Chitose Abe has always thrived in the space between construction and collapse. For sacai’s Autumn/Winter 2026 collection, she sharpened that instinct by exploring what she calls the beauty of destruction; breaking garments apart in order to create something freer.
The season’s emotional cue comes from a striking image of Muhammad Ali punching, a symbol of release and defiance that mirrors Abe’s design philosophy about breaking rules, loosening structures, and rethinking how clothes function on the body.
Classic menswear was an early target. The shirt and tie are softened, with scarf ties wrapped loosely around the collar instead of knotted tight, injecting ease into formality. Silhouettes continue to blur boundaries, most notably with the skirt/pant hybrid. Rather than layered, the piece is engineered through construction, cut wide like trousers, then cropped to read as a skirt.
Outerwear followed suit. Jackets were horizontally spliced, with the lower half attached to the lining to create the illusion of layered pieces merged into one. Subtle, technical, and unmistakably sacai.
Denim returned via another collaboration with Levi’s, where Type I and Type II jackets are remixed with biker leather and bomber elements. Flared jeans are fused with tailored trouser detailing, pushing denim into more elevated territory.
Sacai also reunited with A.P.C. for their third collaboration, introducing a new fabric inspired by Jessica Ogden’s patchwork quilts, recoloured and reshaped into the brand’s signature silhouettes. Footwear collaborations came courtesy of Japanese brand J.M. Weston, with the Golf Derby in an updated rich bordeaux hue.
More refined than radical, sacai’s AW26 collection proved that Abe doesn’t need to shout to disrupt. Sometimes, the most powerful statement comes from knowing exactly what to dismantle and what to leave behind.
Discover the collection below.
