What’s this—Marques Almeida going glam? The long, slinky, leopard-print evening looks in their fall pre-collection certainly suggest so. It’s a bit unexpected from designers not typically known for bold prints. On a Zoom call from their Portugal studio, they explained they wanted to challenge themselves. “We aimed to explore new, more grown-up—maybe even more elegant—territory,” said Marta Marques. “But without losing what makes us who we are.”

And there’s plenty here that leans into polished eveningwear: not just the sleek, trailing animal-print skirts but also voluminous taffeta dresses with a nod to 1950s haute couture. “It’s event dressing,” Paolo Almeida admitted, “but for us, there’s always a touch of grunge in it.”

That edge comes through in the distressed-luxe contrast of the shredded-thread fil coupé fabric woven throughout the collection. Typically linked with high-end couture, the technique here adds a raw texture to what they call “pajamas” and a witchy drama to a black halter dress, its train caught mid-sweep in the photos.

It all taps into the gothic undercurrent rising in these dystopian times—seen in corsets and bras styled as outerwear, a longtime Marques Almeida signature. Here, they’re paired with denim, including this season’s take on their boyfriend jeans.