Florentina Leitner spring/summer 2027: socks in every look, via The Sound of Music, look by look

Florentina Leitner, an Austrian designer based in Antwerp, showed her spring/summer 2027 collection in Paris in front of a painted backdrop of mountains and meadows. In the gallery WWD published with images courtesy of the brand there are 24 looks, and all 24 have socks: knee-high, ankle-length, striped, slouched, with a pink frill. It is the only Paris collection where the sock is never missing. We went through them one by one.

The collection: missing Austria

Jennifer Weil writes in WWD that Leitner was travelling in Japan and South Korea while she thought about the collection; back in Antwerp, she watched "The Sound of Music" on TV for the first time. "I saw beautiful Austria, the mountain landscape and Julie Andrews singing," she said. "It just made me miss home, miss summer."

Hence the homage to Austrian tradition: lederhosen redone in denim rather than leather, engraved with the words "Raindrops on Roses"; the von Trapp children's uniform outfits seen through her lens, which WWD describes as "a robin's egg blue, fluffy V-neck sweater with a dickie collar peeking out topping off a semi see-through skirt with rose details, high socks and loafers"; a smocked gingham crop top to wear with or without a dirndl; pretzel and 3D bow motifs.

Knee socks with loafers: looks 2 and 5

The look WWD describes is look 2, the photo at the top: cream knee socks and burgundy loafers under the sheer black skirt. In look 5 the same cream socks come with a sleeveless pleated black mini dress and the same loafers. It is the uniform sock, and Leitner wears it with the school shoe.

Looks 2 and 5: the uniform knee sock. Photo: courtesy of Florentina Leitner, via WWD.

The same knee sock returns, cream or grey, in looks 20, 21, 23 and 24, with loafers and lilac clogs.

Pink frilly socks with heels: looks 15 and 18

The flirtiest version is the pink sock with a ruffled cuff, ankle-length, with black patent pumps. In look 15 it sits under a black shirt and shorts with a pink bow; in look 18 under a smocked gingham babydoll. It is the sock-and-heel, in its most romantic form.

Looks 15 and 18: the pink frill with a heel. Photo: courtesy of Florentina Leitner, via WWD.

Striped slouch socks: looks 1 and 8

In the sportier looks the sock becomes a chunky, slouched sock with white stripes: grey in look 1, with a pale blue blouse and grey shorts; cream with blue stripes in look 8, with a white cardigan and white-trimmed black shorts. Both with chunky black shoes.

Looks 1 and 8: the striped slouch sock. Photo: courtesy of Florentina Leitner, via WWD.

Grey knee socks with clogs: looks 21 and 24

The finale is grey: grey knee socks with lilac clogs, under a grey blazer and mini in look 21 and under a grey dress with a bow in look 24. In the other looks (3 to 19) the sock is short, grey or charcoal, with white or pink clogs, bow flats or sandals.

Looks 21 and 24: grey on grey. Photo: courtesy of Florentina Leitner, via WWD.

How to read these legs now

No source gives the yarn or the brand of the socks. Three practical points:

• Knee socks with a loafer. Cream or grey, under a short or sheer skirt, with a loafer: the school look WWD singles out. For more knee socks, see Kiko Kostadinov and Mame Kurogouchi.
• A frill with a heel. A short frilled sock and a black pump make even shorts romantic: the same idea is in Paris street style with socks and heels.
• The sock in the colour of the outfit. Grey with the grey suit, pink with pink: at Leitner the sock almost always follows the rest of the look.

For more of the season, read our Paris Fashion Week report.

The photos

The numbering follows WWD's gallery of Florentina Leitner spring/summer 2027, 24 images credited as courtesy of the brand. The photos in this article are from that gallery, with credit. The count of 24 out of 24 looks with socks is ours, from the photos.