Sprezzatura. Tod’s SS26

September 27, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Count on Matteo Tamburini to deliver a precise, hands-on collection in Milan. His Tod’s has become synonymous with finesse – especially in the realm of leather. It was reworked in myriad ways: from butter-smooth, striped dresses so languid and breezy they looked, from afar, like silk foulards; to a Macintosh coat worn inside out, its hidden seams revealed as bold graphic punctuation; to an easygoing suede column in a life-affirming shade of curcuma.

Tamburini also sent down the runway a series of feather-light pullovers in warm hues, styled with matching briefs, silk scarves, ladylike pumps, and oversized striped totes. Very chic – just like the black-and-white ensemble of a zipped hoodie, men’s shirt, and tailored pants. With every season, the Tod’s woman and her style grow ever more refined. Sprezzatura.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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A Need, Not A Want. Daniela Gregis SS26

September 25, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

You’d never guess which collection – an entire collection, not just two looks! – has stolen my heart this season. Daniela Gregis is a brand beloved by clients who shop not at Hermès or The Row, but at Dover Street Market and 10 Corso Como. Founded in the 1980s and now helmed by Daniela’s daughter, Marta Bortolotti, the label has no social media presence yet maintains a cult following. Its signatures are roomy sack dresses as effortless as T-shirts, ultra-fine knitwear, and an off-beat allure that feels a little granny-ish, delightfully quirky, and utterly specific.

This season’s collection distilled the Gregis style language to perfection: checked tunics and shawls cocooning the body, cloud-like dresses that from afar resemble crumpled paper, parachute volumes designed for comfort and ease. The layering? Heavenly. The color palette? Vibrant and uplifting. And yes, I’m already stealing the double-flannel shirt trick from the men’s looks. That curcuma-shade shirt is a need, not a want.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Cage Of Innocence. Dilara Findikoglu SS26

September 24, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Dilara Findikoglu titled her spring collection “Cage of Innocence.” “It’s about giving freedom to my ancestors and to anyone who never had freedom. I feel like women have been kept in cages of innocence and purity, told they have to be clean and embody virginity—all that kind of stuff. But today, we step out of that cage.” She delivered on that promise. The models on her runway moved like natural forces – unleashed, untamed, extreme, and absolutely liberated.

The opening looks were white, draped over corsetry: innocent at first glance, yet carrying troubling undercurrents of tension, even pain. Limbs and faces were streaked with dirt. The models appeared in trance-like states, disturbed, dressed in fragments of collapsing lace lingerie, their faces obscured by metal jewelry sourced by Dilara in Istanbul. One carried an open handbag, its contents threatening to spill out. A woman on the verge of a breakdown? No – a woman ready to cast off societal norms and make her voice heard, loud and clear.

Findikoglu is one of the reasons London still matters.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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New Visions. Erdem SS26

September 24, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Erdem Moralıoğlu toned down the aristocratic glamour this season, delivering a collection that felt more nonchalant and decadent than posh and overdone. His inspiration was Hélène Smith, a late-19th-century French psychic and artist who claimed to experience visions of belonging to Marie Antoinette’s court. Somehow, all of that translated seamlessly into Erdem’s collection: high-neck lace dresses were slashed into liberating mini lengths; exquisitely embroidered and embellished coats carried a cool, airy volume that suggested an artist’s wardrobe; and unexpected splashes of neon – new territory for Erdem – sent eveningwear and sheer robes into a psychedelic register reminiscent of Dries Van Noten. With this latest work, it seems Erdem is carving out a new method for navigating his once overly-regal universe.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Pop. Conner Ives SS26

September 24, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

The Conner Ives show was a standout highlight of London Fashion Week. The designer – who first took the world by storm with his “Protect the Dolls” fundraiser T-shirts (with all proceeds donated to Trans Lifeline, raising $600,000 for the charity to date) – brought the dolls back to the runway this season. Though he has long cast a higher proportion of trans models than most, this time the vast majority of the lineup was trans or gender nonconforming. His tribe of high-voltage beauties celebrated the magic and power of pop.

“Pop music will never be lowbrow,” Ives declared. With his idols in mind – Kylie Minogue, Lady Gaga, and contemporary pop princess Addison Rae – the designer delivered ultra-feminine, party-ready dresses in acidic tones. A fabulous bias-cut gown in shocking pink silk crepe, topped with a brown chiffon overlay, was styled with faded feathers plucked from an early 20th-century burlesque fan and arranged around the model’s neck like the hackles of an elegant bird. Just fabulous. An especially brilliant stroke of design brilliance appeared in one of the finale looks: a gown covered in leather sequins, painstakingly laser-cut from discarded jackets and then hand-embroidered onto silk chiffon over six weeks. Drama! The collection also included cool, sporty separates for day.

After so much mildness and plainness on the spring runways, Conner Ives’s collection arrived as a much-needed antidote – full of glamour, bravado, and charisma.