Runway

A California Dream, Still Running the Runway

Custo Barcelona brought its California born spirit back to Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid with a spring/summer show built on sheer fabrics, low rise silhouettes and lurex, all wrapped in pastel colours that felt anything but childish. Fifty eight looks moved through ruffles, halter necks and balloon shaped trousers, delivering the kind of collection that doesn't reinvent Custo so much as remind everyone why the brand never needed to.

By Lucía Adriana

Updated 05:25 pm EDT, Sep 18, 2026

Published 05:23 pm EDT, Sep 18, 2026

Photo Courtesy: © IFEMA MADRID

Runway

A California Dream, Still Running the Runway

By Lucía Adriana

Updated 05:25 pm EDT, September 18, 2026

Published 05:23 pm EDT, September 18, 2026

Photo Courtesy: © IFEMA MADRID

Updated 05:25 pm EDT, September 18, 2026

Published 05:23 pm EDT, September 18, 2026

Photo Courtesy: © IFEMA MADRID

It’s never a bad time to remember that Custo Barcelona, with its colors and shapes, was born from a trip the Dalmau brothers took to the California coast, and that will always be one of my favorite founding stories.

Always at the forefront, whether in space, the sea, artificial intelligence, or an impeccable savoir-faire, Custo rises every season as “The Show”, the one nobody can afford to miss without falling out of the loop. Today, as part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, in the courtyard of the Faculty of Communication and Arts at Universidad Nebrija, 58 models walked the runway, each in a spectacularly fluid, flattering look.

Sheer, Low Rise and Sequined: Custo's Holy Trinity

If one thing has become clear so far this week, it’s that sheer fabrics, almost slippery in their transparency, and low-rise are going to be the holy trinity of next spring/summer. And for Custo, none of the three will happen without lurex, silver, and sequins, as per usual…

Pastel colors with nothing childish about them, ruffles, straight trousers with a hint of balloon shape, ultra-sheer halter-neck tops and dresses were the stars of the show. It was one of those shows where you can feel the cool in the air, a trip to the chicest street in the most fashionable city, the week before summer, a frozen margarita in hand and the certainty that your look is objectively the best within a 3km radius. That is Custo, always.

A Gift for the Consumer Who Never Left

The whole spectacle lands less as a show and more as a reminder that some brands don’t need reinvention as much as recognition, and that for them, staying so strongly tied to their roots is the best way to stay relevant and interesting. You can always sport a Custo piece, and to me, that is just magical.

A collection that has given the brand back its DNA, its past and its future. A celebration of what it once was and what is still to come, and above all, proof that good craftsmanship prevails, and that what was once this good probably always will be. A way of riding the waves of fortune, and a gift for the consumer who never left- the one who, like me, still digs through her mother’s closet to find Custo.

The Collection

Lucía Adriana

Editor, Fashion & Culture

Lucía holds a master’s degree in communication management, specializing in fashion and luxury marketing. With a profound appreciation for art, fashion, and history, she has discovered her vocation in fashion journalism. Currently, she dedicates her efforts to this field in her early twenties, residing in the dynamic city of Madrid.

Tags: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid September 2026, Spring/Summer Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Madrid

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