In the Garden Where Midnight Blooms: Miguel Vieira’s Nocturnal Elegy with Raul on the Runway

Japanese star Raul walked the runway at Miguel Vieria's elegiac show. Cover picture and photograph above: Jay Zoo for DAM 

At the Fondazione Sozzani in Milan, amid the minimalist interiors, Portuguese designer Miguel Vieria presented Garden in the Night, a midnight-hued, evocative collection that whispered rather than shouted and was all the more powerful for it. Yet it wasn’t all restraint: among the most talked-about moments of the Spring/Summer 2026 show was Japanese idol and fashion star Raul, who walked the runway sending waves of excitement through the audience and drawing crowds of devoted fans to the venue long before the show began. While the scene outside was chaos, inside on the runway, it was poetry. Story by Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Photography by Jay Zoo

Lustrous black with fine draping 

and gleaming fringes which move 

with the wearer.

MIGUEL VIEIRA carved a more introspective path with his new collection, exploring a palette of black that was not merely a colour but a concept, an atmosphere, a state of being. It cloaked sharply tailored suits, swept across columnar dresses, and enveloped coats and sculptural separates with a sense of hushed confidence. 

For both men and women, the silhouettes were streamlined yet precise, and with sleek leather lilies and roses pinned to lapels, it was all suggestive of a garden at midnight: secretive, waiting to bloom. 

With only faint glimmers of silver and whispers of white breaking through the dark hues, the feeling was meditative rather than mournful. Rather than relying on prints or ornamentation, Vieira allowed structure, drape, and texture to do the talking. 

The designer created a collection that unfolded like a visual sonata, with dresses falling in graceful swathes or cut short and sharp, while men’s outerwear introduced volume, especially in the form of oversized jackets with a subtle architectural slant. The second movement: softness, sheer overlays, delicate leather fringes, and draped shoulders, hinted at fragility beneath the surface. Every piece was meticulously constructed, a nod to Vieira’s commitment to technical excellence, but nothing felt rigid. Instead, there was a rhythm to the collection, one that moved between concealment and revelation, austerity and emotion.

Raul's presence on Vieira’s runway symbolised more than star power; it spoke to the brand’s evolving narrative, one that welcomes global voices into its cloistered, finely tailored world

Raul modelled a silvery, mesh

top that glimmered in the light. 

And then came Raul: a presence that changed the alchemy in the room. Already a household name in Japan thanks to his work with the group Snow Man and a breakout star in cinema and modelling, Raul brought a worldly resonance to Vieira’s vision. His first look, a minimalist silver top paired with gleaming, black trousers was designed to be like a flash of moonlight across the collection’s otherwise dark landscape. 

Later, he returned in one of the show’s most memorable pieces: a voluminous black quilted jacket with a single leather rose blooming at the collarbone. It was as if he had stepped out of the collection’s imagined garden, not as a guest but as its most elusive flower. With his striking height, distinctive walk, and presence, Raul embodied the Miguel Vieira ideal: elegant, composed, enigmatic.

Outside the venue, a throng of fans, many flown in from Tokyo, Paris, and beyond, called his name and crowded the entrance holding flowers, underscoring Raul’s magnetism. But inside, the atmosphere was hushed, reverent even. The collection commanded stillness. The audience, seated beneath pools of light, leaned forward not out of spectacle but curiosity. Who are these figures dressed for night? Where are they going? Who are they meeting? Vieira gave no answers, only suggestions.

Raul’s inclusion in the show wasn’t merely about celebrity casting, it was a statement. At 21, he represents a new generation of talent unbound by borders. Venezuelan and Japanese by heritage, raised in Tokyo, and now modelling internationally, he bridges cultures, disciplines, and aesthetics. His presence on Vieira’s runway symbolised more than star power; it spoke to the brand’s evolving narrative one that welcomes global voices into its cloistered, finely tailored world.

Every piece is meticulously constructed but nothing felt rigid, rather there was a rhythm to the collection, one that moved between concealment and revelation, austerity and emotion

Voluminous, gauzy draping

added a note of romanticism

to Vieira's collection. 

While many designers this season have leaned into nostalgia, hyper-femininity, or flashy revivalism, Vieira’s approach stood apart. The Garden in the Night was modern but appeared timeless, emotional but composed. Black here was never flat ~ it shimmered, moved, and breathed. 

Vieira manipulated it with such control that it felt like another language. Even the rare injections of white, seen in a sequined singlet top or a diaphanous blouse, felt less like contrast and more like an inhale before plunging back into darkness. In the closing looks, Vieira introduced movement with full-length coats in billowing silk, worn open over stark black. 

At the finale, the models walked out as a group to upbeat, exhilarating music, the sheen of the black fabrics catching the light before they disappeared backstage. It was a fitting metaphor for a collection that asked us not to look everywhere, but to look closer. The Garden in the Night was not about grandeur but gravitas, not about commanding attention, but holding it.

As the audience filed out into the humid Milanese summer morning, the crowds still waited outside, hoping to catch a glimpse of Raul. But inside, those who witnessed the show left with something quieter, more lasting: a memory of shimmering black in all its luster, something expansive, mysterious, and exquisite.

Scroll down to see more highlights from Miguel Vieira's Spring/Summer 2026 show in Milan