Stella Jean took her final bow holding a T-shirt that read “Grazie Mr. Armani,” a thank you note to the late Maestro who back in 2013 selected Jean as that year’s young designer to support, as part of his company’s mentorship program.
It was a poignant and unexpected finale that Jean made no mention of backstage before her spring 2026 show, which marked her return to the catwalk after a three-year hiatus.
Instead, she shared the political undercurrent of her show: Artisanship is art and should be treated as such.
“I had said I would only return once I truly had something to say — and this runway show is exactly that. It’s not just a fashion show, it’s almost like a legislative proposal,” she said, referencing an Italian law passed over the summer which has significantly reduced VAT on the purchase of fine art.
“I want to push for something similar to be applied to fashion craftsmanship… [which] is too often viewed as a lesser form of art — but it isn’t. If anything, it is an elevated form of art. It should be recognized and treated as such,” Jean opined.
In recent years, Jean has been among activists demanding more diversity in Italian fashion, pressuring institutions — notably Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana — to do more and better for underrepresented communities.
She did so herself Saturday, conscripting Bhutanese artisans from the Himalayas to work on some of her creations — naïve paintings turned into prints and intricate figurative embroideries.
A U.N. Goodwill Ambassador traveling the world to spotlight endangered crafts — an initiative poised to be turned into a TV series, she said — Jean described the spring collection as a “map of métissage.” It was hinged on the signature style that made her name as a designer in the mid 2010s — a mannish striped shirt paired with a printed balloon skirt.
Here in sync with the artisanal collaboration with the Kingdom of Bhutan, that ensemble made an appearance mid-show, the skirt, crafted from nettle, featuring a captivating embroidery of fauna and flora. Elsewhere she incorporated the traditional kira wrap skirts, morphed into A-line frocks bearing ancestral and child-like paintings or into strapless bustier dresses layered under toego-inspired jackets with geometric motifs.
The designer straddled traditional dressing and modern eclecticism. Good examples included a rugby polo shirt worn with pristine white culottes featuring abstract embroideries, one of the strongest looks.