What’s making fashion headlines this August

August has arrived with no shortage of fashion news to catch up on. From watchmaking milestones and heritage craftsmanship to major new collaborations and campaigns steeped in archival references, the month is proving that fashion’s relationship with the past is anything but static. Here, the Bazaar edit rounds up the launches, openings, and cultural moments worth knowing about right now.

OMEGA’s new precision milestone

OMEGA is pushing the boundaries of watchmaking with its new Constellation Observatory Collection, marking the first time a two-hand watch has achieved Master Chronometer certification. The breakthrough was made possible by a new acoustic testing method developed by the Laboratoire de Précision and certified by METAS, allowing the watch to be tested without a seconds hand. The 39.4mm collection comprises nine references across two new movements, bringing together decades of Constellation design codes with modern precision and exclusive materials. Think the signature dodecagonal pie-pan dial, Constellation Star, Observatory medallion, faceted indexes, dauphine hands, and dog-leg lugs, alongside precious metals including 18K Sedna™ and Moonshine™ Gold, Canopus Gold™ and platinum. The collection also introduces O-MEGASTEEL references, including a black ceramic pie-pan dial.

Payal Khandwala’s perfect shirt

For Raksha Bandhan, Payal Khandwala is making a case for the gift that keeps on giving: a really good shirt. The Perfect Shirt brings together 21 interpretations of the wardrobe staple across silk, linen, and poplin, with a range of silhouettes, necklines, and proportions. Designed to move effortlessly from everyday dressing to evenings out, each piece is intended to be styled and restyled, making it a thoughtful gift that feels personal rather than fleeting. Consider it a wardrobe addition with longevity built in.

Hermès Cape Cod

Designed by Henri d’Origny, the Hermès Cape Cod watch adopts the distinctive “square in a rectangle” design, inspired by the Chaîne d’Ancre motif so closely associated with the Maison. The timepiece became even more iconic in 1998, when Martin Margiela conceived the Double Tour strap, which elegantly wraps around the wrist twice, giving the classic design its instantly recognisable silhouette.

Sabyasachi meets The Met

Sabyasachi is taking its maximalist vision to one of the world’s most important cultural institutions. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Indian fashion house have announced a multi-year design and retail collaboration that will bring The Met’s collection of art and culture into contemporary fashion and jewellery. The partnership will debut with a high jewellery collection inspired by the art of the Byzantine Empire, centred around Constantinople. It will be unveiled during New York Fashion Week on September 15. Over the course of the collaboration, Sabyasachi will explore The Met’s vast collection, spanning more than 5,000 years of human creativity, drawing on historic objects, artistic traditions, and forgotten narratives through the lens of Indian craftsmanship.

Versace gets obsessed again

Versace is looking backwards to move fashion forward with Versace Obsessed, Chapter II, its Fall Winter 2026 campaign. Photographed by Steven Meisel, the cinematic campaign explores the House’s hold on a new generation while surrounding its imagery with archival magazines, unseen objects, and rare volumes of Vanitas. The campaign feeds directly into the season’s collection, which revisits the foundational codes established by Gianni and Donatella Versace: grit and glamour, classicism and the street, leather and gold. The Medusa and Greca motifs return with the unapologetic attitude that has always defined the house.

Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla’s Mubarak Baug

As Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla enter their 40th year, the designers are marking the milestone with a new Mumbai flagship that feels less like a store and more like an immersive world. Mubarak Baug, which translates to “a garden of celebration”, occupies 20,000 square feet within the heritage Framjee Cawasjee Institute in South Mumbai. Conceived by their interior design vertical, A Wonder Room, the space is an exuberant expression of four decades of craft, maximalism, and Indian artistry. Expect gilded bamboo racks displaying handwoven sarees, Ajrakh, Gota appliqué, Resham, and the house’s signature crushed silk; an inverted brass city suspended from the ceiling; layers of hand-cut mirrors; mythic swans; and a jewellery vault inspired by jewel cuts.

The store also houses an archival museum displaying some of the house’s most celebrated creations, from the Architectural Coat and Madhuri Dixit’s real mirror ghagra from Devdas to Chikankari and Vasli masterpieces. Every element has been handcrafted in India, with the space also incorporating repurposed embroidery and materials. More than a flagship, Mubarak Baug is a celebration of the designers’ belief in craft, imagination and the idea that dreams can, indeed, become reality.

The thread running through all of August’s biggest fashion stories is: heritage is not something to simply preserve. It is something to reinterpret, reinvent and give a new life to.

From OMEGA rethinking precision and Versace revisiting its archives to Sabyasachi looking to centuries of art and Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla turning four decades of craft into a physical fantasy, the past continues to make a compelling case for the future.

Image credits: The brands 

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