The breakout star just brought the heat to the Dsquared2 Fall/Winter 2026 collection unveiling, causing an internet frenzy in the process.
Celebrity cameos are in no way a novelty on the international runways. Hudson Williams, however, just set a new precedent for stars finding success in queer romance shows. Less than two months into the premiere of Heated Rivalry, the Boys Love (BL) series that launched him to worldwide acclaim, the Canadian actor brought the heat to the Dsquared2 Fall/Winter 2026 runway.
From the Screen to the Runway
The routine practice of bringing celebrities on the catwalk could easily pass as a well-established Fashion Week tradition. Italian cult label Dsquared2, however, is always up for a shake-up. From Doechii to NLE Choppa, the brand has previously featured fast-rising stars on the runway. For its Fall/Winter 2026 show, Dsquared2 spiced things up with a cameo by Heated Rivalry leading man, Hudson Williams.
Williams, in case you’ve missed it, is one of the hottest stars in pop culture right now. Finding his breakthrough on Crave’s latest hit hockey series, the star is currently one of the most coveted guests on red carpets, television shows and now, the runway.
A Nod to the 2026 Winter Olympics
Recruited to walk for Dean and Dan Caten’s Dsquared2, Williams brought the it factor to the runway, closing D-1 of Men’s Milan Fashion Week with a bang. The actor made his first-ever catwalk appearance, strutting to the rhythm of Kradex’s “Running On The Water.” Reinventing the styling that he has favored off-screen, Williams opened the Winter Olympics-themed show with an epic entrance.
The star then walked down the runway, decorated to resemble a majestic ice track, dressed in skinny pants, a set of layered tops and snow boots. The layering formula stood out, combining a distressed denim jacket, a green bomber and a blue vest. Nodding to his character in Heated Rivalry, who is a Canadian athlete, Williams also sported Canada’s national symbol, the Maple Leaf on a boot.
The actor’s appearance was so hot and highly anticipated that Dsquared2’s live stream crashed momentarily due to the heavy traffic.
It couldn’t be otherwise. Supported by an engaged and fast-growing fandom, Williams has emerged as pop culture royalty within weeks. The actor’s success has reached nearly every corner of the internet and cultural discourse. In fact, at the latest Golden Globe Award ceremony, Williams, along with his co-star Connor Storrie, dominated Media Impact Value rankings. (In case you need a rundown, Media Impact Value, or MIV is Launchmetrics’ proprietary-machine algorithm measuring the impact of brand activity and marketing performance through media coverage, social media engagement and other qualitative and quantitative factors.
BL Actors are Setting a New Standard in Pop Culture and Fashion
While Williams and Storrie’s fame is the most recent and perhaps most mainstream case of BL actors infiltrating fashion spaces, stars from queer love productions have been dominating Fashion Week conversations for a long time. Thai Boy Love and Girl Love stars, in particular, have found major success off-screen, partnering with and endorsing fashion brands.
Thai actors Win Metawin and Bright Vachirawit spearheaded the movement post pandemic, allowing the fame they cultivated through the BL show 2gether The Series to permeate into fashion and translate into front row invitations and brand ambassadorships.
Always with a finger on the pulse of pop culture conversations, brands quickly embraced the movement, making stars from Thai queer TV shows regular show goers and collaborators. In recent times, for example, on-screen couples Apo Nattawin and Mile Phakphum, stars of KinnPorsche, as well as The Secret of Us leading ladies, Orm Kornnaphat and LingLing Kwong (all Dior ambassadors) have dominated Media Impact Value rankings at Men’s and Women’s Paris Fashion Week, respectively, underscoring the great power of BL and GL storytelling in the global arena.
Now that the West is finally catching up, Hudson Williams emerges as one of the leading celebrity voices taking Boy Love power to the world of fashion. And, of course, he is doing it with garb and confidence, one major step at a time.
