How Eighteenth Century Fashion Shapes Cultural Experiences
By Maddie Battersby
FASHION
Edited by Hannah Mae Webster
6/11/20262 min read
©Look and Learn
The ghosts of eighteenth century fashion don’t walk among us, but dance with vivacious excess. The style – with its daring structures, corsetry, and detailing – burst onto runways and red carpets in 2026.
The eighteenth century was a period of seismic change. It saw the emergence of the Age of Enlightenment and the modern novel. Fashion became a spectacle for public consumption. Think bodices, panniers, and exaggerated hips. Expert craftsmanship was celebrated. Lace, florals, beading, and even leopard print were popular. Men’s shapes were similarly lavish, with bold cuffs, full-bodied coats, and embroidered patterns.
French queen Marie Antoinette is closely associated with the look. She supported trades through her expansive wardrobe of statement pieces. The latter part of the eighteenth century witnessed the advent of linens and cottons, bringing more relaxed looks, along with the demise of the French aristocracy.
This era of extravagance infiltrated the air of 2026. Andreas Kronthaler’s SS26 Vivienne Westwood collection included bodices and voluminous shapes. Simone Rocha designs featured wide hips and dramatic skirts. Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton SS26 embraced embroidery. At the premiere of ‘Wuthering Heights’ earlier this year, Charli XCX wore a bespoke Vivienne Westwood dress with a lifted front skirt and tumbling folds from the hip. It was reminiscent of a typical rococo period gown with a draped open robe front. Olivia Wilde provoked discussion in a Thom Browne dress at this year’s Met Gala. Its exaggerated caging jutted out over the back of the dress in a reinterpretation of the bone-like structural pieces that sat beneath eighteenth century gowns.
Museum culture reflects this revival, as seen in recent exhibitions in London and Paris. At the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, ‘Marie Antoinette’ explored the French queen’s influence over 250 years of fashion, film, and art. Visitors could see a pair of slippers owned and worn by Marie Antoinette, as well as gowns by the likes of Dior, Chanel, and Valentino, inspired by her style. In Paris, ‘Fashion in the 18th Century: A Fantasized Legacy’ at The Palais Galliera looks at the style’s enduring prevalence. An original corset belonging to Marie Antoinette herself is on display, alongside a rich selection of designer gowns. In the final section of the exhibition, a photograph by Eric Magnussen taken in 2021 shows drag performer Utica Queen, with towering Antoinette-esque hair, holding a single pink rose, akin to portraits of the French queen. Utica Queen looks sultrily to the camera lens, as if aware of the contemporary gaze upon her.
From Madonna’s Marie Antoinette-inspired performance at the 1990 MTV Awards, to the costumes in Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film ‘Marie Antoinette’, the style persists in culture. The rise of the ‘romantasy’ genre, maximalist interiors, and the popularity of ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘The Gilded Age’, all inherit elements from the monumental era.
Eighteenth century style is not historical dress but a recurring cultural aesthetic – perhaps its ghosts have never stopped dancing.
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