Emilia Wickstead traded in her signature prim polish for something sharper, darker, and undeniably charged for the spring summer 2026 season. Presented inside her Sloane Street flagship, the collection drew inspiration from Robert Mapplethorpe, the photographer whose lens immortalized beauty, brutality, and everything in between.
Rather than a literal homage, Wickstead channelled the emotional and visual language of Mapplethorpe’s work: the interplay of light and shadow, softness against severity, and women who hold their own commanding presence. That tension between vulnerability and control, elegance and provocation ran through every look.
The palette was rooted in Mapplethorpe’s iconic black-and-white tonality, but flashes of acid lime, bright yellow, indigo mélange, and muted florals disrupted the monochrome calm. Fabrics followed suit: summer wools set in sharp yellows, silk twill checks pleated and pulled off course, crinkle satins that suggested spontaneity, and georgettes that offered movement and romance. For the first time, denim appeared in Wickstead’s vocabulary — washed indigo and optic white reimagined through tailoring and eveningwear, elevated far beyond novelty.
Silhouettes toyed with contrast. Checks, usually utilitarian, were re-engineered into evening gowns. A back-yoke from jeans became the framework for a voluminous skirt. Rugged topstitching traced its way across fluid silks, while leather patch labels found unexpected homes on dresses. Even denim-on-denim, a cropped, wide-shouldered jacket with matching jeans felt more like a sculptural act of rebellion than a casual look.
Ssubtle nods to Mapplethorpe’s more provocative codes were threaded through the collection. Trailing straps, suspended ties, and delicate harness-like fastenings. Never heavy-handed, these gestures suggested both restraint and release, folding subversive energy into Wickstead’s architectural precision.
Discover the full runways looks below.
