Shoulder pads, pussy-bow blouses and silk headscarves returned to the runway at Paul Costelloe, as William Costelloe followed in his father’s footsteps for his second collection at the helm of the Irish fashion house.
After making his debut as Creative Director in February, following the death of his father, Paul, last year, William returned to kick off London Fashion Week with a spring/summer 2027 collection that reached back to one of the house’s most recognisable eras: the Eighties.
It was perhaps inevitable territory. Paul Costelloe was appointed personal designer to Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1983, beginning a working relationship that continued until her death in 1997. The broad shoulders, pussy bows and big-buttoned tailoring of the period remain closely entwined with the Costelloe name.
But if William’s February debut was inevitably about proving the house could continue without its founder, his second outing appeared familiar, but slightly filtered through his own eye.
William returned to his father’s Eighties accents liberally, flooding the runway with exaggerated shoulders, pussy-bow shirts and silk headscarves, alongside modern touches such as oversized clutches and a nautical navy-and-white palette.
Navy and white was the colour palette of the collection (Ian West/PA)
Yet there were already signs of distance between the two Costelloes.
Print was noticeably scarce, and William kept his colour palette almost stubbornly restrained, showcasing only navy, cream and white, with a smattering of sky blue and flashes of butter yellow arriving later on.
Where his father frequently let colour and print command attention, William, two collections in, seems more interested in what he can do with shape, allowing cut and fabrication to take centre stage.
“The design and the fabric should do the work,” he said before the show. “A beautiful garment, a great bag, a silk scarf worn however you want.
“No rules.”
Tailoring formed the backbone of this season, softened by linen, silk and lightweight cotton, creating a wardrobe that moves seamlessly from day to evening and from spring to high summer.
Styling pushed the boundaries more so than in previous seasons (Ian West/PA)
Styling for the show was different from the usual Costelloe runway looks, with blazers thrown over swimsuits and only bralettes worn under outerwear.
The capri trend shows no signs of slowing, with flowing culottes and bubble-hemmed capris cropping up throughout the collection.
Balloon-hem capri pants cropped up on the runway (Ian West/PA)
Then came knitted and tailored hot pants, continuing the current obsession with abbreviated trouser lengths.
The tension between restraint and exaggeration – and between his father’s Costelloe and his own – ran throughout the show.
Big Eighties buttons were key details of the collection (Ian West/PA)
Even the venue signalled a small break with tradition. After 15 years at the Waldorf Hilton, the house moved east to Banking Hall near Liverpool Street.
It remained unmistakably a family operation, however, with William’s sister Jessica Costelloe on the door helping with the frenzy of arrivals, while former Saturdays singer and BBC Radio 1 presenter Mollie King sat front row alongside Jack Whitehall’s wife, Roxy Horner. Both wore head-to-toe Paul Costelloe autumn/winter 2026.
The show opened with a hand-drawn animation by artist Nicholas Costelloe depicting a fox – an homage to Paul – travelling through the materials and craftsmanship of the house.
The final looks celebrated the family’s Irish roots through fabrics from Ferguson’s Irish Linen and Magee, used across appliqué floral dresses, shorts and blazers.
Ferguson’s Irish Linen and Magee Fabrics were used throughout the collection (Ian West/PA)
Then Dolly Parton’s “Here You Come Again” began playing for the finale – another designer nodding to the late country singer after Vin + Omi did the same earlier this month.
There is nothing particularly surprising about William reaching for his father’s Eighties vocabulary. It is both the house’s history and, conveniently, in step with fashion’s current appetite for big shoulders, cropped trousers and conspicuously retro femininity.
More interesting is what he chose to leave behind, with the reduced print, controlled colour and increasingly strange proportions suggesting a designer testing how far he can move away from his father’s Costelloe without making the house unrecognisable.
For now, he seems to have one foot in each era: the pussy bow and shoulder pads still belong to Diana, but the balloon capris and knitted hot pants certainly don’t.