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

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

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

TAAKK SS26

.new collection
TAAKK SS26
*The Quiet Confidence

written Malcolm Thomas

It's been five years since I attended Paris Fashion Week. In my absence, brands have come and gone, and the industry has crowned new creative directors yet TAKKK remains exactly how I remember it. Intentional. 

Intentional like the creation of a simple TAAKK Spring/Summer 2026 show tee, a gift to its guests. Made from recycled nylon resin, processed and spun from discarded fishing nets collected across Japan. The band in which the tee is wrapped and program both made of recycled materials.

TAAKK
SS26 Show during PFW

TAAKK
SS26 Show during PFW

TAAKK
SS26 Show during PFW

Already a master of textiles, Taakk has now added a deeper dive into sculptural embroidery and gradients, for which they're known, first with colors, now with materials, i.e. shifting a shirt to a suit, to their oeuvre. Yes, they're magicians, too.

Yet, despite this, Taakk remains elusively under the radar with a quiet confidence that I can only attribute to the mores of Japanese culture. Humble, polite, and inconspicuous. But Creative Director Takuya Morikawa, in my humble opinion, has lots to brag about.

TAAKK
SS26 Show during PFW

TAAKK
SS26 Show during PFW

TAAKK
SS26 Show during PFW

Titled "The Common Baseline of Art and The Ordinary," the program mentions an evolving quest for "the essence of creation." A less lofty interpretation, "Everyday wear and art. Necessity and disruption." It's easy to wax poetic about the many processes and the impressive self-awareness of this small brand, but I'll let the clothes speak for themselves. So, I encourage you to have a look around, and maybe you'll see why Taakk remains one of my favorites.

about the editor
When not reviewing shows or writing features for Le Mile Magazine, (or constantly hitting refresh on his wardrobe), 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. 

Wooyoungmi SS26

.new collection
Wooyoungmi SS26
*A Little Bit of Romance

written Malcolm Thomas

Enjoying a glass of cold champagne to the sounds of a violin rendition of Philip Glass in the beautiful stately courtyard of the Maison de la Chimie.

There is, quite frankly, no better way to end a very hot menswear season (and I'm not just talking about the shows). Mix in perfumed guests (many in Wooyoungmi themselves) with a discreet celebrity or two, and you have subtle cues that even before the runway music starts, you're in for something good.

Wooyoungmi
SS26 Show during PFW

Wooyoungmi
SS26 Show during PFW

Wooyoungmi
SS26 Show during PFW

Then the moment comes. It begins with a sultry jazz melody and as soon as the first look is shown, a pulsating backbeat. Inspired by Seoul summers, which according to the program are equally hot, and the joys of dressing, the offerings this season are meant to be filled with "levity" and "elegance", of course. 

The collection—light on pants but heavy on sex appeal took to task many renditions of the men's Edwardian bathing suit. A once modest early 20th century essential subverted for the 21st century man. Another notch to add to the bedpost of menswear’s liberation.

Wooyoungmi
SS26 Show during PFW

Wooyoungmi
SS26 Show during PFW

Wooyoungmi
SS26 Show during PFW

Most importantly, this is a man who has places to go and beaches to see. Lounging on a private beach in Monte Carlo by day and enjoying an old-fashioned or two in a members-only lounge, by night, perhaps. Think jumpers, vests, and knitted tops paired with oversized intarsia raffia bags and backpacks paired with silk viscose tailcoat button-ups. Did I mention he's also a multitasker?

Rooted in staples: smart tailoring, fine fabrics, and elevated colorways—Wooyoungmi is not here to tell you what to wear but to suggest it. Wooyoungmi is not here to tell you who you are but to remind you. 

Who said romance was dead?

about the editor
When not reviewing shows or writing features for Le Mile Magazine, (or constantly hitting refresh on his wardrobe), 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. 

Walter Van Beirendonck SS26

.new collection
Walter Van Beirendonck SS26
*Reaches For The Stars

written Malcolm Thomas

“If you are sad and wondering: Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” to quote the show notes, they were probably body-deep, pushing their way into the Walter Van Beirendonck show (wallflowers, no).

Loud, experimental, and playful as ever, yes. Proudly displaying their Walter Van Beirendonck wears and hoping, albeit praying, for a chance to get inside the Odeon Theater. The kind of frenzy that can only be conjured by a designer who really resonates with his audience. An audience whose whimsy for fantasy is even more needed today.

Walter Van Beirendonck
SS26 Show during PFW

Walter Van Beirendonck
SS26 Show during PFW

Walter Van Beirendonck
SS26 Show during PFW

A fantasy hopping and skipping its way down memory lane. Here, you’ll find childhood photographs in black and white from the designer’s personal archive printed across suits, trousers, and the like. Anoraks with plush trim (a bit more fantastical in Wednesday’s 100-degree weather). Delicate florals on skeleton suits, a nod to the stylish lives of 18th-century’s most well-heeled children. Also on the menu: polka dot leggings, combs, hot rollers, shoehorns, and more, as cultural icons. Reminiscent of playing dress up in your parents’ things. Speaking of dress-up, when the if-you-know-you-know crowd is spotted wearing shoehorn earrings and hot roller bracelets, don’t say you haven’t been forewarned. More honorable mentions: Stephen Jones bowler hats pierced by paper flowers and those Vidal Sassoon-Esque Beatles bobs—remind us we are all flower children.  

Walter Van Beirendonck
SS26 Show during PFW

Walter Van Beirendonck
SS26 Show during PFW

Walter Van Beirendonck
SS26 Show during PFW

So, “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?” the designer wrote. “Look back. Look below. Look forward.” They are boys as girls as girls are boys, and we are all human. Cut from the same technicolor rainbow, bubblegum, cotton candy cloth. “From the sunny fields, they wink at us,” Beirendonck continues. “Softly swaying, with Starry Eyes,” he concludes. Hopefully, to a world that will love them as much as Walter Van Beirendonck does.

about the editor
When not reviewing shows or writing features for Le Mile Magazine, (or constantly hitting refresh on his wardrobe), 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.