”After the dust” as Rei Kawakubo titles the 2026 Spring/Summer collection.

An almost prescient expression for the history of the store. After years of dusty absence caused by the closure in 2020, the most representative line of the Japanese Maison finally comes ‘back home’: Comme des Garçons.

In so far as ‘Comme-Comme‘ isn’t hierarchically inferior to its originator Comme des Garçons, it’s however with this line that the designer puts her own seasonal meta-narrations on stage.

The shows of Rei Kawakubo are textile manifestations of prospectives and aesthetic interpretations of our time, they convey a message beyond the form of a simple piece of clothing.

As GiltMagazine writes:

There’s a different kind of silence during Comme des Garçons’ shows. Not one of expectation, but one of thought that prepares to be shaken.

Convinced advocate of a type of clothing which, in its creative potential, becomes medium of content beyond fashion, Rei Kawakubo challenges the critical sense of the public installing narrative cues between folds and cuts, overlaps, contrasts and textile provocations, formal and chromatic.

The models don’t wear clothing, but complex structures, with head-dresses and costumes evocative of cultures and impressions far away from the ordinary everyday life, almost shamanic.

The sound track is an integral part of an atmosphere which suggests the plot of the seasonal work.

The guttural vocalisms of the Spanish singer Fatima Miranda, Desosasiego (translated as: restlessness) don’t mark the rhythm of the exits, but mainly the connections of sense and possible meanings.

With a post show statement, the designer provides a precious clue:

I believe in positivity and in the value which can be born from the damaging of perfect things.

An optimistic note, manifestly hovering on the concentrated and amused faces of the spectators, a critical and alternative prospective, an act of rebellion and a hope beyond every space-time conjunction of monotony and dull resignation.

Our seasonal sales continue and, especially in lighter weights, they become ideal for a period of milder and welcoming temperatures.

As the video displays, in the show-room the language subsides to viable and easily wearable suggestions, Comme des Garçons style.

While globalization tends to erase local distinctiveness, homogenizing knowledge, tastes and preferences, there are, in parallel, realities that quietly resists, capable of synthesizing the modernity of contemporary metropolises with the ancient wisdom of remote lands, where customs and traditions express a deep connection and respectful balance between humans and nature.

This is clearly the case with Bergfabel, a South Tyrol brand whose name combines the German word ‘Berg’ (mountain) and ‘Fabel’ (folk tale), a language still deeply rooted in Vipiteno, a small village nestled in the South Tyrolean Alps on the border with Austria, where Klaus Plank, the brand’s designer, was born.

Alpine landscapes, towering mountains and long green valleys, pastures and flowers bordered by coniferous forests, speak to the long human adaptation to the harshness of cold winters and the gentleness of spring.

It’s an aesthetic harmony, a mutual, happy anthropization that is easily found in Bergfabel’s garments: in the color palette that follows the seasonal rhythm, in the preference for natural fibers, rustic wools, and liven-in-looking cottons, and in the traces of South Tyrolean folklore visible in certain garments and jackets, in the cuts and hand-finished details.

The more traditional aspects are softened by the big textile research carried out by Klaus and his wife Barbara, and by their skill in creating silhouettes that – through carefully placed formal gestures such as pleats between slits, sleeve hems, and borders – are ideal for more international contexts, made for travel and for feeling at ease, anytime and anywhere

Because the underlying idea behind Bergfabel’s stylistic approach is not only to keep the connection with its native land alive, but above all, to offer it in its essence, an habitat that brings pleasure and comfort to the wearer, just like immersing oneself in the landscapes of the high Tyrolean valleys.

After an incredibly long and demanding day at Comme des Garçons, in the historic show-room on Place Vendôme in Paris, I decide to push through a bit longer and visit Manuelle Guibal at Quai aux Fleurs, inside the Ile de la Cité. I know it’s close, but I am so exhausted that I don’t even have the energy to search for the address on my historic map.

I take a taxi and let it carry me to the destination, without thinking about anything except how foolish I was not to choose the metro in order to avoid Paris rush-hour traffic. Close to my destination, a violent thunderstorm hits, one of those targeted storms, with clear skies on one side and threatening dark clouds, of course on my side. It delivers its final blows: just enough time to get out of the car and cross the streets, I find myself drenched from head to toe.

Weary, cold and slightly disheartened, I step into the lively Guibal’s show-room. My “Bonsoir, IVO MILAN”, cuts through the buzzing chatter, drawing surprised faces and wide eyes toward me, making me feel like a mere shadow of myself. At that very moment, a warm male voice dissolves any hesitation and greets me with a single, simple question: “Champagne?”

I love telling the story of how the collaboration with Manuelle Guibal began, because her world is just like this: joyful and marked by a welcoming rhythm, instantly familiar, full of complicity, professionalism and deep involvement. The Maison is like a family, a gynaeceum of women where Manuelle reassures and uplifts each one, listening with passionate and tender gaze, curiously observing how her clientele responds to each seasonal offering and enjoying getting to know their diverse backgrounds.

The designer works with color, interpreting it across different styles and fabrics, presenting it in a way that is both captivating and desirable. The creative soul – she also is a sculptor and a painter – and her sociable nature allow her to easily connect with local artists. As a result, painter Manon Gignoux’s brushstrokes often appear on the cotton canvases of voluminous dresses and shirts.

It’s a comforting, urban language that strongly embodies a vibrant yet relaxed Parisian esprit, evident in the choice of natural fabrics: cotton, silk, and washed linen, often iridescent, layered and enriched with bright or muted tones, always offered through a distinctly feminine lens. It’s a vision that celebrates freedom of movement, simplified through the use of drawstrings, elastic bands and the joy of mixing and matching pieces freely, not only within Guibal’s collections, but also with what already exists in one’s wardrobe.

Manuelle Guibal’s world evokes friendships, engaging stories, thoughtful research, culture, collaboration and a sense of the contemporary. It’s a generous world, full of the joie de vivre, attention and sentiment, work and sustainability

But it’s in the Maison’s own words that best define its atmosphere:

A spacious and light-filled place, a pot-pourri of sensations. You might hear Japanese, English, French, Portoguese or New Zealand accents, and feel as though you’re traveling the world through a swirl of voices, sounds and overlapping images. You might dream of escaping to wild, sandy beaches with swaying coconut palms… But don’t be fooled, Manuelle Guibal’s world is also a buzzing hive of research, dedication and activity!

Anyone passing through Padua is familiar with the windows of our store. An opportunity where the garment is placed on a sort of stage, set against a backdrop of backlit panels.

These suspended panels, overlooking the portico of Via Altinate—right in front of Padua’s oldest church, Santa Sofia—are replaced periodically. They are abstract canvases, often ‘borrowed’ from contemporary artists. Many times, they have been provided by Mirco Fabio Mariotto, an architect and dear longtime friend, whose computer-generated work often feels more painterly than digital.

Website: https://www.fabiomariotto.it/

Each time, the choice falls on colors that evoke the current season or that best serve as a scenic backdrop for the outfits on display, in a delicate balance of light and the reflections of the glass, illuminated throughout the day.

What’s particularly fascinating is the story behind our most recent selections. This collaboration actually began through a rich exchange of emails with a customer from the United States. While inquiring about some pieces she had seen in our online catalog, she led us to discover her own magnificent artistic world.

The deeply human exchange and shared aesthetic sensibility have led to this extraordinary collaboration between Eliza K. Thomas of Austin, Texas, and our store…

Sito: https://www.elizakthomas.com/

A story of craftmanship, family and excellence – this is Avant Toi, an Italian brand born in Genoa in 1955 with the purchase of its first knitting machine and the determination of Lia Gambetta, the founder.

This journey has unfolded across the various phases of Italy’s economic landscape and, despite significant challenges within the textile industry, the company has grown and gained strenght over time, thanks to generational transitions, a close-knit team of collaborators and other key synergies: innovation, through investment in high-tech machinery, artisanal craftmanship (much of the work is still done by hand), the choice of noble yarns (cashmere, silk, linen and organic cotton) and a unique chromatic experimentation.

Mirko, Lia’s son, brings an artistic sensitivity and passion for painting that defines the brand’s contemporary identity. Inspired by hand-painting techniques, Mirko seeks knitwear as an occasion to explore the infinite potential of color. Starting from neutral or dark bases, different chromatic themes take abstract shapes, often shaded by the use of airbrushing, or more textured, in laminated yarns, almost metallic.

The world of Avant Toi, from essential silhouettes and effortless wearability, offers an endless spectrum of colors that, depending on the selected fiber, develops in exponential variations and, with remarkable versatility, moves from everyday wear to a more expressive need, without formal ostentation, but with a deep sense of personal satisfaction.

Here’s a sneak peek at our Spring/Summer 2025 selection.

Long and flared dress, in laminated and glittery silk and elastan camouflage

Hip-lenght sweater, wide, in cotton and polyamide mouliné knit hand dyed

Hip-lenght sweater, wide, in linen and cotton knit hand dyed

Short and wide cardigan in cotton and polyamide mouliné knit hand dyed

Long and wide sweater in laminated linen knit hand dyed

A futuristic development of the ethics of Miyake Design Studio directs the philosophy of the Japanese brand, now in its ninth season—tenth, if we consider the presentation already held in Paris for the upcoming Fall/Winter.

Yusuke Takahashi, founder and designer of CFCL, born in 1985 and a graduate of the Bunka Fashion Graduate University in Tokyo, joined the exclusive creative team of the Maison Miyake in 2010. By 2013, he became a central figure, signing the ISSEY MIYAKE Men line.

This was a valuable asset to the prestigious Japanese company, which was then still personally led by Issey Miyake, a visionary mentor of talent to be gathered and encouraged to ensure the continuity of the brand that still carries his name today.

In 2020, likely sensing a shift towards a more radical and secure business direction at the Maison Miyake, and with a wealth of experience acquired, Takahashi emancipated himself, launching his own brand, CFCL. A synthesis, once again, of promising Japanese tradition blending experiences and cultures, with an advanced approach to global transformations.

Where is fashion, one of the most polluting industries in the world, headed?

What should be offered after the traumatic experiences of the pandemic, which have made the balance between comfort and social life more fragile?

How to respond to artistic and cultural contexts that still demand expressive differentiation in daily and professional representation?

What can new technologies and social networks offer?

Questions that, connected to his time, also inspired and gave breath to Issey Miyake himself.

Thus, CFCL was born, striving to provide answers and depth to crucial themes such as environmental respect, versatility of use, silhouette, and context.

Takahashi put in place his advanced studies in computer-aided knitwear design, offering the possibility of eliminating textile waste.

The choice of a knit production model, designed in advance on the computer, allows for flexibility in sizing, especially in length, while minimizing fabric leftovers.

He connects networks to recover residual materials, such as polyester, recycling, trimming, and re-dyeing them through sustainable, traceable supply chains, right down to their source, using traditional Japanese dyeing techniques (from ikat to shibori, etc.).

He seeks adaptable forms for both domestic and social contexts.

CFCL is a reality centered around being in the world with respect, comfort, creativity, and common sense, without giving undue importance to the eccentric images of a designer locked in their own small conceptual world.

The significant collaborations with contemporary artists, ranging from music to dance, from interior designers to architects, are no coincidence. This international support reflects a concrete global project.

We have already had the opportunity to present the work of one of our most recent new entries, Melitta Baumeister, but it is with great satisfaction that we share the prestigious recognition she has just received as the winner of the 2025 edition of the National Design Award from the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York.

The most important United States institution, dedicated exclusively to historic and contemporary design, and home to one of the world’s most articulated collections, with over 215.000 objects that cover 30 centuries of history, insaugurated this award in 2000,in collaboration with the Millennium Council of the White House, to highlight the impact of design on daily life and our ecosystem. The awards, diverse in their categories (fashion, interiors, architecture, communication, etc.), honor innovation and projects that have the potential to generate transformations in the social and natural world.

And what connection does this have with Melitta’s work?

As she herself states:

“In our studio, we create clothing that will be worn and become part of someone’s life. It will attract attention, spark conversations, and sometimes challenge perceptions, encouraging new ways of seeing the world.”

After the success of the 2023 edition of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, the designer, of German origin, continues to confirm herself as a bright promise in the international fashion scene. Not only does her work manifest a strong aesthetic, where volumes and silhouettes become sculptural, surprising, and sometimes humorous and playful, but it is also deeply rooted in the ethics of slow-fashion, featuring a rich repertoire of enduring pieces and short supply chains with a low environmental impact.

So, why not take the opportunity to get to know some of her works, suitable for the in-between seasons, always with a strong transformative and timeless flavor?

Longuette ‘sculpture’ dress in polyester pleats hand dyed with iridescent effect, round-neck with profile in contrast of color, short rounded sleeves with circular band at the end, circular bottom with rigid inner band

Sculpture dress, long and lean, in recycled polyester and polyester jersey with bark texture, mock turtleneck with little buttons, long sleeves, padded band at the bottom with circular waves effect

Longuette ‘bomber’ dress, wide, in heavy nylon taffetas, round-neck with button on the back, sleeveless, big pocket applied on one side with high knit band, oversized bomber jacket like bottom with high knit band on the sides and longer on the back

Oversize peacoat in waterproof nylon canva, one chest, crater collar, zip-closure with double slider, vertical cut with opening on the back of the sleeve to be worn as a cloak, two welt pockets and two with zip in contrast of color on the back, two pockets applied on the bottom on the back, coulisse on the end of the sleeve and on the bottom of the peacoat

‘Sculpture’ dress, longuette, in polyester plissé with vertical folds on the bust and horizontal on the skirt with snakes tattoo print, round-neck, sleeveless, wide skirt and abstractly far from the body with wavy circle motif on the waist line

To discover the collections: Melitta Baumeister – Ivo Milan Radical Fashion

We are in Bergamo, but the journey begins far away, in Tokyo, the city of birth and education. Risa specializes at the prestigious Tama Art University in textile design, a path that leads her to the Miyake Design Studio, where she collaborates on the most artisanal of the lines, Haat.

The move to Italy follows, as often happens for Japanese talents, where she works until she is able to open her own tailor shop, creating only custom made garments, in the historic center of Bergamo. Finally, the big leap: a small production destined to a few select boutiques around the world, and a brand that carries her name: Risa Nakamura.

The designer brings into her workshop the great textile expertise of Japan and works with meticulous craftsmanship, ranging from chromatic research with plant-based dyes to the manual creation of buttons made from Calabrian briar wood, salvaging the remnants of this sturdy wood, typically used for smoking pipes. Her sensitivity extends even to the most overlooked materials, like buttons, sometimes barely visible because hidden by discreet flaps.

Japan influences the entire atmosphere of Risa’s work. Its presence is felt in every gesture: the selection of pure fibers, like Shetland wool, protected by its well-known roughness with natural linen linings; organic cotton suede, an alternative to the more casual sweatshirts; the crisp lightness of washed silk crepe de chine in her color palette. Japan twirls between strict or soft forms, inspired by workwear or the elements of the kimono, as well as in certain exercises typical of origami, where the development of geometry begins with small repeated connections, as seen in her patchwork skirt made of one hundred pieces, coming together to form a perfect circle.

Risa’s world, shared with her most loyal collaborator, her husband Emiliano, is dominated with a slow, patient, and sensitive aesthetic, dedicated to generating a surprising Zen-like balance: simplicity, care, and a laboriously engaging, existential gentleness.

To discover the new collection: ivomilan.com

Opportunities to showcase the work of Junya Watanabe, the Japanese designer historically produced by the Maison Comme des Garçons, have been plentiful. He was among the illustrious guests at the Radical Fashion exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London back in 2001, which also inspired the homonymous publication.

Elements such as origami, metal detailing, and eco-leather are repeatedly used to create a strongly recognizable language that sits at the intersection of avant-garde cyber-metropolitan trends and the visual arts.

According to the philosophy established by the Japanese school—from Rei Kawakubo to Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and others—the dress transcends its simple decorative function, of medium and filter for social representation, instead becomes a creative opportunity and a textile device of complex realization.

For the current Fall/Winter season, Watanabe’s patchworks of matter evoke the ostentatious yet irresponsible luxury of snake skin, but in his hands, everything is a construct. The shapes, innovative and sculptural, articulate poetics that stand in stark contrast to any vulgarity. Silhouettes expand, as seen in the ‘spatial’ coat, whose expertly balanced volume takes the form of a spiral cape made from faux leather sewn onto heavy wool melton. Alternatively, they soften in a more subdued version with dropped sleeves. The dry eco-leather dress, essentially a long vest that can be layered over simpler outfits, does not shy away from more explicit elements of femininity. Unmissable the denim, with the collaboration with Levi’s, deconstructed and recomposed following the theme of the season.

This bold rhythm is a symphony of high notes and more subdued tones, a laborious composition between everyday contexts far removed from boredom and more vibrant and expressive social events.

Winner of the 2023 edition of the prestigious CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund – award dedicated to the new design generations, established to sustain the most promising talents of the international scene in order that, quoting Anne Wintour, can be seen and heard – German origins and one master at the Parson University of New York, by now her chosen city, Melitta Baumeister is the designer of the homonymous brand founded in 2013 in the Big Apple, claimed for the already defined and identifiable language, constantly swinging between two worlds in dialogue: fashion and sculpture.

Where the inspiration takes form from items and fabrics of ordinary use, without formal and decorative excess, Melitta misleads the collocation, floors, by introducing materials that serve as real plastic structures that modify the space around the body of whom is wearing them. Dresses, shirts and tops, change their nature of necessary elements to a metropolitan everyday routine, lived following comfort needs typically juvenile and dynamic, of rides by bicycle and morning runs, in real communicative occasions: the sponge inserts itself in the rigid cotton or polyester giving three-dimensional original geometries and moving the usual axis of the architectural prospective.

Waves, irregualar bubbles and circles become spatial elements that decorate the silhouette connecting it to the ether, in a movement that accompanies the regal stride changing the perception, insinuating cheerfulness, surprise and influencing the posture itself, thanks to forms with disorienting visual impact, authentically new.

Melitte sustains short production chains, everything is produced in New York, and the textile lab are seen and followed incessantly in a productive cycle open to facing challenges, solving criticalities. Some items are treated as continuous, becoming real icons of the brand, following an ethic against the obsolescence typical of the sector.

The designer also reveals frequent contamination with artistic avantgardes and aesthetic symbols of her generation, traceable in the bold sketched snakes prints, in monochromatic contrast grafic signs or in trompe l’oeil hand dyed, decisively pop.

A creative and handcrafted adventure, the one of Melitta Baumeister, already widely embraced by art galleries and independent boutique, destined to developments to observe with curious and open attention.