That’s Why DAGGER Spring Summer 2026 Feels Like a Love Letter to Skate Culture
written KLAAS HAMMER
Berlin-based brand DAGGER takes its name from the ceremonial blade used in pagan rituals, a symbol of endings, beginnings, and transformation. The brand was founded in 2020 by Luke Rainey after an unexpected job loss left him with nothing but €300 in government benefits and a dream.
DAGGER
Spring/Summer 2026
DAGGER
Spring/Summer 2026
The aesthetic was forged in Luke’s rebellious teenage years, growing up in a small Northern Irish town in the early 2000s, a place where money was tight but skate was currency. That era’s rough-edged, DIY spirit runs through every stitch: clothes that wear like scraped knees, cracked pavement, and midnight missions.
Luke describes the brand as “a queer-coded Tony Hawk Pro Skater character.” When people who don’t know the brand hear this, they immediately understand. “We show the scene through a queer lens, which is for sure sexy.”
DAGGER
Spring/Summer 2026
DROP OUT, the Spring/Summer 2026 collection, is inspired by misspent teenage years growing up in a skate town in the north of Ireland, as rough as it was beautiful. It is Luke’s love letter to the boys, the music, and the culture.
The label operates at the intersection of streetwear, subculture, and personal storytelling, deeply shaped by skate culture and an uncompromising DIY attitude. DAGGER has gained international recognition for its emotionally driven design language and is stocked globally, including at Dover Street Market Paris. Most recently, the brand presented its latest collection as part of INTERVENTION V during Berlin Fashion Week.
“Berlin has given me so much, and I want to give something back. It changed my creative approach because I wanted to fuck it up.”
DAGGER
Spring/Summer 2026 / making of
DAGGER
Spring/Summer 2026 / making of
all visuals
DAGGER SS26