Elisabetta Franchi Spring Summer 2026 “Between Light and Shadow”. Story by RUNWAY MAGAZINE. Photo Courtesy: Elisabetta Franchi.

Once again, Elisabetta Franchi brought Milan to its most theatrical setting, Palazzo Acerbi. Known in local lore as the “Devil’s House,” the historic palazzo has been reimagined as the designer’s permanent stage—a baroque drawing room claimed as her own. “Every fresco, every chandelier, every detail spoke to me with intensity,” she explained. “Here every one of my women will live. It will forever be the heart where past, present, and future merge into a single vision.”

For Spring Summer 2026, that vision was defined by an exploration of duality: light against shadow, innocence against seduction. A pink neon glow washed over the presentation, softening the setting while casting sharp outlines—a literal filter for her thesis on human nature.

The collection opened with precision tailoring, where masculine Capri trousers were sharpened by structured blazers that collapsed into tightly cinched waists. The trench coat—functional yet dangerously alluring—stood as her manifesto for modernity. From there, fluid jersey dresses emerged, cut to trace the body with deliberate slashes, drapes, and keyholes. The motion continued in fringes that shimmered with every step, turning the body into choreography.

Franchi’s attention to materiality pushed the narrative further. Tripolino, leather, and sheer organza appeared across biker jackets, skirts, and dresses, each engineered to balance structure and weightlessness. More artisanal flourishes followed: beaded nets sewn by hand onto tulle, crochet reworked with precision, satin manipulated to mimic ostrich skin, and denim distressed to near ruin—pieces that questioned permanence as much as beauty.

The palette oscillated between boudoir pink, butter, nude, and the uncompromising black that underscored her theme. Stacked metal bracelets, piled deliberately, broke the softness with industrial severity.

Between powdered delicacy and sharpened edge, Franchi offered more than seasonal clothes. She staged her own negotiation with identity—between past opulence and contemporary allure, between feminine fragility and unapologetic power. At Palazzo Acerbi, light and shadow found equilibrium, and the Elisabetta Franchi woman claimed the room as her own.

See All Looks Elisabetta Franchi Spring Summer 2026