In Persian, “Behesht” means heaven or paradise; it is also the title of Cult Gaia’s Spring 2027 collection, which Jasmin Larian Hekmat unveiled today at New York Fashion Week. The front row featured Katie Holmes, Josh Heuston, Madelyn Cline, Iman, Helena Christensen, Lukas Gage,  Miles Mcbride, Olivia Jade, among others.

Influenced by her late grandmother, the collection explores how hardship complements and complicates beauty, grounded in a tempered balance between light, ethereal qualities and darker, weathered ones. Earthbound charcoal tones give way to neutral greens and reds, ultimately followed by soft pinks, the color palette tracing a timeline from mourning to renewal, from the depths of raw emotion to the beautiful heights that follow.

The textures also oscillate between delicate and fluid to structured and architectural, giving the impression of time coming in layers, each experience building on the last. Airy silks are frayed and fringed, their beauty made even more precious by their imperfection, and hand-painted silk and organza petals add sculptural, layered blooms. Accessories include sculptural wooden heels, metallic crinkle leather, marbled acrylic, hammered metals, antique silver paillettes, and stone details, all of which inform a deep association between softness and strength.

The models themselves embody the collection’s tone, their hair soft and whispery, arranged by Karim Belghiran for TRESemmé, and their makeup, led by makeup artist Raoul Alejandre and created exclusively with Lisa Eldridge, taking on a luminous, sun-drenched quality, with rosy cheeks and glossy, nude-tinted lips.

Even the darkest pieces feature small pops of color, most often a flower placed on the breast, knotted around a belt, or positioned on a shoulder. Behesht suggests that hope, resilience, and beauty don’t only endure, but follow—accompanying us through the bleakest of moments, steadying us in the most painful of losses.