Tom Ford AW26 said that two is always better than one

Going to fashion shows when the spectre of a third world war sits on every conscious mind is a surreal, almost dystopian experience. Business as usual. Fashion for the sake of fashion. Then there is Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford, whose sensitive, humanistic touch managed to summon a cast of troubling, fragile, lonely and sensual characters wandering across an immaculate white carpet, stronger in pairs than alone.

In a pursuit of perfection reflected in tailoring so precise it approached couture standards, Ackermann allowed small fractures to surface. Trousers were deliberately oversized, cinched only with a string, with full precision.

The chaos of the outside world intruded halfway through the show when the distant sound of bombs reverberated through the space, leaving the room visibly unsettled. Ackermann doesn’t want to forget about the atrocities; he is insisting we confront them from our privileged position in Paris this season. The collection closed with an a cappella rendition of “Sweet Harmony”, an oddly moving gesture under the circumstances.

What unfolded felt like fashion driven by passion rather than spectacle. It brought the room, momentarily, closer together. The neighbour who usually sits beside me at shows, a man who never says hello and prefers communicating through the glare of his phone screen held inches from my face, suddenly turned into an ecstatic child, eager to share his delight at the collection.

If the beauty of a Tom Ford show can coax the inner child out of us, there might be hope after all.