October 2, 2025 |
For SS26, Casablanca brought us to the dance floor. But not just any dance floor – the kind you dream of stumbling onto at 2am, where the bassline keeps you suspended somewhere between sweat and euphoria. Charaf Tajer’s collection was a full-bodied love letter to house music: its roots, its freedom and its undeniable glamour.
Presented in the American Cathedral in Paris, with a live soundtrack from Grammy-winning DJ Louie Vega and an 18-strong choir, it was less runway show, more Sunday service of sequins, neon and syncopated beats. Models stomped past in Casablanca’s trademark gradients, this time retooled to mimic soundwaves, the shimmer recalling sweat-slicked club walls. Sportswear blurred into tailoring; models moved through easy knits and sharp trousers, some topped with glitched orchids and cyber animalier prints.
Tajer played with archetypes we all recognise from a night out: the Social Concierge – a DJ in rave-flyer jacquards –, the Bourgeoise Raver Girl strutting in feathered minis and high-heeled mules and the laissez-faire Nightclub Proprietor in oversized tailoring and low-slung trousers. Ibiza’s hedonism appeared in sun-drenched landscape prints, while playful smiley motifs winked at the rave flyers of old.
Footwear, naturally, was given equal billing: the chunky Del Mar nodded to skateboarding, while the sleek Stade felt built for running between parties. Altogether, it was a show that lived up to the house’s original promise – an egalitarian space, a joyful mix, a house of love.
Photography courtesy of Casablanca.
