Radical Uniform. Rick Owens AW26

January 23, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Rick Owens’s latest collection? Hard as ice-cold metal, raw as Kim Gordon’s newest song, emotionally explosive like a Lynne Ramsay film – yet, at the same time, utterly and devastatingly beautiful. This season, the designer was invested in the idea of uniforms: they command presence and provoke threat, but once mocked, they can easily tip into something almost hilarious. It was therefore intriguing to see how Owens reimagined hyper-masculine utilitarianism within his twisted universe, where darkness functions as the true source of light.

The athletic models appeared even more otherworldly in elongated, skin-tight silhouettes, ornamented with floor-sweeping tentacles, razor-sharp shoulder pads, and origami-like constructions that quite literally enveloped the wearer. Color-washed, cropped gothic cashmere coats took on a grunge edge when paired with stone-washed pants, while Rick’s signature high-platform boots pushed each look into even more extreme, radical territory. It’s a tough world out there, and Owens designs clothes that protect you – physically and mentally – from the harsh detriments of reality.

ED’s SELECTION:

Rick Owens Jumbo Tabard Silk-chiffon Turtleneck Blouse

Rick Owens x Dr. Martens 1460 Quad Sole Megalace Leather Ankle Boots

Rick Owens Triple Donut Convertible Cashmere Sweater

Rick Owens Cropped Bleached Brushed-cotton Bomber Jacket

Rick Owens Satin Wide-leg Cargo Pants

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Pragmatic. Lemaire AW26

January 23, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

On the stage of the Opéra Bastille, the Lemaire troupe emerged in small configurations, each representing different themes and attitudes across the collection. One model moved a chair; another wandered into the audience; and then there was dancer Julie Anne Stanzak, who gleefully leapt and twirled in a floaty yellow dress while clutching her pumps. Theatrics aside, this was a quintessentially Lemaire collection, defined by “a very pragmatic approach to clothes,” as Christophe Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran stated. It is grounded in the everyday – somewhere between the utilitarian and the functional – yet at the same time unmistakably chic. Whether a quilted skirt that converts into a cape, a sculpted bag shaped like buttocks, or the dramatic insertion of impressionistic colour layered into earthy tones, Lemaire’s pieces are designed to be worn, loved, and lived in.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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What’s Hot (23.1.26)

January 23, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Actually Fashion. Dior Men AW26

January 22, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Remember my very real concerns about this season’s menswear turning conservative? Jonathan Anderson erased them the second the first look of his sophomore Dior menswear collection hit the runway. It felt like a bow-wow-wow moment of unfiltered fashion that is actually fashion, for Christ’s sake.

The yellow wigs by Guido Palau, à la Pam Hogg, felt like the much-needed final disruption of the contemporary Dior image – one long orchestrated by former creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Kim Jones. Goodbye neatness and primness; hello decadence, flamboyance, drama. This collection cut the umbilical cord to anything preppy, veering into directions nobody could have fathomed. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.