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From the tuxedo to the street, the once-formal waist accessory is getting a new life for SS27.
For years it was almost impossible to separate the word from a tuxedo. Black satin, bow tie, dinner jacket, formal occasion — the cummerbund came with a specific set of instructions.
But somewhere between last season and now, designers seem to have decided those instructions are optional.
The first signs of its comeback started appearing across the Fall/Winter 2026 runways. At Valentino, Alessandro Michele worked cummerbunds into looks ranging from sequined tops and abbreviated dresses to skinny jeans, turning what was once hidden beneath a dinner jacket into a visible part of the outfit. Issey Miyake and Polo Ralph Lauren offered their own versions of the waist-defining accessory, too.
Then came the Spring/Summer 2027 menswear shows in Paris, where the cummerbund really started to look less like a formal relic and more like a styling tool. At Celine, Michael Rider reworked it as a silk sash in rich plum and pink, pairing it with balloon trousers and the house’s jazz shoes rather than traditional evening wear. The result is less black tie and more effortless waist definition.
And now, after New York’s Fashion Week, the message has become even clearer. Cummerbunds appeared across several SS27 collections, including Kallmeyer, TWP and Heirlome, where they were pulled out of their usual tuxedo context and used to reshape more relaxed, everyday silhouettes. At Kallmeyer, Daniella Kallmeyer paired one with a buttoned-up blue top and trousers, while another embellished version appeared over an all-black tailored look and another look of a taupe silk blouse and khaki trousers paired with a cream silk cummerbund.
The timing feels right. Fashion has been steadily loosening the rules around formalwear, taking pieces that were once reserved for very particular occasions and asking what happens when you wear them completely differently. The cummerbund is perhaps the perfect example: it still has all the polish of evening wear, but without needing the tuxedo to make sense. Perhaps an evolution of using the silk scarf as a waist-defining asset.
And as the waist is becoming a styling opportunity again, the Spring/Summer 2027 collections have been playing with everything from cummerbunds and scarves to ropes and drawstrings, all doing essentially the same thing: breaking up a silhouette at the waist. The difference is that the cummerbund brings a little more structure, and a lot more attitude.
It can be worn over trousers instead of a belt, wrapped around a shirt, layered over tailoring or even used to interrupt a dress. Some versions are wide and architectural; others look almost like silk scarves tied around the waist. At its best, it feels less like adding another accessory and more like changing the proportions of the entire outfit.
Since these waist-defining accessories are kicking off in earnest and can be the quickest way to elevate any outfit and make it feel put together, GRAZIA brings to you some of its favourite cummerbunds/sash belts to add to your shopping list.
