Fashion

Lived-In Quality. Aubero SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Ending the spring-summer 2026 menswear coverage on a high note: my top favorite (next to Prada) collection of the season coming from Aubero. Why I’m ranking it this high? It’s because it truly resonates with me, wardrobe-wise. The emerging American brand, lead by California-native Julian Louie, and its latest collection are beautifully autobiographical – yet somehow feel like home to an outsider who’s just getting to know Aubero. There’s a highly-appealing, lived-in quality to those over-sized flannel shirts, tailored “cargo” pants, and durable trench coats with delightful signs of patina. And there’s also something irresistibly sensual about the sleeveless, wrinkled-taffeta top-dress with confident open-back. Louie’s work is both nostalgic and forward-looking; his approach to material – “material festish” as he calls it, encapsulated in frayed antique textiles or scraps from past collections under mesh in one-of-a-kind coats or trousers – feels new, not Bode-ish as in case of many other new brands coming from the U.S.. Much of this collection relies on Louie’s mental souvenirs. The skirtlike wraps are a nod to the surfers he would see in Santa Cruz changing by their trucks, a clutched towel on their waists as they slipped out of wetsuits. I’m especially in awe of the all-white look consisting of a voluminous shirt and shorts with shiny finish topped over the lightweight pants. Worn with flip-flops, this look is both seductive and absolutely cool. Looking forward to more of Louie’s work.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Marinière. Officine Générale SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

For spring-summer 2026, Officine Générale‘s Pierre Mahéo was thinking about turning the essence of Parisian style to a wardrobe ready for sea-side summer. It’s defined by pajama-inflected tailoring, with scrunched sleeves and nonchalantly rolled cuffs, but most of all, per usual with Mahéo, a deep dive into ultra-light materials, like lightweight “parachute” poplin, seersucker, and, for men’s and women’s suiting, a breezy blend of cotton and linen. In addition to the eternally chic marinière – what French wardrobe would be complete without it? – shirts were cut long enough to double as dresses, popovers had universal appeal, and swingy belts were fashioned from raw fabric knotted and fringed like a lanyard. My favorite look involved olive-green pants with pleats, styled absolutely effortlessly with a striped top, light-blue shirt, a navy jacket, and a pair of flip-flops (the footwear staple that very abruptly became this year’s prime menswear discourse). The perfect summer look is right here.

ED’s SELECTION:

Officine Générale Nanni Nylon Bomber Jacket


Officine Générale Gingham Seersucker Button-Down Shirt


Officine Générale Sophie Italian Wool Pants


Officine Générale Alex Brushed Plaid Button Down Shirt


Officine Générale Giovanni Wool Sport Coat

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Nutico: Chocolate Leather

| Design & Culture by Ed

Let’s talk about chocolate – not the kind you eat, but the kind you wear.

Nutico™ – the first market innovation by Bio2materials, a Warsaw-based research and development company that creates sustainable material solutions based on waste processing and biologically sourced raw materials – is a leather-like material made from cocoa husks and walnut shells. The scientists and designer behind it call it chocolate leather – and yes, it really smells faintly like chocolate.

Born from years of trial, error, and a failed experiment involving apples (turns out apple leather ages faster than you’d want), Nutico is the result of thinking differently about waste. Instead of synthetic binders or water-intensive processes, Nutico is made with zero water, no polyurethane, and no PVC – just food waste, organic cotton, and some very smart chemistry.

It’s not just a material. It’s a confident rethinking of the misconception that sustainability has to compromise on beauty or durability. Soft, rich, tactile – it looks and feels like the real thing, minus the environmental guilt.

“We hope that materials like Nutico will help reduce the use of both natural leather and synthetics. But we don’t expect to eliminate them entirely – there will always be people who prefer traditional leather”,

says Katarzyna Szpicmacher, the founder of Bio2materials.

You’ll start seeing Nutico in fashion, furniture, interiors, maybe even the dashboard of your next car. It’s an investment, but that’s kind of the point – good things take time, and this one took seven years.

Nutico isn’t trying to replace leather. It’s offering a different story – one that begins with a walnut shell and ends with something worth holding onto.


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