Soft Launch. Gucci SS26

September 23, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Unfortunately, Demna’s soft launch at Gucci didn’t feel like the vitamin C boost I was hoping for as I’m fighting the traditional, September flu. Yesterday, I watched influencers and insiders bend over backwards to intellectualize and extract meaning from the former Balenciaga designer’s debut at the Italian, Kering-owned brand. The result? A soulless lookbook shot by Catherine Opie, awkwardly photoshopped into tacky frames (as one of my followers aptly noted, it gives serious Anna Dello Russo 2010 vibes). The clothes – Tom Ford-esque leathers, diva gowns, fur coats, silks in ‘Flora’ print – will be available in select Gucci boutiques next week. READ MY FULL REVIEW HERE.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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On Display. Simone Rocha SS26

September 22, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

“It’s this slightly teenage, debutante feeling – when you’re on display and don’t really want to be there,” said Simone Rocha of her spring–summer 2026 collection. This season, the London-based designer marks 15 years of independent business, one deeply rooted in a women-centered vision.

Being “on display” carries many meanings for a contemporary fashion designer – especially a female one – and Rocha channeled that tension with a line-up that was at once vulnerable and resilient. Crinolined dresses swayed with a wonky gait; panniered skirts slouched loose and undone; draped tops tucked with flowers exuded an arty chaos. A black menswear suit, its jacket fitted with a built-in bouquet sash, struck a particularly cool note, amplified by the model’s crossed hands.

And the pillow clutches? Rocha’s eternal girl may drift through a dreamscape, but she is no Princess and the Pea.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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About Femininity. Colleen Allen SS26

September 17, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

I’ve been following Colleen Allen’s work since her debut, and it’s thrilling to see her collections strengthen season after season. Allen knows exactly who her woman is, and she designs with that archetype in mind. She’s poised and elegant, but with a touch of witchy allure – and an affinity for a peekaboo, négligé moment. Lace-trimmed bralettes and maxi skirts from the spring collection played with frivolous flashes of skin, while ecclesiastical silk cloaks added a sense of regality. Allen’s garments, though, are best appreciated in motion: her dresses dissolve into airy mists that wrap around the body. As she continues to develop her business, I’d love to see her step onto the runway.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Lady, Lady, Lady. Tory Burch SS26

September 16, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Once again, Tory Burch saves New York Fashion Week. The designer – who over the past few years has undergone a creative renaissance, dubbed by some as a “Tory-ssance” – examines the meaning of femininity through a beautifully balanced lens that merges past and present.

Her spring-summer 2026 collection is decidedly simpler and less “styled” than her previous outing, making room for alluring 1920s-inspired dresses, airy pleated skirts reminiscent of the 1950s, and 1980s-filtered balloon pants. In Burch’s hands, these looks never read as vintage pastiche but as pieces ready to be worn by women of now. Special mention goes to the purposefully faded wallpaper print, beautifully executed in a charming satin lilac pencil skirt. The overall feeling of the collection brought to my mind Marco Zanini’s glory days at Rochas, where he envisioned modern-day dames through a highly feminine, eclectic, yet undeniably cool perspective. Through her current work, Burch redefines the term “ladylike” by stripping away its conservative connotations – and that’s what I find most compelling about it.

ED’s SELECTION:

Tory Burch Printed Cotton-blend Poplin Midi Dress

Tory Burch Grosgrain-trimmed Broderie Anglaise Cotton-voile Tunic

Tory Burch Cotton-blend Pants

Tory Burch Mary Jane Leather Ballet Flats

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Socialite. Altuzarra SS26

September 14, 2025 | Design & Culture by Ed

Altuzarra’s (very autumnal) spring–summer 2026 collection centered on charming details, executed in a surreal, trompe-l’œil manner. A stole appeared as an illustration of bird wings encircling the neckline; a blazer’s pockets were appliquéd with black and red feathers, accentuating the waist and hips; dresses were not printed but patched with florals. Yet nothing about these wardrobe enhancements felt overly on the nose. The line-up is one that New York’s Swans – socialites like C.Z. Guest or Lee Radziwill – would surely embrace for its deft balance of day-to-evening sophistication. Balloon pants, Joseph Altuzarra’s recurring obsession, returned better than ever. For several seasons now, the designer has been channeling an elegance that feels both authentic and substantial.