny thing about Fall 2026’s wackiest trends is that they’re all saying the same thing: fashion is tired of being quiet.

The trash bag tells us perfect is out and worn-in is in. Maxxing tells us more is more. Feathers and personality skirts tell us to have fun. And underwear as outerwear tells us that texture and a little bit of skin can be playful rather than precious.

You don’t need a $1,790 garbage bag or a feathered gown to get the message. You need one interesting piece, worn with confidence.

And if Demi Moore can turn up at the Oscars dressed as a bird and pull it off at 63, you can definitely handle a brooch.

–Simona Shemer

Photos: Harper’s Bazaar, People.com, InStyle 

You may also like to read more celebrity style posts like 5 Fall 2026 Fashion Trends Celebrities Are Already Wearing and Celebrity Style: The Craziest Looks at Cannes 2026 Were Also The Most Interesting.

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