I have a particular fondness for the dainty net curtains that hung in my grandmother’s bungalow kitchen windows. They let just enough dappled light through above the kitchen sink, softening the room without entirely obscuring the view outside. I remember sitting on the counter by the sink while my grandmother washed up mugs and glasses in the soapy plastic basin, peering through the curtains to get a view into the leafy back garden. It’s a childhood memory that has stayed with me – and, it seems, has found its way into fashion’s imagination, too.

“I love the idea of giving something familiar a completely different life. Net curtains, lace tablecloths and other domestic textiles carry a certain intimacy and nostalgia, but they also have incredible textures, patterns and drape,” Joséphine Pentecoste, founder of In House Blend, tells . The Paris-based label creates made-to-order pieces from repurposed household textiles, sourcing deadstock and dormant fabrics, as well as vintage finds picked up on Vinted and at markets across the French capital. Curtains become wrap skirts, tablecloths are transformed into tops, and fabrics that might otherwise have remained tucked away in a linen cupboard are given an entirely new lease of life.

There was a time when such fabrics felt outdated and, well, rather “granny-ish”. But our ongoing preoccupation with whimsical dressing has reframed our relationship with craft-led, antiqued textiles. Earlier this year, in a story I wrote about the return of whimsical dressing, I admitted: “I’ve never considered myself a whimsical dresser. Typically, I favour the clean lines of tailored shorts, the preppy appeal of a striped cotton shirt and the low-effort ease of a simple tank or cami. Yet, this summer I’ve noticed a change in my appetite for more romantic pieces.” Indeed, this season, too, I’ve found myself drawn to the effect of taking an otherwise ordinary domestic detail and styling it in a new context.

“I think there is something comforting about familiar objects and textures, especially in a world that feels increasingly digital,” says Pentecoste. “Nostalgia allows us to reconnect with something tangible and personal.” It is, perhaps, this sense of familiarity that makes the look feel so appealing now. Rather than the overtly sensual sheerness that has dominated previous iterations of the trend, there is something more lived-in and wearable about these fabrics.

Over the course of fashion month, a decidedly whimsical mood swept the street-style galleries. This time around, however, well-dressed attendees made their bohemian summer separates feel more suited to the cooler months by styling them unexpectedly – nightie dresses over jeans, boho blouses with cargo trousers, lace-trimmed slips beneath leather jackets and knitwear, and gauzy, net-like fabrics draped around the waists and shoulders of outerwear.

On the runways, too, designers have long explored the relationship between fashion and domesticity. The tension between the ordinary and the extraordinary is something that has inspired Miuccia Prada for decades, and Miu Miu’s spring/summer 2026 collection offered a particularly literal interpretation, with aprons featuring prominently throughout, sparking the headline “Can An Apron Be Fashion?”. Some were vibrantly printed and ruffle-trimmed; others were cut from practical navy canvas, recalling the functional uniforms of domestic life. Over her career, Mrs Prada has repeatedly taken the familiar, the unfashionable and even the deliberately awkward, and elevated them through unexpected styling and brilliant design.

In London, Simone Rocha has similarly built a recognisable design language around the interplay of delicacy and utility, with lace, tulle, ribbons and intricate embellishments lending her collections an almost heirloom-like quality. Her references often draw on Irish folklore, family history and ritual, giving familiar craft techniques a modern feel. Fellow London-based designer Pauline Dujancourt also works in this territory, creating ethereal, intricately crafted pieces that celebrate the possibilities of traditional textile techniques.

Simone Rocha AW26.

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Ann Demeulemeester AW26.

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In an HTSI interiors feature exploring the sheer brilliance of net curtains, contributor Aimee Farrell spoke to Stine Find Osther, vice-president of design at Kvadrat, about the renewed appreciation for transparent textiles. “For decades, net curtains were seen as super old-fashioned and granny-ish. But they have begun to be used more freely again in recent years.” Osther sees transparent textiles as a kind of “soft architecture” that can help transform and effortlessly adapt a space. They are a way to introduce colour, and crucially, also soften hard, minimalist architecture.” The same can be said of their effect on clothing. A delicate sheer layer has the ability to soften the winter staples we all rely on, adding a little romance to the practical business of getting dressed.

Scroll on to discover the -approved way to wear this lace trend now…

The wrap skirt

Curtain No.006 Wrap Midi-Skirt

The fringed top

The midi-skirt

Noon Checked Cotton-Blend Plaid Shirt

Curtain No. 006 Lace Long Skirt

The shift dress

The tank top

Multicolour Cow Print Hair-On Ballet Pump

Shop more pieces below…