From Nolan’s blockbuster the season of Greek divinities explodes: a style that has invaded everyday looks between fluid drapes, bronze touches and an elegance with a Hellenic flavor
The white of the statues, the worn gold of the ancient finds, the deep blue of the Aegean Sea. Then the braids gathered around the head, the skin lit by the sun, the sandals that go up along the ankle and the draped dresses capable of transforming the body into an almost sculptural figure.
The imagery of ancient Greece is once again exerting its fascination on fashion. Leading this new mythological season is the cinematic phenomenon of the Odyssey directed by Christopher Nolan. The red carpet of the film was transformed into a modern procession of divinities, queens and warriors, while the fashion system and the beauty sector quickly translated the Homeric epic into a contemporary code. Zendaya, called to embody Athena, led the visual story, flanked by Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, Lupita Nyong’o and Samantha Morton. Americans like to capture every trend with a definition and the one in question is: «The Greek Goddess Summer» or rather the summer of the Greek divinities or rather of the divine ones. It thus establishes itself as one of the most fascinating trends of the season. The myth is lightened of its solemnity and transformed into material to wear through drapes, folds, metals, transparencies and weaves.
The centerpiece of the wardrobe is of course the draped dress. The lines are reminiscent of peplums and chitons, but the contemporary construction abandons any theatrical rigidity: the fabrics slide around the body, while asymmetrical folds, overlapping panels and lateral knots create volume without weighing down the figure. White dominates the palette in its softer shades, from chalk to ivory (perfect in the fluid interpretations of Rick Owens or in the sculptural jersey of Jacquemus), but without imposing itself as unique. Black makes the silhouette more severe and monumental; terracotta, sand, bronze and ocher instead recall the sunny landscapes of the Mediterranean. Alberta Ferretti offers a more romantic and impalpable interpretation, while Di Petsa transforms the draping into a second skin: her wetlook dresses, modeled and sewn by hand, still seem wet and make the body emerge like that of a modern divinity born from the sea.
One-shoulder dresses represent another of the most recognizable expressions of this new aesthetic, where the oblique line of the neckline creates a sculptural effect and lets the fabric shape the figure. Christopher Esber interprets this balance particularly well through jersey columns, asymmetric gathers and drapes gathered around natural stones or small metal parts. In fact, the metallic details intervene to counterbalance the fluidity. Buckles, plates, chains, rigid belts and hammered jewels introduce an almost architectural tension.
Let’s think of Elsa Peretti’s sculpture-creations for Tiffany & Co. or the jewels of Ilias Lalaounis, capable of evoking excavated objects rather than perfectly polished ornaments. The sandals continue the same story: from the iconic gladiators with thin straps by Ancient Greek Sandals to the K.Jacques versions, the laces outline the ankle and, in the more daring variations, go up softly along the calf. In the construction of these modern deities, however, dress represents only the starting point. Hairstyles and make-up extend the lines, taking up the volumes, colors and reflections to compose a coherent image from head to toe. Zendaya’s crown braids framed her head like a halo on the screen, while on the red carpet a long, soft braid (nourished and sculpted with drops of Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or to reflect the sun’s glare) translated the same suggestion into a more ethereal and contemporary form.
Anne Hathaway’s high updos, inspired by Queen Penelope, combined monumentality and freshness thanks to loose locks around the face; Lupita Nyong’o reinterpreted the royalty of Helen of Troy with sculpted hairstyles and golden details. Charlize Theron finally brought the more sculptural side of the trend onto the scene through shiny roots, defined waves and twisted knots worthy of a warrior queen.
Even make-up follows the same tension between perfection and spontaneity. The base remains light and transparent, while the light focuses on the cheekbones, temples and eyelids, sculpted by Unreal Highlighter in Glazed Goddess by Charlotte Tilbury. For the New York premiere, make-up artist Ernesto Casillas prepared Zendaya’s skin with Prada Beauty treatments and mixed Augmented Skin Essence with the foundation to lighten its coverage. She then layered Touch Blush in Coffee and Cherry on the areas naturally reached by the sun. The color, spread between cheeks, nose, temples, forehead and chin, created that warm and credible blush that made her luminous complexion one of the most commented on beauty moments of the press tour. Gold, bronze, copper, terracotta and burnt brown complete the palette. Charlize Theron interpreted the theme through shaded eyeliner and warm tones offered by the Diorshow Sunset Bronze palette, exclusive to the maison for summer 2026, while Lupita Nyong’o proposed the most cinematic version: elongated eyes, iridescent golden details created with metallic pigments and a diva-like elegance inspired by the sword-and-sandal films of the fifties and sixties.
The Greek Goddess Summer does not pretend to reconstruct the ancient, but selects fragments capable of communicating with the present. The summer of the Greek divinities does not invite you to dress up as goddesses, but to recover something of their presence: the verticality, the light and that particular elegance that does not seem to belong to a specific era.
