Well-Traveled. Loro Piana AW26

March 28, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

There’s something inherently soothing – almost regal, but in the best possible way – about the fact that Loro Piana has no publicly known creative director. It sets the Italian house apart from the endless game of musical chairs in which designers constantly arrive at and depart from brands. Not that it doesn’t evolve – on the contrary, a breath of fresh air has lifted its ready-to-wear in recent years, and substantial internal recalibration has brought it back into the orbit of clients who once flocked to The Row – but the absence of headlines like “Breaking: X leaves Y after just two years” lends Loro Piana a sense of stability. It feels like a safe space, a sanctuary insulated from creative turbulence and industry storms.

And yet, the brand never lets you feel too comfortable. It’s like a Poliform or Cassina sofa – something you can sit in for a while, but not indefinitely, because you begin to notice a certain luxurious discomfort. There’s an intriguing, almost intimidating quality to the world of Loro Piana, and that tension is precisely what makes it aspirational.

The styling of its lookbooks is undeniably snobbish, though in a well-traveled, flamboyant way (the menswear especially has that sensibility, as if it was custom-made for a queer prince – Manvendra Singh Gohil, the first openly gay prince in the world, comes to mind). It feels less concerned with the “good taste” archetype so restlessly pursued by brands like Toteme, and more with a kind of irreverence toward anything that even faintly reads as “mass.” When everyone else leans into a CBK uniform, Loro Piana charts a cross-continental journey, its latest collection tracing influences from Normandy to Persia. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

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 Leather Slippers

Loro Piana Vivian Cashmere-blend Mini Skirt

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Phoebe Philo Collection E

March 20, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

I love it when an unassuming Thursday turns into a revelation – because Phoebe Philo drops her latest lookbook with no further ado. Collection E – the autumn-winter 2026 offering, arriving in June- is a testament to Philo’s profound, instinctive understanding of women: nothing superfluous, no noise, no strings attached.

She has the final word as the endless fashion month of shows and presentations wrapped last week – and the last laugh, too. While other designers are still guessing (and second-guessing) contemporary women and their needs, Philo simply delivers: a collection so concise and assured you can rely on it without a shade of doubt. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Women. Givenchy AW26

March 19, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

Ending fashion month on a show I’m still on the fence about – but one that clearly signals a designer stepping outside her comfort zone: Sarah Burton’s Givenchy.

The good news is that Burton has shed what I like to call the “Taylor Swift–ness” that weighed down her earlier work for the house – a certain safety and plainness that defined her first two seasons. Her third outing is anything but bland; this is no longer boring chicken with boring rice. There’s spice here, and bravado – plenty of both. I was especially taken with the draped, turban-like hats, as if lifted straight from a Jan van Eyck portrait, created in collaboration with Stephen Jones. They paired beautifully with Burton’s richly draped velvet halter tops and sharply tailored trousers. Her use of leopard prints and textured jacquards clashing with butch-leaning tailoring feels unexpectedly compelling. At times, I found myself thinking of that “Sex and the City” episode where Charlotte York discovers the world of art-world lesbians – there’s a similarly unapologetic feminine energy running through Burton’s work. It manifests in both boxy suiting and off-the-shoulder party dresses, creating a dynamic tension.

What made the collection slightly less legible, however, were the clunky bags and heavy boots that seemed to weigh the looks down. A stylist with a lighter touch might help Burton sharpen her message. Still, something is clearly shifting at Givenchy. And I suspect we’ll see the most coherent vision emerge in a season or two, once Burton has fully settled into her role.

ED’s SELECTION:

Givenchy Crepe Midi Dress

Givenchy Silver-tone Crystal Earrings

Givenchy Pinch Mini Embellished Leopard-print Calf-hair Shoulder Bag

Givenchy Cape-effect Silk-satin Mini Dress

Givenchy Paneled Leather Midi Skirt

Givenchy Patent-leather Pumps

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Sphinx. Schiaparelli AW26

March 18, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

At Schiaparelli, Daniel Roseberry has definitively abandoned the ornamental eyes, noses, and mouths, turning instead toward a more profound interpretation of the body. This season, he does so with finesse, envisioning a woman akin to a sphinx – not entirely human, closer to a deity; familiar, yet mysterious. The sphinx concept comes into focus in a phenomenal skirt suit made from wadding-stuffed hosiery – it appeared as though fashioned from a human corpse, yet remained oddly chic. A sense of delightful strangeness continues in another skirt that extends into a tail with the help of a wired hem, accompanied by hirsute fur prints and painted crocodile scales. Then there are the more conservative-looking, yet equally striking, liquid-gold draped pieces with Mariano Fortuny-esque pleating. Roseberry is finally finding his method for Schiaparelli ready-to-wear.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Open Mind. Louis Vuitton AW26

March 17, 2026 | Design & Culture by Ed

It seems to me that Nicolas Ghesquière has rediscovered a sense of joy in making fashion. That wasn’t always so evident in his 1980s-heavy collections, but his latest Louis Vuitton outing feels like the work of an open mind. It brings together three distinct “energies,” vividly clashing yet glued by a kind of transcendental, almost shroom-like aura.

First, there is a collage-like engagement with global cultures. Cultural appropriation is one thing, but in the past decade, a growing fear of being called out – or cancelled – for drawing on other traditions has made fashion increasingly cautious about referencing the world’s diverse beauty. So it feels refreshing to see Ghesquière approach Turkish kepeneks, Mongolian steppe deels, and Nepalese topi hats with such confidence, but also with respect. He manages to celebrate these traditions by sublimating their magnificence, never reducing them to caricature.

The second “energy” sees Nicolas returning to his Balenciaga years – autumn/winter 2002, to be precise – reviving a sense of generous, bounty fluidity in his dresses. Those sent down the Louis Vuitton runway feel effortless, and cool. Words that didn’t always roll off the tongue when considering his recent collections.

And the third? For the first time in over a decade at the house, Ghesquière seems to subtly nod to Marc Jacobs – not in any literal sense, but in his attitude toward fashion. There’s wit, a sense of play, a tongue-in-cheek irreverence. A cone-shaped hat paired with a voluminous bomber jacket and cropped trousers, or a fabulously cluttered blazer with boxy shoulders, recalls Jacobs’s years at Vuitton, when each show existed as a self-contained fantasy.

That newly found, almost defiant I-don’t-give-a-fuck-what-anyone-thinks spirit suits Ghesquière well. It might also explain why the collection didn’t resonate with everyone. After all, people tend to resent it when someone is having just a little too much fun. Human nature!