Medusa Was Di Petsa's FW26 Muse
Exploring themes of power, eroticism and rebirth.
Ethereal and dripping wet, it could only be Di Petsa. For Fall/Winter 2026, the London-based label staged its latest spectacle inside Bacchanalia, the decadent dining room designed by Damien Hirst. Set within the restaurant’s mythical Apollo’s Muse Room, the backdrop was nothing short of cinematic: suspended marble sculptures loomed overhead while ceiling frescoes nodded to the grandeur of the Sistine Chapel. The stage was set for opulence and a descent into myth.
Titled “Medusa’s Lover,” the collection explored themes of power, eroticism and rebirth, reimagining the Gorgon not as a monster, but as a muse. The serpent appeared in small details, including snake tattoos stamped onto the models’ skin, scale-like textures embossed into fabric and a darker, more dangerous palette than seasons past. Inky blacks were punctuated by metal hardware and spike-covered heels, a wardrobe built for the modern femme fatale, as envisioned by Dimitra Petsa. The designer spoke of dressing a woman who wants to feel untouchable, commanding and dangerous.
Seduction, of course, remained central. The show notes described an exploration of “the transformative force of eroticism,” a concept embedded in the brand’s DNA. Petsa’s signature wet-look draping that clings to the body as if just emerging from water evolved this season. Prints morphed from serpent scales into nude illusions, revealing a hybrid half woman, half snake, caught mid-metamorphosis. It was sensual but also a symbolic shedding of skin.
Leaning fully into its themes of wetness and desire, the show was sponsored by Ples’Jour, the lube brand whose sculptural bottles were both gifted to guests and carried by models on the runway as unexpected accessories. It was provocative and entirely on brand.
Closing the show was Leomie Anderson, striding in a leather wet-look dress that seemed to signal a shift. FW26 felt like a recalibration for Di Petsa, from a soft dreaminess to a more powerful decisiveness. If past seasons were about emergence, this was about ownership. Medusa never looked so good.
Check out some of the looks above.
For more on fashion week, check out the best moments from LFW FW26.
