Christian Louboutin - Colorful Summer 2026 Collection

Christian Louboutin Unveils Colorful Summer 2026 Collection

A review of the Christian Louboutin Summer 2026 womenswear collection

written MALCOLM THOMAS

On Tuesday, Christian Louboutin unveiled its sunny summer 2026 collection. Inspired by Louboutin’s lifelong admiration for the stage—the set reminiscent of the interior of a René Magritte, supported models propped in playful poses in the candy-colored collection. 

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
Summer 2026 Collection

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
Summer 2026 Collection

Debuting a new line of bags, dubbed the Venus after the Greek goddess of love, a range of styles from tote to mini-crossbody, with a focus on timeless luxury and pragmatic functionality, are sure to add a bit of excitement to the everyday.

Just in time for high summer, Christian Louboutin’s new footwear offerings are abundant. Meet Mulazee, a taffeta kitten-heel mule featuring a delicate ton-sur-ton bow that highlights the feminine décolleté. It’s high-heeled cousin Cassia, and its ankle-boot counterpart Pavolva will also be making their debuts in leather and crepe satin, both complementary additions to smart eveningwear. 

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
Summer 2026 Collection

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
Summer 2026 Collection

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
Summer 2026 Collection

CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
Summer 2026 Collection

Finally, the classic Chambelimoc and Chambelimonk silhouettes return in embossed crocodile-style burgundy calf patina leather, rounding out a collection that promises bright days (and fun nights) ahead.  

all visuals
CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN SS26

A$AP Rocky x Ray-Ban - Presenting metal eyewear collection

Why A$AP Rocky expands Ray-Ban into Metal and Optical

A$AP Rocky has presented his debut metal eyewear collection for Ray-Ban, marking one year since he became the brand’s first Creative Director. The release introduces both sunglasses and, for the first time under his direction, optical frames. It arrives with a campaign film co-starring Nas, staged in a late-night New York diner and built around an exchange between two figures from different eras of American rap.

Ray-Ban, founded in 1937, remains one of the few eyewear brands whose silhouettes have consistently crossed military use, Hollywood cinema, and music culture. Styles such as the Aviator and Wayfarer shaped decades of visual identity. Rocky’s appointment formalised a longer-term creative role that moves beyond capsule collaborations. His first full collection therefore carries structural weight: it signals how a musician with established influence in fashion translates an archive into product.

RAY-BAN / A$AP ROCKY METAL COLLECTION
A$AP Rocky

RAY-BAN / A$AP ROCKY METAL COLLECTION

The metal collection draws directly from historic Ray-Ban shapes while adjusting proportion and construction. Soft oval frames sit alongside narrow rectangles, each rendered in classic metallic finishes. Several designs adopt rimless engineering, emphasising lens shape and reducing visible structure. A wraparound silhouette, available exclusively in selected stores, introduces a more futuristic line and extends the range into sport-informed territory. Material focus defines the collection. Metal frames replace acetate as the primary structural element, shifting the visual language toward sharper contours and lighter builds. In the rimless models, thick lenses heighten the geometry of the silhouette, creating a pronounced edge around otherwise minimal hardware. Across the line, the emphasis rests on proportion, lens thickness, and the tension between archival reference and present-day styling.

The campaign situates Rocky and Nas inside a New York diner, visually echoing 1990s iconography without turning the setting into nostalgia. Nas represents a generation that shaped East Coast rap’s visual and lyrical codes; Rocky has consistently revisited that era in his own fashion vocabulary. Placing both figures in dialogue positions the collection within a broader cultural lineage that connects Ray-Ban’s long-standing ties to music with contemporary authorship.

RAY-BAN / A$AP ROCKY METAL COLLECTION
A$AP Rocky + Nas

RAY-BAN / A$AP ROCKY METAL COLLECTION

RAY-BAN / A$AP ROCKY METAL COLLECTION

RAY-BAN / A$AP ROCKY METAL COLLECTION

The inclusion of optical frames expands the scope of Rocky’s direction. Prescription eyewear functions as a daily object, extending beyond seasonal styling into routine wear. Integrating optical designs signals that the collection is embedded in Ray-Ban’s ongoing catalogue rather than framed as a limited collaboration.
After a year in the role, Rocky’s first metal line establishes a clear trajectory. It engages the brand’s archive through material and proportion, anchors itself in music history through casting, and extends into optical territory with practical intent. The result is a collection that operates inside Ray-Ban’s legacy while marking a distinct authorial imprint.

all visuals
RAY-BAN SS26

LV Tilted Sneaker - Louis Vuitton’s Spring Summer 2026

This Is the LV Tilted Sneaker Leading Louis Vuitton’s Spring Summer 2026

At Louis Vuitton’s Men’s Spring Summer 2026 show, the silhouette defined the atmosphere from the first look. Jackets carried volume through the shoulder, trousers moved with controlled ease, and the overall line of the collection held a steady, deliberate rhythm. Attention was placed on proportion and stance, on the way fabric settles on the body and how that body advances through space. Within this framework, the LV Tilted Sneaker anchored the season at ground level, shaping the posture of each look and reinforcing the calibrated balance that ran throughout the show.

The LV Tilted entered the season during the Men’s Spring Summer 2026 Pre collection preview before taking its place on the runway as part of the collection’s full silhouette. Its reference to classic skate culture is visible in the padded tongue and overall profile, while the construction reflects the house’s attention to proportion and balance. The sole is widened and engineered so that right and left are dimensionally equal, making the pair initially interchangeable. This calibration shifts the stance of the wearer in motion, as the foot meets the ground evenly and the body settles into a more centered posture. Beneath the elongated tailoring and controlled volume of the Men’s Spring Summer 2026 collection, the LV Tilted subtly reshapes how the look carries itself from the ankle upward, influencing the way fabric falls and how the silhouette reads across the runway.

LV Tilted Sneaker
MEN SS26 Campaign

LV Tilted Sneaker

The LV Tilted carries its identity through a few deliberate gestures. The angled LV on the padded tongue introduces a slight visual shift that breaks the symmetry of the form, while the upper’s defined stitching keeps the construction clean and controlled. Underfoot, the sole carries Monogram and Damier codes in relief, making the house signature visible in motion. The materials feel considered and lightweight, giving the sneaker a composed presence that aligns naturally with the direction of the Men’s Spring Summer 2026 season.

LV Tilted Sneaker
MEN SS26 Show

LV Tilted Sneaker
MEN SS26 Show

LV Tilted Sneaker

LV Tilted Sneaker
MEN SS26 Show

The LV Tilted appears in multiple treatments this season, moving through worn denim, calf suede, woven Damier, plaid canvas and embroidered finishes with ease. Each material brings a different tone to the same silhouette, shifting its mood from understated to expressive while keeping its outline consistent. On the runway, those variations registered almost like subtle edits within the same sentence, small adjustments that altered the feel of the look without disturbing its balance.

Within Men’s Spring Summer 2026, the sneaker sits comfortably inside the collection’s language of controlled proportion and steady line. It feels resolved, considered, fully absorbed into the way the season presents itself on foot, giving the show a quiet coherence that holds from the first exit to the final walk.

all visuals
LOUIS VUITTON SS26

Copenhagen Fashion Week at 20 - Cecilie Bahnsen and Fine Chaos

Two Generations of Copenhagen Fashion

In The Designers’ Words

written JUSTINA SNOW

Do you remember the time when you turned twenty? It seemed like from now on you would enter a different era, and everything would be different. You feel more professional when ‘-teen’ is no longer attached to your age, and you feel like now you will finally be taken seriously.

Copenhagen Fashion Week SS26 / Cecilie Bahnsen by James Cochrane

Copenhagen Fashion Week SS26 / Cecilie Bahnsen by James Cochrane

Copenhagen Fashion Week just turned 20. And even though Copenhagen has long been a major city on the fashion map, it still is a big milestone. Maturity really shows here - Copenhagen Fashion Week has developed its own values, which include sustainability - it’s the only fashion week that has mandatory standards requiring at least 50% of collections to be certified, recycled, or upcycled. It is also the only fashion week where 70% of the brands on the schedule are women-led.

As it’s so appropriate for a bright young thing, it is very progressive and fast-changing, and it also has so much power to influence other cities. I met two brands from different fashion generations — Cecilie Bahnsen and Fine Chaos — to discuss about how they view the fashion industry change in Copenhagen (and as a whole), to reflect on its past and future, and to see if any generational differences exist, even in fashion.

Designer Portrait / Cecilie Bahnsen

Cecilie Bahnsen, who began working as an assistant to Danish designer Anja Vang Krag in 2007, is now one of the most well-known and successful Danish fashion names. I met Cecilie Bahnsen in a bookstore, where she hosted a signing event for A Magazine Curated by, marking the first time the magazine was curated by a Danish designer, with her name standing alongside Martin Margiela, Riccardo Tisci, and other fashion legends. Cecilie revealed that she is also a collector of the magazine.

Copenhagen Fashion Week SS26 / Cecilie Bahnsen by James Cochrane

Copenhagen Fashion Week SS26 / Cecilie Bahnsen by James Cochrane

Justina Snow
You founded your brand more than 10 years ago. What changes in the fashion industry, and in Copenhagen specifically, have you noticed since you started the brand?

Cecilie Bahnsen
For me, being part of Copenhagen Fashion Week was a way of finding my Scandinavian voice - or my brand’s voice - and embracing it. When I started, it was amazing to see so many Danish designers beginning to establish their Scandinavian identity. Seeing how far Copenhagen Fashion Week has come over the past 10 years, and being part of that journey, has been very special.

Copenhagen Fashion Week is the only major fashion week with so many women-led brands on its schedule. Why do you think Copenhagen has this, while other fashion weeks remain more male-dominated?

I think life happens at a different pace here, and I see more balance, which gives room for collaboration and creativity. The inspiring environment and calmness of the city also make it easier to thrive and seem to encourage and motivate this focus on women-led brands.

You’re very active internationally. How does the experience of being in Paris compare to being in Copenhagen?

Copenhagen is an amazing base - it’s home, but it's also true that the brand is very international. First, moving to Paris was really incredible. For me, the couture and the romance are deeply inherited in the brand. I spent a few years in Paris before moving back to Copenhagen (Cecilie was interning for John Galliano in Paris early in her career), and now I feel like my heart belongs to both places. It’s incredible to come back to Copenhagen but also to show collections in Paris.

And I think it´s a perfect balance because your brand in the context of Paris feels and looks very different.

Yes. But also nowadays fashion weeks are collaborating more, which is really exciting.

A slightly wishful question: we’re now celebrating 20 years of Copenhagen Fashion Week. Looking ahead, where do you see Copenhagen fashion in another 20 years?

I hope it continues to celebrate creativity, personality, and uniqueness. I appreciate that you see the brand as established, but I remember when I was a student, the first show I saw in Copenhagen was Henrik Vibskov and it was a big thing for me. That energy of creativity was something important to hold on to. It’s about staying inspired, following your creative vision, and seeing how far you can take it.

Designer Portrait / Fine Chaos

The young, ambitious brand Fine Chaos also hit major milestones in their career this time. While only having their first show in 2023, they recently expanded their creative team, which helped them develop their jewelry and accessories line, creating an even more immersive, futuristic, yet still underground universe. Tone-Lise, who is now the head of design, started at the brand founded by Marc C. Møllerskov as an intern and emphasizes the importance of community in fashion.

Copenhagen Fashion Week FW26 / Fine Chaos by James Cochrane

Copenhagen Fashion Week FW26 / Fine Chaos by James Cochrane

Copenhagen Fashion Week FW26 / Fine Chaos by James Cochrane

Justina Snow
You started the brand in 2021, with the first show being in 2023, and a lot of growth has happened since then. In the grand scheme of things, five years is not a lot, but do you already see a difference in the fashion scene from when you started to now?

Fine Chaos
I think consumers are reaching a turning point where they need to have a story behind the garment. Also, before, the fashion industry was very closed off, and we’re trying to open it up to everybody, to be seen as humans and not as somebody who sits on their throne. It’s important not to be a private party, because at the end of the day we are all expressing ourselves through it.

If you had to pick only one thing about Fine Chaos, what are you most proud of?

That people are so open-minded within the brand, and that it feels like a family. When I started as an intern, I was actually homeless, and it always felt like home. Also, the ability to sense what is going on in the world and to communicate it through clothing. You can turn off your phone, turn off the TV, but we still try to confront people using fashion as a medium.

I liked the phrase on your homepage that ‘you as a brand are not yet sustainable.’ That’s very honest. Do you think the fashion world would benefit if more brands admitted that?

Definitely, because there’s no brand that’s truly sustainable. It’s not possible to produce something new without impacting the planet. It’s about taking accountability and thinking about how to make it better. That’s why, for us, it’s very important to be responsible, because we are also part of the burden on the world. It’s also important that consumers see value in what they’re buying - it has to be an investment.

Copenhagen is the only fashion week where the majority of brands are women-led. Why do you think this happens here and not in other fashion capitals?

I would say we see each other more as equals here. In our brand, too - Mark and I - we are equals. It’s funny, because a lot of internship applicants we get are mainly women. We haven’t had a man apply for a design internship, which actually would be great too. In other fashion cities, however, sexism in the fashion industry is a huge problem. I think some people are still drawn to how it was back in the day, and it has become seen as ‘how it should be.’ My brain is sobbing thinking about this. I hope one day they will look at Copenhagen as one of the leading fashion weeks and take it as an example.

We are celebrating 20 years of Copenhagen Fashion Week. If we look 20 years from now, what kind of fashion industry would you like to find yourself in?

To be honest, I would love to see fewer brands, with all of them understanding how their production affects the planet and people. I would also like to see fashion be more open to everybody, not like a private party, as we talked about before - because everybody is wearing clothes, regardless of whether you are into fashion or not. And more women.

Copenhagen Fashion Week FW26 / Fine Chaos by James Cochrane

Copenhagen Fashion Week FW26 / Fine Chaos by James Cochrane

Berlin Fashion Week - New Generation of German Fashion

Berlin Fashion Week frames a New Generation of German Fashion

A review of the BFW Fall/Winter 2026 Collections

written KLAAS HAMMER

New and emerging labels, established talents and brands that found their way to the city through "Intervention" initiated by Reference Studios all presented their collections, while at the very beginning only one topic was on everyone’s minds: the icy cold.

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / IOANNES seen by Lewin Berninger

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / IOANNES seen by Lewin Berninger

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / IOANNES seen by Lewin Berninger

IOANNES

Friday evening opened with one of the most hyped brands on the schedule. Ioannes, the label by designer Johannes Boehl Cronau, delivered a show that practically screamed chic and expensive. The looks were undeniably sexy, defined by sharp cuts, confident tailoring, and styling that paired pointed-toe stilettos with sleek, polished sunglasses. For what he describes as his final traditional runway collection, Cronau delved deep into his own archive to distill what "Ioannes-ness" means today. Looking ahead, he plans to step away from the seasonal fashion calendar altogether, evolving the brand into a holistic lifestyle project that will eventually include furniture and objects. Berlin, he explains, is the ideal place to pursue this vision—a city that allows him to build on his own terms, free from the crushing weight of heritage or the immediate pressure of commercial perfection.

The collection itself drew heavily on the aesthetics of the 1990s: sleek silhouettes reminiscent of his mother’s black Jil Sander office suits, sharp yet relaxed in their execution. There was a distinct Euro jet-set mood hovering somewhere between glamour and ennui. Yet playfulness was never far away. Cronau employed pyrography, burning wood, to transfer floral motifs onto garments, describing it as a "tension between the precision of tailoring and the rawness of the burn on bodycon dresses." Trousers flared subtly at the hem, while outerwear leaned into tactile textures, with coarse, hair-like surfaces that nodded to retro luxury without directly imitating it. With this collection, Cronau made it clear that he is no longer interested in proving relevance. For him, true resonance cannot be measured by algorithms; it can only be felt. Watching the show, I felt it instantly: I want to be a person who wears Ioannes.

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / MARKE seen by Andreas Hofrichter

MARKE

The next label to watch is MARKE by Mario Keine. What Ioannes represents for women, MARKE positions itself as a compelling counterpart in menswear. For those drawn to precise tailoring and classic silhouettes with a subtle, playful twist, this is a name worth remembering. The new collection combined clean, corporate forms with historic materials, highlighting the tension between discipline and emotion, individuality and conformity. It would not be surprising to see a major VIP step onto a red carpet in one of Keine’s designs in the near future. Like few others, MARKE manages to feel timeless and contemporary at once. Born from a sense of helplessness triggered by the constant flow of information on social media, where context and knowledge often dissolve into fast-consumed, surface-level content, the collection explored a softer side of masculinity. Black veils, roses, and long draped silhouettes brought emotion and vulnerability into sharp tailoring.

On a cold, grey winter day in Berlin, the looks, especially those in shades of grey, felt striking, quietly powerful and unexpectedly sensual. They were the kind of pieces you immediately wanted to take home, look after look. As the fashion crowd moved on to the next show, Keine remained by the exit, visibly relieved and content.

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / SF1OG seen by Tom Funk

SF1OG

SF1OG presented a runway show that explored the tension between privacy and visibility, guided by the central question: "Who are we when no one is watching?" Designer Rosa Marga Dahl and Jacob Langemeyer drew inspiration from intimate paparazzi images of early-2000s pop stars and the Victorian era’s mourning dress, using fashion as both a shield and a form of expression. The collection played with contrasts—revealing versus hiding, softness versus structure—through layered silhouettes, high collars, hoods, and garments designed to obscure the body and face. Tailoring appeared in new, sculptural forms shaped away from the body, while slim-fit denim referenced early 2010s youth culture, a bold move that resonated strongly with international buyers. Materiality remained central to SF1OG’s identity: reused antique linens, leather, and shearling were combined with silk, sequins, and velvet, creating pieces that felt worn-in rather than pristine. Signature elements such as bar jackets with flared peplums were paired with oversized knits and scarves, reinforcing the idea of clothing as emotional protection.
Set in a brutalist postwar building in Berlin, the show emphasized SF1OG’s clear point of view and increasing confidence as a brand. SF1OG continues to position itself as one of the most relevant emerging labels shaping the future of German fashion.

Taking place on February 2 during Berlin Fashion Week, INTERVENTION V is a one-day festival combining runway shows, talks, and listening formats at Kraftwerk Berlin. The former power station serves as a multidisciplinary venue for fashion, music, and contemporary culture.

The program opens with the first-ever collaboration between Reference Studios and TED, bringing fashion and design into TED’s cultural dialogue for the first time. Runway shows unfold across Kraftwerk’s ground and first floors, featuring BUZIGAHILL, Kenneth Ize, DAGGER, JOHN LAWRENCE SULLIVAN, and GmbH, offering a focused snapshot of independent, globally minded fashion today. Let’s have a look at our two favorite shows:

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / John Lawrence Sullivan seen by Lewin Berninger

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / John Lawrence Sullivan seen by Lewin Berninger

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / John Lawrence Sullivan seen by Lewin Berninger

JOHN LAWRENCE SULLIVAN

One of the new brands to arrive in Berlin through INTERVENTION was John Lawrence Sullivan. Founded by Arashi Yanagawa, who worked as a professional boxer before turning to fashion, the label has previously shown in Tokyo, Paris, and London. After the show at Berlin’s Kraftwerk, it was clear that John Lawrence Sullivan fits seamlessly into the city’s often dark, raw aesthetic.

The collection featured long coats, tailored jackets, and bomber jackets, with hero pieces shaping the body into a forward-leaning posture reminiscent of a boxer’s fighting stance. A predominantly dark color palette, well suited to Berlin’s nightlife, was complemented by snow white and icy silver tones that evoked Nordic nights and a sharp sense of cold. Stud and spike details on boots and bags, along with sheer mesh long sleeves, completed the subculture-inspired looks, perfectly aligned with a fashion crowd moving through the city in temperatures as low as minus ten degrees. The womenswear followed the same concept as the menswear, with exaggerated shoulder silhouettes as a key visual element.
Speaking after the show, Yanagawa cited Norwegian black metal as a major influence, emphasizing themes of strength, independence, and looking forward. A strong and convincing Berlin debut from the former boxer.

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / GMBH seen by Lewin Berninger

GMBH

One of the most anticipated shows of Berlin Fashion Week, GmbH returned to its hometown with a powerful runway presentation that reaffirmed fashion as a political voice. Designers Benjamin Huseby and Serhat Işık continue to position the brand as an advocate for marginalized communities, using clothing as a form of resistance and expression.

Titled "Doppelgänger," the collection responded to a world shaped by violence, fear, and manipulation, referencing the idea of distorted realities where power, greed, and ideology blur truth and fiction. Drawing inspiration from Berlin’s early 1980s experimental music scene, particularly industrial and synth influences the show reflected a time when the city stood for counterculture and utopian ideals. The collection featured signature GmbH pieces: over-the-knee boots, leather trousers with zipper details, fur bomber jackets with oversized collars, and sharp tailoring with trousers in focus. Voluminous silhouettes were balanced with slim long-sleeves and loose tops, while long scarves softened the structured looks. A mostly neutral palette was interrupted by a striking black floral print on white. Beyond the clothes, the show emphasized community and solidarity. The casting brought together men of different backgrounds and body types, reinforcing GmbH’s inclusive ethos. Presented in freezing temperatures, the designers also used the moment on Instagram to call for donations to Berlin’s "Kältebus", underlining their commitment to action beyond the runway. With this show, GmbH once again proved why it remains one of Berlin’s most relevant and politically engaged fashion brands.

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / GMBH seen by Lewin Berninger

Berlin Fashion Week FW26 / GMBH seen by Lewin Berninger

Taakk - Fall/Winter 2026 Review

Taakk FW26 - Over 2,000 Years in the Making

A review of the Taakk Fall/Winter 2026 collection

written MALCOLM THOMAS

A rain of mist fell on La Tour d'Eiffel, its imposing presence seemed to devour the streets around it. Standing proud amongst its subjects, gazing in awe. Perhaps its purview extended to Taakk’s Fall/Winter 2026 show held at the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine on January 25, for which anyone should certainly be proud. Undoubtedly, Japanese designer Takuya Morikawa, who delivered his strongest collection to date. 

Paris Fashion Week FW26
TAAKK Fall/Winter 2026 Menswear

Inspired by the Jōmon, an early Japanese hunter, gatherer, and agricultural society spanning 10,000 years (roughly 14,000-300 BCE), much like the Jomon themselves, Morikawa wanted to pay tribute to the land, “living in harmony with nature; the forest, ocean, rivers and all,” the designer wrote in his program. 

This started from an unlikely and controversial place—fur, which was collected from production byproduct and pieced together to create the most beautiful and ethical jackets, bags, and trimmings—a new offering for Taakk. To gradient fabrics and masterful embroidery techniques. Warping cotton on denim to imitate tree bark, raw and unpolished, is one of many Morikawa innovations over the years.

After the finale, models stood for guests to marvel. People cheered, took out their phones, ran their hands through the textiles, and wondered why they hadn’t discovered Taakk sooner. I imagine Morikawa must’ve felt this, too. Now it was time for people to pay tribute to him.

Paris Fashion Week FW26
TAAKK Fall/Winter 2026 Menswear, Final

Paris Fashion Week FW26
TAAKK Fall/Winter 2026 Menswear, Takuya Morikawa

about the editor
When not reviewing shows or writing features, Malcolm spends his time as Founder & Editorial Director of Malcolm + Friends Agency. A full-service agency powered by a global community of freelancers, consultants, and creative partners from leading brands and institutions.


all images (c) TAAKK Press

Paris Fashion Week Streetstyles AW26

OUTSIDE THE SHOWS
*That’s Paris Fashion Week Menswear FW26

written LE MILE

Outside the official schedules and away from the controlled choreography of the runway, Paris Fashion Week Menswear FW26 revealed its most telling moments in motion, on the pavement, between shows, in passing glances and improvised silhouettes. This season unfolded against a backdrop of recalibration. Many houses leaned into clarity over spectacle, refining archetypes. Tailoring returned with sharper intent, volume was handled with restraint, and references to utility, workwear, and heritage were filtered through a more personal lens. Elsewhere, softness crept in through colour, texture, and gesture, suggesting a quieter confidence shaping contemporary menswear.

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
RICK OWENS

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
RICK OWENS

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
TAAKK

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
TAAKK

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
KIDSUPER

Captured by Ian Kobylanski, Outside the Shows turns its focus to the characters who animate this in-between space. Individuals assembling their own visual language from fragments of the season: elongated coats, experimental layering, archival gestures, subcultural echoes, and moments of playful disruption.

Shot during the final days of the Paris circuit in late January, the series reflects a city momentarily transformed into a moving archive of ideas. Outside the Shows shows how fashion is lived, negotiated, and reimagined in real time.

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
Michèle Lamy, COMME des GARÇONS

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
COMME des GARCONS

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
White Mountaineering

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
KIDSUPER

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
AMIRI

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
LOUIS VUITTON

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
HERMES

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
LOUIS VUITTON

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
DIOR

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
Pharell Williams, SACAI

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
JOON.J

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
JOON.J

Paris Fashion Week FALL-WINTER 2026
DOUBLET

all visuals
(c) IAN KOBYLANSKI

Paris Fashion Week Menswear FW26, January 2026

Celine - Inside the Fall/Winter 2026 Menswear Collection

How Michael Rider Is Reframing Celine Menswear for Fall/Winter 2026

A review of the Celine Fall/Winter 2026 menswear collection

written MALCOLM THOMAS

“We took the frame of menswear, and what Celine stands for, and then talked a lot about the energy of today, the here and now, the way people live and want to look,” said Celine Creative Director, Michael Rider.

Paris Fashion Week FW26
Celine Fall/Winter 2026 Menswear

Officially, his second collection for the house. It appears Rider’s approach is more Phoebe Philo than Slimane, and entirely more down- to-earth, 16 Rue Vivienne, to be exact, the brand’s headquarters and showroom, where his under-the-radar second collection was presented. Unlike his debut, there was no runway show. No flashing lightbulbs, no V.I.P. wrangling or seating politics, this season. No pomp and circumstance. Instead, a well-merchandised presentation, a tower of American-style blue jeans, an S-curve footwear assortment, and a thoughtfully curated edit of key looks to peruse with champagne and hors d’oeuvres in hand. “Character over costume,” was the designer’s directive.

An electric blue button-up paired with trousers and a camel coat first caught my glance; the same blue also made an appearance in a shirt jacket and matching sweater. Then there were the bolder pieces: the single shoulder button pin leather jacket, for instance, rock n’ garde remnants of Monsieur Slimane’s time at the house, featuring hippie hugger sayings like “Hugs Not Drugs,” and “It won’t be a party if I’m not invited.”  You know the saying, once a bad boy…

But while Slimane was more likely to rock the boat, Rider is more likely to steer it.

Who wants to get wet anyway?

about the editor
When not reviewing shows or writing features, Malcolm spends his time as Founder & Editorial Director of Malcolm + Friends Agency. A full-service agency powered by a global community of freelancers, consultants, and creative partners from leading brands and institutions.


all images (c) CELINE Press, seen by Zoe Ghertner

Algieri - Paris Fall/Winter 2026 Show Review

Algieri Paris: Fashion and a Show

A review of the Algieri Paris Fall/Winter 2026 show

written MALCOLM THOMAS

Deep in the 14th arrondissement on a cold night, I sat inside the Chapelle Sainte Jeanne D’Arc, a Neo-Gothic church so remote even a Parisian taxi driver couldn’t find it. The grand darkness of the church, named after patron saint Joan of Arc (you know the one), was as much of a character as the performance itself.

Paris Fashion Week FW26
Algieri Paris Fall/Winter 2026 Show

A ghoulish fog hung over the stage as a DJ appeared, and shortly after, a chanteuse unveiled her bejeweled-encrusted gown that shimmered as her voice soothed even the darkest corners of the church. Dancers in white enveloped her like a dying flower come back to life, then made their way to the tables populated with silver dishes in the center of the floor. They began staining their white uniforms black. One let out a scream, and the fashion part of the show began.

The collection, entirely in black, created (mostly) in deadstock fabric and exaggerated and restrictive structures and silhouettes in varying cashmere, leather, lace, feathers, metal, and stones, needed no such introduction.

Yet, the full-bodysuits, one made entirely of feathers, the voluminous floor-length fur, and the chainmail dress made of keys cling-clanging as it walked past to a melody of its own, were their own kind of show. 

Founded in 2022, Algieri Paris has a vested interest in the re-contextualization of gender and body norms, often collaborating with local drag queens and underground celebrities. Raphaël Algieri’s sex-positive avant-garde design language was honed at L’Institut Supérieur des Arts Appliqués (LISAA) and École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC). Nods to Louise Bourgeois and the sensuality of Robert Mapplethorpe’s famous black and white portraits can also be found in Algieri’s work. Named after the designer’s Italian great-grandmother, Filomena Algieri, who decided not to marry and to pass down her name instead. There is not an inch of Algieri that isn’t rich with subversion. 

When the show ended, I walked the eighteen minutes to the nearest metro in the rain. I laughed to myself. I almost missed this show. I’m glad I didn’t.

about the editor
When not reviewing shows or writing features, Malcolm spends his time as Founder & Editorial Director of Malcolm + Friends Agency. A full-service agency powered by a global community of freelancers, consultants, and creative partners from leading brands and institutions.


all images (c) Algieri Paris Press

H&M and e.l.f. Cosmetics - Translating Everyday Beauty Into Fragrance

Why This H&M and e.l.f. Cosmetics Collaboration Thinks About Scent as a System

written LE MILE

Fragrance rarely enters the world quietly. New launches tend to arrive wrapped in mythology, spectacle, or aspirational distance. The collaboration between H&M and e.l.f. Cosmetics takes a different route, it begins with recognition.

Eau de parfum bottles from the H&M and e.l.f. Cosmetics
fragrance collaboration inspired by Power Grip, Halo Glow and Camo

The limited eau de parfum collection represents a first for both brands. H&M enters a formal beauty partnership for the first time. e.l.f. introduces fragrance into its product universe for the first time.
Power Grip, Halo Glow and Camo are already embedded in everyday use. They are functional, widely used products with established emotional associations. Translating them into fragrance is a practical decision as much as a creative one.

Power Grip – Salty Drip is built around eucalyptus, cedarwood and sea salt. The structure is clear and restrained. Cooling notes meet dry woods and mineral elements, resulting in a fragrance that feels direct and purposeful. It carries a sense of clarity that mirrors the product line it references, something designed to hold, to stabilise, to stay in place.

Halo Glow – Luminous Cloud moves into a softer register with magnolia, vanilla and amber. The scent develops gently, staying light and consistent over time. It reflects the visual logic of Halo Glow as a product known for diffused radiance and subtle warmth.

Camo Blend – Nude Canvas brings vanilla, musk and palo santo together in a composition that sits close to skin. The scent develops gradually, shaped by body heat. There is a quiet depth to it, one that mirrors Camo’s long-standing association with adaptability and coverage.

All three eau de parfums are vegan and positioned at an accessible price point. Scale, inclusion, and everyday use have long shaped both brands’ identities, and the fragrance collection reflects that continuity. The campaign supporting the launch reinforces this approach. Directed by Tanu Muino, it centres on movement. An original track titled “spritz. walk. waft.” provides rhythm, while choreography demonstrates how scent travels through bodies in motion. Fragrance is treated as physical and spatial.

watch film by TANU MUINO

Launching globally on 29 January 2026, the collection will be available in selected H&M stores and online.

all images (c) H&M Press

Christian Louboutin - Jaden Smith Debuts Menswear Collection FW26

Jaden Smith Debuts Menswear Collection For Christian Louboutin

A review of the Christian Louboutin Fall/Winter 2026 menswear collection

written MALCOLM THOMAS

When it was announced last September that Christian Louboutin had appointed its first-ever Men’s Creative Director, it marked a bold new chapter for the brand. A brand that, at that point, had already left its global footprint on one of fashion’s most lucrative categories.

Paris Fashion Week FW26
Jaden Smith Menswear Collection for Christian Louboutin

Emerging not just as another shoe brand, catered to women on the rise but as a sexy symbol of status, most notable for its blood red soles, known en masse as red bottoms, and framed in perpetuity as “bloody shoes” by Cardi B in her chart-topping smash, Bodak Yellow, a song that ironically did as much for her career as it did to cement Christian Louboutin in the culture.

Paris Fashion Week FW26
Jaden Smith Menswear Collection for Christian Louboutin

It was over 15 years ago that Louboutin launched its menswear line. A sub-category which now accounts for 24% of its business, and it was more than six years ago when the designer began a dialogue with then, 21-year-old, Jaden Smith. A child of parents who in their own right, had a part in shaping culture. A dialogue between the two seemed fitting— his appointment as a creative stakeholder seemed shocking—remember that bold new chapter?

Unveiled Wednesday at an elaborate exhibition in Paris, somewhere between cinema and mythology, the Fall/Winter 2026 menswear collection was displayed. Heroed by shoes, of course, merchandized on antiquity-inspired columns throughout, with accompanying wall placards, the same kind you might find in a gallery or museum. The positioning was clear. Less status. More art.

Paris Fashion Week FW26
Jaden Smith Menswear Collection for Christian Louboutin

Paris Fashion Week FW26
Jaden Smith Menswear Collection for Christian Louboutin

Paris Fashion Week FW26
Jaden Smith Menswear Collection for Christian Louboutin

From the virality of the campaign imagery, projected full screen on the wall and in a viewing area, Smith’s bare-chested body, painted in red, also on display—a kind of nod to the rapper’s full creative immersion, to the role itself, these were made for see and be seen moments. Some moments, bolder than others, fur boots for instance, worn by Jaden Smith, himself in the video, certainly not made for wallflowers, but rather a temperature check of how far Christian and Jaden are willing to go. Wax-dripped boots were another editorial moment, which I think may also have a retail moment too, as well as logo-ed belts and a utility bag with titled pockets and compartments, stone masons and scribes among Smith’s inspiration and romanticization of the working man.

Paris Fashion Week FW26
Jaden Smith Menswear Collection for Christian Louboutin

Paris Fashion Week FW26
Jaden Smith Menswear Collection for Christian Louboutin

Next: a full collection slated for runway and sale next season, and the capsule collection in select boutiques and on christianlouboutin.com. Available now.

Paris Fashion Week FW26
Jaden Smith Menswear Collection for Christian Louboutin

about the editor
When not reviewing shows or writing features, Malcolm spends his time as Founder & Editorial Director of Malcolm + Friends Agency. A full-service agency powered by a global community of freelancers, consultants, and creative partners from leading brands and institutions.


all images (c) Christian Louboutin Press

Louis Vuitton - Trunk Edition as a complete men’s wardrobe for FW 2026

Why Louis Vuitton’s Fall-Winter 2026 Trunk Edition focuses on trans-seasonal menswear

written LE MILE

Louis Vuitton will launch the Fall-Winter 2026 Men’s Trunk Edition on 5 February 2026. The project is developed under Men’s Creative Director Pharrell Williams and introduced as a complete men’s wardrobe designed for extended use across seasons. The initiative arrives at a moment when large fashion houses are consolidating menswear around durability, material performance, and long-term relevance as central design priorities.

Since his appointment in 2023, Williams has overseen menswear at Louis Vuitton with an emphasis on coherence across product categories. His role operates at the scale of an institution, where creative direction intersects with manufacturing, global retail, and legacy product codes. The Trunk Edition sits within this framework, focusing on how menswear functions as a system of use.

The name Trunk Edition references the canvas trunk introduced by Louis Vuitton in 1854, the company’s first commercial product. Historically, the trunk was conceived as a modular object engineered for transport, storage, and repeated handling. Within the Fall-Winter 2026 collection, this reference establishes a functional lineage. The trunk serves as a model for organizing clothing and accessories around adaptability, construction, and sustained wear.

What Louis Vuitton proposes with the Trunk Edition is a deliberately finite wardrobe. Ready-to-wear, footwear, and leather goods are treated as interdependent elements, organized to cover daily use. The materials selected, silk-wool, cashmere blends, cotton-silk fabrics, nubuck, suede, signal an investment in textile behavior and wear over time. Construction choices such as double-face garments and unlined tailoring indicate an interest in how clothing moves, layers, and adapts across conditions. The muted palette of beige, blue, brown, black, and khaki reinforces this logic, limiting visual disruption within the wardrobe.

The same discipline applies to accessories. Footwear is restricted to three models, establishing a narrow but intentional range of use. Leather goods appear through the LV Touch line, where bags function as tools of movement. References to historical forms like the Steamer bag operate at the level of structure and purpose, anchoring contemporary formats in a long-standing logic of transport and daily carry.

Within contemporary menswear, the emergence of projects framed as complete wardrobes signals a shift in how value is articulated at the upper end of the market. Emphasis moves toward coherence, material decision-making, and garments designed to remain in circulation across multiple seasons. These priorities respond to practical changes in how menswear is bought, stored, and worn, particularly at the scale of global luxury houses, where continuity increasingly carries economic and cultural weight.

The Fall-Winter 2026 Men’s Trunk Edition enters this context as a concrete proposal. Its global release on 5 February 2026 positions it as a working wardrobe available through Louis Vuitton boutiques and retail channels, encompassing ready-to-wear, footwear, and leather goods within a single framework. At Louis Vuitton, this logic is implemented at institutional scale, where menswear, footwear, and accessories are planned together as a durable wardrobe. The Trunk Edition functions as a reference point for how the house structures menswear development beyond the seasonal cycle.

LOUIS VUITTON FALL–WINTER 2026 MEN’S TRUNK EDITION
collection by PHARRELL WILLIAMS / men’s creative director LOUIS VUITTON / launch 5 February 2026

content and imagery courtesy of LOUIS VUITTON Press

Pitti Uomo 109 - The Future of Menswear FW26

Threads in Motion
Pitti Uomo 109

written CHIDOZIE OBASI

Everything is movement, transformation, story and progression: the theme chosen for the winter edition of Pitti Immagine unleashes a tale of dynamic expression, alongside the many inspirations that stem from this idea of movement.

Motion is a concept that transcends all manner of disciplines from politics to cinema, but also stands as a commitment and as an ability to to bring together an energy that leads to new figures in fashion. Movement, like the word itself, refers to something that evolves, breaking away from tradition and returning to it: it becomes a voice for ideals, cultures, connections and commitment. It also adapts to the body and, by dressing it, amplifies its presence by becoming a gesture and identity. Motion also becomes an emotion: a poetic flow, an energy of becoming and a movement of the soul.

Pitti Immagine Uomo 109
FW26 Season

Antonio De Matteis, President of Pitti Immagine, has a positive mindset of this edition. “If we have this quality across the board, we need to be thankful for the commercial partnerships between institutions and the brands,” he opined at the press conference. “Let’s look at the beauty of what we do, and the effort of our entrepreneurs — Pitti Uomo is the only fair on an international scale for menswear that was able to grow and scale its weight globally. It’s not easy to renovate a fair every six months, but it’s all down to the exceptional team work we pour in. We have the most important buyers in the world in town, and the distribution — given by the key retailers — helped some of the smallest names who started from here, who grew so much.”

There’s some highlights of this season, including the FW26 collection from Sebago which revolves around three creative worlds. Preppy Heritage evolves the iconic brand aesthetic by combining tradition and urban spirit with modern materials, updated lines and sartorial details. Fly Fishing draws inspiration from fly fishing and outdoor life in Maine, with functional garments, textured fabrics and natural colour palettes reminiscent of forests and water. Ranch, on the other hand, reflects the more rural and mountainous side of the American outdoors, with sturdy garments, handcrafted finishes and an authentic, raw aesthetic reinterpreted in a contemporary key.

GAS decisively reaffirms its essence: denim.
 A fundamental element and hallmark of the brand, denim once again becomes the starting point for a story that spans cities, cultures and attitudes, transforming itself into a universal language capable of adapting to different styles, genres and contexts. Under the theme Urban Souls, the collection explores the dynamic, metropolitan soul of the season, giving life to Collective Denim Identities: a choral narrative in which denim becomes a symbol of freedom, personal expression and belonging. A versatile material that transcends barriers and transforms itself depending on how it is worn, moving from everyday to special occasions, from essential to fashionable. At the heart of the collection is a wide Wash Spectrum, which spans all shades of indigo – from the deepest raw to the lightest and most authentic shades – creating a solid, recognisable and contemporary denim offering. The colour palette is based on essential neutrals, the ideal base for essentials and fashion items, enriched with seasonal accents.

Pitti Immagine Uomo 109
FW26 Season / brand SEBAGO

Pitti Immagine Uomo 109
FW26 Season / brand SEBAGO

Pitti Immagine Uomo 109
FW26 Season / brand SEBAGO

Consinee, a leading Chinese group in the global market for fine yarns and cashmere fibres from certified and sustainable supply chains, has entrusted the artistic direction of its new project for Pitti Uomo 109 to Sara Sozzani Maino, involving designer Galib Gassanoff at the helm of creative development, presenting Echoes of Craft. Continuous experimentation combined with a deeper understanding of the fibre's versatility are the cornerstones of Consinee's non-commercial creative platform, which evolves from season to season to create new, free and stimulating narratives.

Sara Sozzani Maino, creative director of the Sozzani Foundation, invites Galib Gassanoff, a designer renowned for his creativity and strong vision, to embark on a new aesthetic exploration through raw materials, developing an original narrative in which artistic heritage becomes a return to our roots, to which we remain anchored.

Pitti Immagine Uomo 109
FW26 Season / brand Consinee

Pitti Immagine Uomo 109
FW26 Season / brand Consinee

ANTIK BATIK founded, directed and creatively designed by Gabriella Cortese, a Paris-based stylist and entrepreneur, the iconic French Maison with its bohemian-chic style will present its Autumn-Winter 26/27 men's ready-to-wear collections at Pitti Uomo. Gabriella Cortese will be present throughout the show to meet international buyers and press representatives.After more than thirty years dedicated exclusively to women's wear, Gabriella Cortese introduced the ANTIK BATIK men's collections in 2024 with a first capsule collection, presented in Paris during Paris Men's Fashion Week Spring-Summer 2024. Since then, the men's line has grown steadily, establishing itself as a natural and consistent extension of the brand's DNA. This evolutionary path now leads ANTIK BATIK to Pitti Uomo, marking a new and significant strategic milestone for the Maison.

Pitti Immagine Uomo 109
FW26 Season / brand ANTIK BATIK

Prada Spring Summer 2026 campaign - Anne Collier

PRADA frames Fashion Advertising as an Object through Anne Collier’s Spring Summer 2026 Campaign

written LE MILE

The Spring Summer 2026 Prada campaign marks a new collaboration between Prada, its creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons, and the American artist Anne Collier. Released for the Spring Summer 2026 season, the campaign examines the form and function of fashion advertising at a time when images circulate primarily through digital systems.

Collier’s work since the early 2000s has focused on re-photographed and appropriated imagery from magazines, record sleeves, and advertising, consistently questioning how images are handled, consumed, and recontextualised. Her work has been shown at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Tate Modern in London, and LACMA. Prada’s commission places this practice directly inside a global fashion campaign, extending Collier’s long-standing inquiry into a commercial context without shifting its focus.

The campaign consists of still-life images in which physical photographs of the Prada collection are held by visible hands. These inner photographs, shot by Oliver Hadlee Pearch, depict Prada looks worn by a cast that includes Levon Hawke, Nicholas Hoult, Damson Idris, Carey Mulligan, Hunter Schafer, John Glacier, and Liu Wen. Collier’s outer image reframes these photographs as objects, introducing a second level of observation that foregrounds the act of looking itself.

This structure shifts attention away from immediacy and consumption toward materiality. The photograph appears as something held, examined, and mediated by another presence. The hands function as a proxy for the viewer, situating the audience alongside the image, so advertising becomes visible as a mechanism.
Within Prada’s wider cultural programme, the campaign aligns with the brand’s sustained engagement with contemporary art through exhibitions, commissions, and long-term collaborations. It also enters a broader industry moment shaped by image saturation, renewed interest in print, and questions around authorship and attention. By insisting on the photograph as a physical object, the campaign introduces friction into a system built on speed and circulation.

The Prada Spring Summer 2026 campaign is released globally across Prada’s platforms. Credits list creative direction by Ferdinando Verderi, photography by Anne Collier with images by Oliver Hadlee Pearch, and the named cast. The project positions advertising as a site of reflection, placing visual authorship and material presence at the centre of Prada’s seasonal communication.

PRADA SPRING SUMMER 2026 Campaign

campaign conceived by MIUCCIA PRADA and RAF SIMONS / photography ANNE COLLIER with images by OLIVER HADLEE PEARCH / campaign creative direction FERDINANDO VERDERI / talents JOHN GLACIER, LEVON HAWKE, NICHOLAS HOULT, DAMSON IDRIS, CAREY MULLIGAN, HUNTER SCHAFER, LIU WEN

(c) all images PRADA Press

Lady Dior Rewritten - Jonathan Anderson

Jonathan Anderson Rewrites the Lady Dior for Spring Summer 2026

written LE MILE

For Spring Summer 2026, Dior presents a new series of Lady Dior handbags designed by Jonathan Anderson, introduced alongside the House’s Spring Summer 2026 ready to wear collection. The bags are scheduled to arrive in Dior boutiques from January 2026 and form part of Anderson’s first full accessories proposition for the season. The release coincides with a broader repositioning of Dior’s codes under Anderson, who draws directly on specific elements of the brand’s founder Christian Dior’s personal symbolism and his own background.

Jonathan Anderson is a Northern Irish designer who founded JW Anderson in 2008 and became creative director of Loewe in 2013, where he led a sustained focus on craft, material research, and heritage references. He was appointed creative director at Dior with responsibility for women’s, men’s, and accessories collections, marking a structural shift within the House. The Lady Dior bag itself was introduced in 1995 and has since been repeatedly reinterpreted by successive creative directors as a fixed product line within Dior’s leather goods category.

The Spring Summer 2026 Lady Dior proposals consist of two primary models: the Mini Lady Dior Clover and the Mini Lady Dior Buttercup. The Clover version is embroidered with four leaf clovers and incorporates a red ladybug motif, while the Buttercup version features three dimensional buttercup flowers in bright yellow tones, accompanied by a small bee detail. Both bags retain the Lady Dior’s architectural form and metal “D I O R” letter charms, with additional talisman shaped elements added to the hardware. The Clover model is produced in three colorways: green, black, and rose soupir.

Christian Dior was known for personal superstitions, including the use of lucky charms such as four leaf clovers and symbolic animals, which appeared in his couture practice from the late 1940s onward. The Lady Dior itself became globally recognizable after being carried publicly by Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1995, establishing its association with formal elegance and public visibility. Anderson’s use of clovers and talismanic motifs places the Spring Summer 2026 bags within this established lineage of symbolic ornamentation rather than introducing a new product typology.

Within the wider Spring Summer 2026 collection, Dior positions history as a set of elements to be selectively retrieved and reorganized, rather than continuously displayed. The accessories operate as condensed carriers of this approach, concentrating narrative and craft within a portable object. The emphasis on embroidery, appliqué, and hand finishing reflects ongoing investment in Dior’s ateliers, while the overt symbolism aligns with a broader industry trend toward legible icons in luxury accessories, particularly in the mini bag segment, which remains commercially significant across global markets.

The Mini Lady Dior Clover and Mini Lady Dior Buttercup bags will be available in Dior boutiques worldwide from January 2026. Production involves hot stamping followed by individual hand embroidery of the clover motifs, with additional custom metal charms developed specifically for this release.

By grounding the Spring Summer 2026 Lady Dior in named symbols, documented craft processes, and an established product architecture, Dior under Jonathan Anderson reinforces continuity within the House. The resulting objects draw on identifiable references and labor intensive techniques, situating the Lady Dior as a deliberate extension of a long established luxury system.

DIOR SPRING SUMMER 2026 Campaign

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LADY DIOR Campaign Images seen by DAVID SIMS

styled BENJAMIN BRUNO / set design POPPY BARTLETT / talents KYLIAN MBAPPÉ, LOUIS GARREL, PAUL KIRCHER, GRETA LEE / models LAURA KAISER, SAAR MANSVELT BECK, SUNDAY ROSE

(c) all images DIOR Press

Ludovic de Saint Sernin - Leather Chair

.new collaboration
Ludovic de Saint Sernin Brings Intimacy Into the Room

The first time you notice the chair, it sits in the room with quiet certainty, present without asking to be looked at, holding a kind of tension that registers before you understand why. Black leather curves into itself, suspended within a chromed frame, carrying an atmosphere familiar to anyone who knows and loves Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s work.

Chen Zi wears a dress by LUDOVIC DE SAINT SERNIN x ZARA, a choker by MEG KIM and jewellery by BVLGARI

De Saint Sernin has always worked close to the body, attentive to skin, exposure, and the emotional charge that gathers around them. His designs speak about intimacy without explaining it, allowing sensation and structure to do the work. Translating that language into an object feels like a natural progression, one that shifts the conversation from wearing to inhabiting.

Chen Zi wears a total look by CFCL and a choker by LUDOVIC DE SAINT SERNIN x ZARA

Spending time with the chair changes how it reads and sitting down slows the room, weight settles and posture becomes conscious. The object holds the body with clarity and intention. There is a sense of being aware of oneself, of how one occupies space, of how stillness can feel charged.

References to erotic culture are present, though they never announce themselves. They exist in the discipline of the form, in the way tension is maintained, in the quiet authority of restraint. Intimacy emerges through trust and what remains is an atmosphere, something that lingers longer than description.

Chen Zi wears a total look by SIMONE ROCHA

Chen Zi wears gloves by SPORTMAX

Chen Zi wears a coat by LUDOVIC DE SAINT SERNIN x ZARA

The chair resists behaving as an accessory, since it holds its place in a room the way certain garments hold their place in memory. It feels designed to be lived with, to gather time, to accumulate meaning slowly through use and proximity.
Each piece is signed by the designer in black ink on white, the line fluid and finished with a small heart. The gesture reads as disarmingly direct, a reminder that behind the discipline and control sits a human hand, a personal mark, an act of closeness. All profits from the limited collection support the Women’s Earth Alliance, an organization working at the intersection of environmental protection and women’s leadership. It is a quiet extension of the project’s logic, grounding intimacy in responsibility.

Seen in the context of an urban night, alongside a model dressed in black leather and denim, the chair feels at home. The scene suggests a world that understands presence, confidence, and self-awareness with no spectacle. The object belongs to that world naturally, carrying the same sense of calm intensity that defines de Saint Sernin’s universe.

creative direction PHOEBE LEE
seen SOJUNG LEE
styled PHOEBE LEE + YUNYEONG YANG
model CHEN ZI
production coordination YUNYEONG YANG
hair JUYEOP OH
make up JEONGIN LIM
make up assistant SOYEON KIM
nails SEOHYUN LEE
video ZHANG KE
special thanks SUNKYUNG HWANG

Adidas x Arte Antwerp - North African Football Style

.new collection
Adidas x Arte Antwerp SS26
*Football Culture through the People of Marrakech

written MARK ASHKINS

The new adidas x Arte Antwerp capsule turns toward North African football culture with a clarity that feels grounded in the everyday. Marrakech becomes the setting, not as a backdrop but as a place with its own tempo, its own logic, its own way of holding people together around the game.

Photographer Ilyes Griyeb moves through this environment with a steady eye, meeting the neighbourhood at its own pace and letting the surroundings speak through surfaces, faces and small movements that occur without performance.

Arte Antwerp, shaped by the perspective of founder Bertony Da Silva, has always carried a sensitivity toward cultural intersections, and that undercurrent aligns naturally with adidas and its long engagement with football. The capsule reflects this shared ground. Red, green, white and black run through the pieces with a quiet confidence. Embroidery and lace trims bring texture without leaning into decoration.

Tracksuits, knit jerseys, loose trousers and graphic tops take their place within a vocabulary that feels purposeful. Arabic lettering translating to Sport Unites Africa appears on select garments and extends the conversation toward the communities that inspired the collection. Moving through the neighbourhood, Griyeb meets people whose presence gives the work its orientation. Groups gather near open fields, children pass through the frame as part of their routine, and moments of pause unfold in streets that hold the light in a particular way. The clothing settles into these scenes without seeking attention, becoming part of the environment. There is an ease in how bodies and garments share space, and that ease shapes the tone of the entire series.

Brahim Díaz appears in the extended visual material and quietly expands the field of reference. His Moroccan and European background reflects the cultural paths that define much of contemporary football, and his presence adds a subtle resonance. The project treats these layers with restraint, allowing them to take shape through observation, no explanation needed.
Footwear sits within the same framework. The Lightblaze POD ZIP, slides and upcoming sneaker silhouettes enter the visual rhythm without shifting its balance. Their forms respond to movement, dust, and the physicality of the setting, echoing the way the apparel interacts with the landscape. The progression of images feels continuous, guided by the structures, streets and open areas that hold the community together.

What remains is a capsule that finds its place within a lived environment where football is part of the day.

The collaboration between adidas and Arte Antwerp gains its strength from this proximity to real spaces and real routines, and the campaign keeps its focus there, letting the neighbourhood shape the story with a steady and unforced presence.

Campaign photography by Ilyes Griyeb, featuring members of the Marrakech community
all images courtesy of Adidas and Arte Antwerp, PR

CELINE Charms Collection - Personal Jewelry

CELINE Charms Collection
Sets a New Code for Personal Jewelry

The CELINE Charms collection sits within the current vocabulary of the house, but it moves with its own logic. Seen on the runway in unapologetically dense clusters, the charms shift the attention toward how people build identity through small objects.

There is no single instruction for wearing them, only the suggestion that jewellery can function as a set of personal signals rather than a fixed decorative layer. The pieces carry a deliberate sense of weight. Some reference the Triomphe, the long-running CELINE code that has travelled across bags, buckles, and hardware. Others push into new shapes that feel more like found symbols than seasonal designs. Together they form an assortment that lends itself to mixing rather than categorising. CELINE frames them as collectibles in the press notes, and the idea fits. They work best when assembled gradually, when the accumulation starts to say something about the hands that put them together.

The collection stretches across gold and silver finishes, sometimes polished, sometimes softened. The tension between the metals gives the charms a lived-in presence, not in a nostalgic way but in a straightforward acknowledgment that jewellery gains meaning through constant use. It is easy to move them from a bracelet to a necklace or to pin them to a jacket, which turns the collection into something closer to a modular system. The wearers decide the scale, the noise, the density, CELINE keeps the structure open on purpose.

As new motifs enter the collection each season, the line grows in a way that feels continuous. Designs shift, earlier symbols reappear, and the combinations evolve with the same casual logic people use when they pick up small objects over time. Some charms stay, others move from one piece of jewellery to another, and a few drift out of circulation entirely. The collection supports that slow accumulation, treating personal editing as an essential part of how the pieces function. It builds an aesthetic that comes together through repetition and daily use.

Placed within CELINE’s larger universe, the charms become a quiet extension of the house without slipping into the language usually tied to jewellery campaigns. Their scale keeps them close to the body in a practical way, allowing them to shift between bracelets, necklaces, and safety pins with no hierarchy in how they should be worn. That flexibility creates a more grounded form of expression. The pieces align with how people handle accessories they reach for constantly, moving them around until the arrangement feels right. In that sense, the relevance of the collection comes from its openness. The line continues without finality. New pieces enter, older ones remain in circulation, and the set adjusts through use. This movement keeps the collection active and connected to the person who builds it.

watch
campaign film

all visuals
CELINE 2025

Polène Paris - Numéro Neuf East-West

Holiday Edit
Polène’s Numéro Neuf East-West

written AMANDA MORTENSON

Polène entered the industry in 2016 with an unusual clarity of purpose. The three founding siblings, Elsa, Mathieu, and Antoine Mothay, built the brand around a conviction that design, craftsmanship, and material should form a single conversation.

They wanted a house that felt contemporary in its rhythm yet grounded in the discipline of artisanship. Within a few years, that direction resonated globally. Polène opened spaces in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Seoul, London, Copenhagen, and Hamburg, each reflecting their attitude toward calm precision and intuitive form. The growth felt fast, but inside the brand the focus stayed steady: refine, edit, and let the work speak. What shaped Polène’s rise is their close connection with Ubrique, the leather-making region in southern Spain. More than 2,200 craftspeople bring the designs to life, giving the brand a direct link to a long-standing tradition. The Paris design studio develops the visual language; the artisans translate it into structure, weight, and tactility. This exchange has defined Polène’s identity—clean silhouettes, sculpted leather, organic lines shaped by hand. Their collections show a consistency that comes from respect for the material and for the people who work it.

Polène also thinks in systems. Circularity became part of their process early on. They introduced the Plèi collection, where leftover leather from bag production becomes macramé surfaces, bead work, objects, and collaborative pieces with guest artisans. The intention is simple: use material fully and treat every offcut as something with potential. In 2023, the brand expanded into jewelry, produced by Italian specialists and plated with 24-carat gold. The pieces follow the same design instincts—shaping, folding, and texturing the metal with the same attention given to leather.

Among all lines, the Numéro Neuf collection has become a signature. First introduced in 2020, it reflects the house’s interest in structure softened by movement. Full-grain calfskin is molded, draped, stitched, and shaped until it carries volume and gentleness. It is one of the clearest expressions of Polène’s vision and a marker of how the brand approaches form.

Polène Paris
Numéro Neuf East West bag Camel

Polène Paris
Numéro Neuf East West bag Ebony

This season, the Numéro Neuf East-West marks a new chapter. The design extends the original silhouette into a long, horizontal format and introduces a shoulder-bag version for the first time. It reads as confident and composed, with a contemporary zip closure and an elongated profile that gives the piece a distinct attitude. Available in Black, Camel, Taupe, Chalk, Ebony, Black Cherry, and Sand, the model is crafted in Ubrique using the same meticulous process as the rest of the collection. Every detail shows intention, from the shaping of the leather to the precise seams that hold the draping in place.

Polène Paris
Numéro Neuf East West bag Taupe

Polène Paris
www.polene-paris.com

based in Paris, France and creating handcrafted leather goods produced by skilled artisans in Ubrique, Spain

Polène Paris Numéro Neuf East-West price: 440 €

LE MILE selected the Numéro Neuf East-West for this year’s holiday season recommendations because it represents exactly what we look for: a design with clarity, a strong sense of identity, and craftsmanship that feels immediate when you hold the piece. It aligns with Polène’s broader story of thoughtful growth and with our interest in objects that carry aesthetic strength and quiet emotional presence. As the season approaches, this bag stands as one of the most grounded and assured releases of the year—an example of how contemporary leather goods can be relevant, refined, and deeply considered.

Polène Paris
Numéro Neuf East West bag Chalke

Polène Paris
Numéro Neuf East West bag Chalke

Polène Paris
Numéro Neuf East West bag Taupe

Valentino Garavani DeVain - Age of Electric Couture

VALENTINO GARAVANI
*Craft, Code and the Curious Case of DeVain

Valentino Garavani DeVain appears in the digital ether with a calm, almost ceremonial presence, occupying that peculiar zone where craft speaks to code and the instinct of the atelier leans toward the logic of algorithms. A quiet meeting unfolds between centuries of handwork and the cool hum of computational imagination. The maison’s dedication to gesture, material and emotional precision finds itself mirrored by an AI engine that renders its own forms of ornament and atmosphere, a pairing that feels unexpectedly harmonious and gently provocative, as if couture and circuitry were testing the edges of each other’s worlds without losing their sense of poise.

Thomas Albdorf opens the procession. In his mirrored chambers the bag performs a gentle act of multiplication, slipping between reflection and refraction with the calm confidence of an object aware of its own charisma. His studio becomes a small observatory where materials converse with their own silhouettes and symmetry grows its own contemplative pulse.

Enter The Void descends deeper, their world resembles a dream rescued from a half-remembered video game and dipped in an extraterrestrial ocean. Fishes drift between cacti, hotel chandeliers rise from dunes and the bag glows like a passerby who has wandered into someone else’s subconscious. This is surrealism with the autofill function humming quietly underneath, the kind that feels familiar and feverish at the same time.

Maison Valentino presents DeVain as the new protagonist in a sprawling visual experiment, inviting five artists to take the bag far from the usual marble floors and closer to the evolving frontier where images appear before they exist. In a cultural landscape that worships immediacy, this series arrives as an ode to crafted illusion, stretching the definition of what creative authorship can become when imagination merges with machine logic.

Paul Octavious
still from the film below

Paul Octavious transports DeVain into the long corridors of art history. Sixteenth-century still lifes breathe again, except this time they blink, shift and fold into layered animations. The bag perches among fruits and goblets like a visiting character who has slipped through a tear in a tapestry. Octavious choreographs a conversation between centuries without asking for permission, giving classical composition a sly digital pulse.

Annie Collinge builds a world where objects and cut-out figures share the same mischievous logic, creating a tableau that feels playful on the surface and quietly uncanny underneath. The bag appears among her colours and silhouettes like a character stepping through a handmade stage set, moving through scenes where humour and strangeness sit comfortably side by side. Her universe blurs reality just enough to remind viewers that imagination always has its own rules.

Total Emotional Awareness
still from the film below

Total Emotional Awareness leads DeVain through a landscape where pop forms stretch, multiply and reorganize themselves with dreamlike intent. Geometry expands, colours pulse and the bag moves through a vision that feels sculpted from pure imagination. Their world hovers between play and philosophy, creating a visual rhythm that absorbs DeVain into an ever-shifting field of possibility.

Z_Captures throws DeVain into sharp contrast with everyday pop objects, creating collisions that feel playful and deliberately disorienting. The bag sits among bold colours and unexpected pairings, adopting a presence shaped by tension and surprise. His compositions turn contrast into structure, allowing fantasy and pop culture to occupy the same vivid frame.

Tina Tona finishes the first chapter by exploding the visual field entirely. Her collages vibrate with color and hand-cut energy, weaving fragments of memory, culture and playful rebellion. The bag slips between viewpoints, blooming into countless versions of itself. Tona’s world has texture, movement and a joyful refusal to stay still.

Albert Planella approaches the bag as if it were an apparition. Here DeVain becomes mutable and cinematic, drifting between clarity and haze with a rhythm that feels borrowed from dreams. His images hold their breath while shifting into new states of being, as if the bag were quietly considering who it wants to become next.

For a house that reveres human craftsmanship, this digital series introduces a new tension. Energy-hungry algorithms sit beside centuries of artisanal knowledge. The contrast generates friction, and the friction generates light. The visuals shimmer with a strange kind of beauty, born from human impulse and computational curiosity. DeVain emerges from the experiment slightly transformed, carrying the patina of a bag that has travelled through mirrors, deserts, dreams, archives, memories and machine logic. The result feels like a quiet promise that creativity, in all its evolving shapes, still belongs to those who dare to stretch the image until it reveals something unexpected.

note
The video and image works in this project were created by nine participating artists: Thomas Albdorf, Enter The Void, Paul Octavious, Albert Planella, Tina Tona, Animus Pax, Annie Collinge, Total Emotional Awareness and Z_Captures. The AI-generated visuals were produced by Enter The Void, Paul Octavious, Albert Planella, Animus Pax and Total Emotional Awareness; all imagery by Enter The Void was created with the informed consent of the portrayed models and all participating talents.