SS26

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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Flow. Samuel Guì Yang SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Samuel Guì Yang is a brand you should keep your eyes wide open for – and it has already been around for a decade. Founded in London by Samuel Guidong Yang and Erik Litzén, yet showing in Shanghai, the label continues to redefine the East-meets-West aesthetic with both nuance and novelty. Their clothes are best described as “flowing“: they move smoothly around the body, appear light and billowy, and carry an instinctive quality, as if they were born from the classical elements – earth, air, fire, and water. The duo’s spring–summer 2026 collection focuses on volumes that envelop the wearer in a poetic gesture: a ballgown-like apron, a grand shoulder drape, dramatic wraps, and even a veil cascading down from a baseball cap. It’s become something of a tradition that the models on Samuel Guì Yang’s runway are always carrying something – a pillow-like XXL clutch, a transparent shopping bag, a fringed shawl, a beautifully wrapped bundle. This is a woman who lives a real life, and she runs errands. The designers also offer a distinctive interpretation of the cheongsam, the traditional Chinese figure-hugging dress that instantly evokes Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love“. In Samuel and Erik’s hands, the dress’s construction is reimagined most notably through oversized sleeves, with its influence also echoed in parachute-like blousons and jackets.

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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Expensive Wit. Loro Piana SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

Loro Piana is a brand that isn’t about fashion per se – but it is unmistakably about (wealthy) style. The Loro Piana client doesn’t care about fads; rather, they are entirely confident investing a fortune in a wardrobe that is at once timeless, durable, and subtly nonchalant.

For spring–summer 2026, the Italian house’s design team delivered precisely that: tailoring in gentle muesli tones, elongated silhouettes with an aristocratic air (reminiscent of Marella Agnelli’s swan-like neck in Richard Avedon’s photograph), and a poised balance of countryside statesmanship and Milanese sophistication. There is also a touch of playfulness, captured in exaggerated cone-shaped hats that lend a light-hearted quirk to the cashmere empire. Those moments of wit make Loro so compelling – and standout from all the other “beige” minimalism that suffocates the industry at the moment.

ED’s SELECTION:

Loro Piana Reversible Shell And Cashmere Bomber Jacket


Loro Piana Happy Day Large Leather-trimmed Felt Tote


Loro Piana Boris Double-breasted Cashmere Coat


Loro Piana Broderick Corduroy-trimmed Linen And Silk-blend Coat


Loro Piana Alba Satin Slippers


Loro Piana Vivian Cashmere-blend Mini Skirt

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Heritage. Institution by Galib Gassanoff SS26

| Design & Culture by Ed

I love looking back at the season in hindsight and highlighting some of the off-the-radar, attention-worthy moments. One of them is Galib Gassanoff’s Institution, a small, craftsmanship-focused brand that has emerged in Milan with great bravado. Gassanoff, who is of Georgian and Azerbaijani heritage, channels those roots in his breakthrough spring–summer 2026 collection. With curving lines inspired by the traditional Georgian chokha and rush skirts crafted using techniques typically employed in rug-making, this line-up stuns with its artisanal sensitivity – and makes some of Milan’s major players look pale by comparison. The backless peplum tops made from tightly loomed shoelaces? Incredible. As are the seemingly levitating panniered dresses and the brutally beautiful leather outerwear. Gassanoff wants the voices of his ancestors to be heard, and he succeeds with great poignancy and elegance.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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