Featured designers include Charles de Vilmorin, whose unique motifs have redefined a neo-expressionist aesthetic in fashion; Austrian designer Florentina Leitner and J. Simone, who apply upcycling techniques to her polychromatic palette; Marc Rambaldi, inspired by 1970s Italy; Riz Poli, whose wardrobe is based on poetic deconstruction; Sevali, originally from Chile, who experiments with unique pieces; Lora Sonney along with Vautrait, semi-finalist in the LVMH Prize in 2024; and Weinsanto, who celebrates his “Irresistible Favourites.”
What do all these designers have in common? A quest inextricably linked to memory, emotions and a reflection on transmission. “I collect as one collects stamps, only without the comfort of following a sequence or theme. Objects arrive as if summoned from different centuries: a folded sleeve in a grandmother's wardrobe, a fragment of silk that has touched another life, a button salvaged from a dusty market. Each garment carries the ghost of a moment of glory – an evening when it was at the heart of someone’s story – only to end up, years later, abandoned at an antique dealer’s, its drama reduced to a discreet fabric and a fading scent,” says Jonathan Carmel of Vautrait.
And so it goes with these sentimental explorations, which blend cutting techniques with memories, rebellion with romance, classicism with audacity. “The collection is colourful, but I have also introduced transparency, echoing my obsession with water and the duality of materials,” explains Lora Sonney. “On the one hand, there are rigid, waterproof fabrics; on the other, very fluid and airy organza silks. Whereas I explored a mohair trench coat last winter, this season I’m offering an organza trench coat, as a light and transparent reinterpretation of this iconic garment that I adore.”
In these troubled times, when everyone seeks guidance, this season’s imagination meets classics reinterpreted with heart: Florentina Leitner’s Spring-Summer 2026 collection, “My Heart Will Go On,” is defined as “An ode to summer love,” inspired by Harmony Korine's cult classics Gummo and Spring Breakers. “It's a world of sexy girls, skateboarders, suburban daydreams and endless nights, where innocence and chaos mingle under the neon lights. The collection draws inspiration from Americana and teenage nostalgia through playful character prints, in collaboration with the iconic brand Paul Frank.”
Jackets, dresses, coats – everything stems from an internalised eternal return, recomposed with virtuosity, in the manner of Bertrand Mauvinier in La Maison Vide (Minuit), a study of family traces, which seems to find a sartorial echo back to Vautrait: “Here, beginnings arrive disguised as ruins, and what we call fashion becomes less a quest for novelty than a patient listening – an opening for time itself to speak.”
LB
