There are few relationships in fashion quite as enduring as the one between clothes and horses. Riding boots, fitted jackets, buckled leather, silk scarves and hardware borrowed from bridles have moved so far beyond the stable that many now feel like permanent parts of the fashion vocabulary.
The relationship has been particularly visible in 2026. The Year of the Horse gave designers a natural reason to revisit equestrian references earlier this year, but fashion’s fascination with the horse stretches far beyond a single reason.
Few designers made the connection quite as literal as Stella McCartney. For her Winter 2026 show in Paris, McCartney transformed Le Grand Manege Jean Caucanas into an equine world in celebration of the Year of the Horse. The collection also marked the designer’s 25th anniversary and looked back at different parts of her career through tailoring, lace, sportswear and animal-free materials.
Horses have long held a personal significance for McCartney, making the setting feel like far more than a seasonal reference. Across the collection, familiar equestrian details sat alongside the sharp tailoring and eveningwear that have become part of her own design language.
Simone Rocha approached the horse from an entirely different direction. Her Autumn/Winter 2026 collection drew on Irish equine culture, beginning with Enbarr, the white horse from Irish mythology said to travel to Tír na nÓg. Rocha also looked to Irish art, film and the relationship between Irish Traveller communities and their ponies, giving the collection a feeling that was as much about memory and culture as it was fashion.
Elsewhere, Natalia Alaverdian brought equestrian style into the world of A.W.A.K.E. Mode, combining traditional riding clothes with the labels’ more playful approach to tailoring. One look even paired a classic tan riding jacket with bright red knitwear and the designer’s signature denim.
Ralph Lauren, a house where country life and equestrian references have long felt at home, grounded its Fall 2026 collection with sturdy riding boots and clothes that moved easily between the polished and the practical.
Fashion’s fascination with riding, of course, began long before 2026.
For Hermes, it is quite literally where the house began. Thierry Hermes opened his Paris workshop in 1837 as a harness-maker, with the business later expanding into saddles and other leather goods. Saddlery remains part of Hermes today, while techniques rooted in that history, including the saddle stitch, continue across its leather craftsmanship.
Gucci’s equestrian connection became equally recognisable through a much smaller retail. The Horsebit loafer arrived in 1953, placing a piece of metalwork inspired by the equestrian world across the front of the shoe. The double ring and bar later appeared on handbags, including the design now known as the Horsebit 1955. More than 70 years later, the motif remains one of Gucci’s most recognisable signatures.
That is part of what makes equestrian style so interesting. It does not need horses printed across a dress to become recognisable. Fashion has taken inspiration from the actual wardrobe of riding instead. High boots, narrow trousers, structured jackets, leather belts, quilted layers and practical outerwear were all created with function in mind, yet together they create a silhouette that feels naturally polished.
There is a contrast at the heart of it too. Riding clothes are controlled and precise, while the horse itself represents movement and freedom. Designers can choose which side of that relationship they want to explore. McCartney brought the two together through strong tailoring and her lifelong connection to animals, while Rocha turned towards mythology and storytelling. Ralph Lauren has spent decades moving between the refinement of the riding world and a more relaxed version of country life.
It means equestrian style can be romantic one season and practical the next. It can feel traditional, rebellious, sporty or completely modern, while the riding boots, leather and tailoring make its origin instantly recognisable
So while the Year of the Horse may have given designers another reason to revisit the equestrian world in 2026, fashion’s fascination with it isn’t new.
The horse never really left.
By Sayhrah Noor Asif-Ali
