Hodakova

Waters of The World. Hodakova SS27

| Design & Culture by Ed

Hodakova’s spring-summer 2027 was a bit of a mess – but sometimes, chaos is needed, right? It was particularly funny to see how infuriated the guests were as the venue’s sea-salt-covered floor heavily smeared everyone’s shoes. Fashion people like their comforts!

On the runway, Ellen Hodakova Larsson was channelling a lengthy story about the sea, sailors and sirens. Some pieces were literally wet – and made me think of going to a banya just to sweat it all out – while eveningwear was made out of fishing nets, both industrial and handmade. One all-black ensemble was cut from leather treated to resemble oversized fish scales.

This ode to the ocean came with an elusive melancholy that has become something of Ellen’s signature. That sadness has its roots in Hodakova’s sensitivity to the treatment of animals – and Mother Earth in general. The waters of the world are being exploited by humans more than ever, not to mention all the waste we keep dumping back into them. Something to think about amidst a fashion month that, overall, seems to pretend that everything’s OK.

ED’s SELECTION:


Hodakova Upside Down Trench Coat



Hodakova Upside-Down Pleated Bermuda Shorts



Hodakova Inside-Out Suit Reconstructed Sleeveless Midi Dress



Hodakova Argyle Knitted Draped-Sleeve Sweater Vest



Hodakova Flip Cotton Button-Down Shirt

All collages by Edward Kanarecki.

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Home. Hodakova AW26

| Design & Culture by Ed

I haven’t been this struck by fashion in a long time. What Ellen Hodakova Larsson did on the opening day of Paris Fashion Week was so profound, heart-wrenching, and purely beautiful that I almost wonder whether the term “fashion” even applies.

For autumn–winter 2026, Hodakova returned to the idea of home – a theme she has explored for some time, but which here felt more substantial and powerful than ever. True to her practice, she transformed everyday objects into garments: an itty-bitty bra fashioned from teacups; a rug crafted into a capelet; pieces incorporating parts of chairs. The effect was as subversive as when Meret Oppenheim covered a teacup in fur: feminine decorum gone rogue, yet also wildly sensual.

But the distortions and subtle provocations did not end there. Mirrors appeared as accessories – an ode to vanity, but also to introspection. Silken strands that snaked up the body and fastened at the neck (where zippers might once have been) were not samples of blonde hair, but horsehair violin strings. She imagined a musician impeccably dressed for a performance, only to lose herself entirely in the music. And the fur coats that seemed to levitate, hovering like oneiric corpses above the models’ bodies? A literal “home for the body”, staged in a manner reminiscent of an Olivier Saillard and Tilda Swinton performance.

Hodakova’s work is at once literal and strangely elusive: like a dream that floods you with feeling, only to dissolve the moment you awaken. That is not to say her clothes are ephemeral. On the contrary, she is a designer who, like few others, champions a return to meaty, tactile, hyper-real materiality. Her latest collection marks a striking plunge into the sartorial world, with deconstructed Harris Tweed jackets and coats anchoring the vision.

A very, very good start to Paris.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Objects With Souls. Hodakova SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

I really love how wildly nonconforming – and delightfully nuts – the first day of Paris Fashion Week was. Similarly to Julie Kegels, Ellen Hodakova Larsson explores the theme of deconstruction. But in her hands, the approach takes a distinctly material-driven twist. In Hodakova’s world, garments – being wearable objects – possess souls of their own.

For spring, she reimagines leather furniture covers as bulbous, body-morphing dresses; transforms vintage bed linens into oversized slips; and repurposes deadstock handbag frames as bras. The highlight of the collection, however, was the series of finale looks, which nodded to folkloric craftsmanship in a mystical, ritualistic Midsommar-esque way. Here, Larsson collaborated with Joar Nilsson of Dacapo, a Swede who recently founded a school to preserve the thatching tradition in Skåne.

The thatched mini-dress immediately brought to mind Arkadius’ spring–summer 2001 collection, where the legendary Polish designer dissected Slavic rural themes. In Hodakova’s case, however, the energy felt distinctly Nordic.

 

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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