What did we expect from this much-anticipated season?

A new, creative-led era for fashion? A reboot of the industry? A return to double-digit growth across the luxury behemoths?

Our second edition of System collections addresses those questions and more, while showcasing the looks of the season, as the dust settles on the conjecture that now accompanies each and every fashion month.

The 88-page portfolio reunites photographer Willy Vanderperre and stylist Olivier Rizzo with their friend and long-standing muse Julia Nobis. The resulting images – largely black and white; piercing and modern – bring the looks off the runway and under the starkness of studio lighting, returning the focus to the essence of fashion’s creative output: the clothes themselves.

Meanwhile, the issue’s conversations offer some context and perspective, both macro and micro, to a season defined by newness and expectation. Among them, Awar Odhiang reflects on her joyful, impromptu moment on the Chanel catwalk; Vanessa Friedman decries fashion’s reliance on ‘optimism’, urging designers to engage more with the reality of the world; and The Business of Fashion founder Imran Amed and luxury industry analyst Luca Solca discuss luxury overpricing – an issue that may impact the industry more profoundly than any designer’s debut collection.