The newspaper print trend didn't start with Carrie Bradshaw – although her iconic Dior dress by John Galliano in Sex and the City is forever etched in fashion history. And it wasn't even with the recent show by Matthieu Blasi, who brought the print back to the runway. In fact, the motif is experiencing a new peak of popularity in 2026 – and its story is much deeper, more provocative and interesting than it seems at first glance.
Chanel
Advertising.
In the 1930s, newspaper print gained real popularity thanks to the collaboration of Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dali. In 1935, the designer presented her newspaper dress – a thing in the spirit of surrealism, where newspaper text was directly applied to the fabric. It was not just aesthetics, but the question: where is the border between everyday object and fashion, between reality and its media reflection? According to Schiaparelli herself, the idea came from fishermen she met on the seashore – they made improvised hats from newspapers.
Versace, spring-summer 2018
In the 1980s and 1990s, Gianni Versace addressed the topic – but not with newspapers, but with fashion magazines. A dress and jumpsuit from the spring-summer 1991 collection were covered in Vogue covers and logos. In 2018, Versace reinterpreted these items in a pop art aesthetic: rich colors, a kaleidoscopic effect and Swarovski crystals on the Vogue letters.
Dior, fall-winter 2000/2001
Carrie Bradshaw in the TV series “Sex and the City”
But the most famous versions of newspaper print are still the works of John Galliano for Dior in the early 2000s. Galliano played with collage, typography and deliberate visual overload, transforming a political motif into a pure aesthetic – with a touch of nostalgia for the printed word in the digital age. It is from that collection that Carrie Bradshaw's dress, which costume designer Patricia Field chose for her character, is from.
Balenciaga, spring-summer 2018
Dior Men, Cruise 2023
In recent years, others have turned to the print: Demna at Balenciaga showed shirts with newspaper clippings in the spring-summer 2018 collection, Kim Jones for Dior Men in the 2023 cruise collection together with ERL – loose shorts with newspaper print, and even before Chanel, Mathieu Blasi turned this motif into an unexpected bag for Bottega Veneta in the spring-summer 2024 collection.
Bottega Veneta, spring-summer 2024
Now, the same Blasi—now at the helm of Chanel—has brought this aesthetic back to the sandy runway of his Biarritz cruise show: a lush ball gown and an urban ensemble of trench coat, shirt, and miniskirt. The designer has not just picked up on the trend, but has reactivated an entire cultural layer, reminding us that newspaper print is always more than just a pattern on fabric.
Chanel
Chanel
Based on materials from vogue.fr.