Horticouture is the new slow-hobby to take over fashion, and we're ready with gardening gloves

In the age of AI-slop, where taste has become the hottest topic online, it isn't surprising to see brands stock up on their cultural capital. Coach and Dior have both cashed in on the literary craze, turning books into key status symbols in an age of visual overload. Take Dior's relaunched Book Totes, featuring classics such as Dracula and Ulysses. Or Elle Fanning, who flipped through a miniature copy of Sense & Sensibility on the front row at New York Fashion Week autumn/winter '26.

Across fashion month, Tory Burch, Miu Miu, Prada and Bottega Veneta all offered their own interpretation of the bookish aesthetic. In a more literal literary sense, celebrity book clubs are seemingly everywhere, with our personal favourite coming courtesy of Icelandic musician Laufey. But after two seasons of the "hot literati", is the industry moving beyond books to embrace other slow hobbies?

Zipping between shows at Copenhagen Fashion Week, my colleague Clare McInerney notes how she has come away from the Danish capital with more than stock-standard fashion inspiration. "Whether or not it's a conscious reaction to AI and our algorithm-driven worlds, it's refreshing when designers become more interested in how we spend our time than simply what we wear," she says, pin-pointing how the shows enticed her to do some stretches at the barre in Baum leggings or set up a watercolour easel in some Munthe overalls.

Always ahead of the trends, our editor-in-chief Martina Bonnier (a fervent needlepoint fiend for years) concurs with McInerney. "Creating with your hands is essential. It absorbs me, and there's research that if you work with your hands, serotonin and creativity get boosted in a way you don't get if your brain is passive,” she says.