February 14, 2026 |
On a darkened stage in New York, Nicolas Aburn quite literally set the scene for Area AW26 with a script: a woman conjuring her own spotlight. It was a neat, unsubtle framing device for a collection about glamour as agency – not decoration, but control.
Aburn, now in his second season, is hitting his stride. The high-low tension that defines Area felt sharper here. Dark rinse denim was twisted into a bow-front mini and paired with a backwards polo; a navy hoodie – the designer’s own uniform – was torqued into a leg-flashing wrap dress. Oversized tailored coats came with exaggerated martingales that jutted with intent, while elongated rugby knits were slung over shoulders, deliberately askew.
There was plenty for the party girls. Vintage silk scarves were tacked into barely-there draped tops and foulard dresses, recalling Aburn’s early experiments. Ruches in jewel-tone lamé nodded to the ’80s without veering into parody, and cocktail dresses were encrusted with unlikely materials – shredded tees standing in for ostrich, magnetic cassette tape woven into ruffles, gilded fragments suspended in tulle.
If some proportions bordered on unruly, that was the point. Aburn’s glamour isn’t polite. It takes up space, demands to be seen and in a muted week, it delivered a welcome jolt of personality.
Photography courtesy of Area.
