London

Eccentric Elegance. Emilia Wickstead AW26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Days of London Fashion Week have passed under the sign of general underwhelm. The first collection I genuinely found worthy of attention was Emilia Wickstead’s.

Known and loved by her loyal clientele for her regal approach to old-school elegance, the designer lets her horses loose this season, sending her typically uptight (and always impeccably dressed) woman off to work with her hands. Channeling a Buñuel-era heroine, the archetype Wickstead envisioned was embodied by Fano Messan, actress and part-time sculptor: a woman of many trades, wearing a paint-splattered apron over an evening dress, unmoved by societal norms and intent on living life on her own terms.

The result is a collection of exceptional, assured tailoring that radiates ease – 1950s boarding-school tweed dresses with roomy pockets layered over denim, and ball gowns in wallpaper florals grounded by chunky sweaters made for the moors rather than soirées. It is not the first time Wickstead has taken notes from Miuccia Prada – particularly in the cropped red skirt suit styled with monk-strap shoes and socks – but she can be forgiven. She adopts those “ugly chic” cues thoughtfully, and they feel entirely at home within her distinctly British universe.

At heart, Wickstead is an eccentric who loves the classics just as much as she enjoys subverting them. She is not the only designer in London working in this vein, but compared with, say, Erdem, her results feel markedly sharper, mercifully free of ornamental frou-frou.

ED’s SELECTION:


Emilia Wickstead Ilyse Cutout Cloqué Midi Dress



Emilia Wickstead Kerina Strapless Sequined Metallic Tweed Bustier Top



Emilia Wickstead Tiffany Layered Floral-print Faille Midi Dress



Emilia Wickstead x Grenson Grenda Tasseled Fringed Leather Loafers



Emilia Wickstead Bethan Layered Polka-dot Recycled-organza And Faille Skirt

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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A Moment Of Respite. JW Anderson AW26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Jonathan Anderson’s rebranding of his London-based label is a unanimous success. It has brought clarity and ease to JW Anderson, which is now more focused than ever on IRL retail spaces that mingle impeccably crafted flannel shirts and denim with objects sourced across Britain. No fashion shows – just simple lookbooks starring Anderson’s friends, who wear the brand and embody its witty (and unobtrusively sexy) character.

There’s Ashley Heath in a T-shirt emblazoned with the word “Porn” and pink satin shorts; Kylie Minogue in a crochet dress with a yellow car motif; Tim Blanks in a short-sleeved shirt in a cocky print, digging in with a garden fork; Alice Temple looking absolutely badass in a classic leather jacket. Then come the home accessories – organically dyed cushions, stripey hand brushes – all so British and so desirable, even if you might not actually need them in your life.

It seems that JW Anderson has become the designer’s outlet for slowing down, a moment of respite from his other, far more intense role in Paris. His second Dior menswear show is just around the corner.

ED’s SELECTION:

JW Anderson Fringed Appliquéd Checked Wool-blend Scarf


JW Anderson Anchor Leather-trimmed Canvas Tote


JW Anderson x Nicholas Mosse Painted Ceramic Plate


JW Anderson Cauliflower Crocheted Cotton Bag Charm


JW Anderson Neilly Set Of Three Striped Linen Napkins


JW Anderson Rugby Cotton-jersey Polo Shirt

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Super Nature. Paolo Carzana SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

And just like that, this is my last review of 2025 – one that sat on the shelf a moment too long. But perhaps the untamed beauty, intimacy of scale, and contemplative energy of this London presentation make it a perfectly fitting year-end conclusion.

Paolo Carzana is a wizard: what he does with plant dyes and fabric is beyond mortal comprehension. Practice makes perfect, and years of mastering his craft have led the designer to his most accomplished collection yet. Inspired by Mother Earth and her super-nature – supernatural colours that defy belief, and the textures of plants and worlds in the making – Carzana sent ethereal, air- and earth-born messengers down the Reading Room of the British Library for his spring-summer 2026 fashion show.

Fragile, fragmentary garments in a myriad of tones – from aquatic to earthy, from translucent to sun-burnt – drape the body like air or liquid, leaving behind an ephemeral, haute-poetic impression impossible to counterfeit. The alchemy of Carzana’s looks was completed by Nasir Mazhar, whose equally transfixing headwear heightened their spell. Asymmetrical fabric drapes – abstract, shell-like bonnets and paper scrolls evoking feathers – deepened the organic potency of the collection.

The London-based designer moves slowly, refusing to abide by the fashion industry’s relentless logic of more, more, more. Let 2026 be the year we rethink old ways of operating – and make space for a new generation of designers to truly capture hearts, just like Galliano and Gigli did back in the day.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Flamboyant. Stefan Cooke SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Stefan Cooke and his partner, Jake Burt, have a way of uncovering the contemporary within the vintage. For spring–summer 2026, they merged references to New Wave with echoes of Princess Diana’s personal style, creating looks that feel sensual, clubby, and undeniably cool. A centerpiece of their collection was a replica of an American flying jacket they discovered on one of their trips to secondhand and army-surplus stores. In their hands, the jacket appears in an unexpected canary yellow, reimagined with updated proportions and a flamboyant flair. When worn with a hip-length sweater and a knife-pleated skirt, the look feels familiar yet intriguingly different. The same applies to the reworked grey sweatpants with a leather buckle strap (very Lederhosen), and the sweatshirt fitted with a sewn-in cummerbund and finished with a very British silk foulard. As for accessories, the London-based label has us covered with a pair of utterly charming opera shoes topped with a bow. Not a want – a need.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Devastatingly Beautiful. Ponte SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

“Devastatingly beautiful” is perhaps the only way to describe Ponte, Harry Pontefract’s brainchild that relentlessly pushes the boundaries of the body and proportion. His lookbooks – photographed by Mark Kean – read like portraits of characters: often oneiric, sometimes distant, at times even unsettling.

What makes Ponte one of the most exciting projects today – or, as Pontefract himself puts it, neither fashion nor art, but “its own kind of beast” – is the staggering range of techniques he employs, defying easy classification. His work exists somewhere between the orbits of haute couture and arte povera – painstaking yet brutal, innovative yet honest. One of the spring–summer 2026 suits, for instance, was colored in pencil for hours on end, then hand-burnished with a spoon to blend the layers into one another. Another look features a dress made of wire filaments – “finer than hair,” according to the designer – cut by a hairdresser and brushed with magnets. The “second-skin” bodysuits, composed of diamond-shaped pieces of hosiery, have an eerily chilling effect. I have goose-bumps.

There are also the striking, Sarah Lucas–like experiments: worm-like tubes wrapping the body, or a felted wool dress sculpted to resemble organs erupting from within. And then there’s the mini-dress that, upon closer inspection, is constructed from all kinds of debris – leftover textiles, wires, paper bags, even a tiny putto figurine poking out of its sleeve. It’s stunning – and devastating at the same time.

In an age oversaturated with collections, looks, and clothes, it’s increasingly rare for a brand to truly capture one’s attention. Ponte makes you not only surprised – even shocked! – but also encourages you to pause – and contemplate.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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