September 22, 2025 |
At Ashley Williams’ SS26 show, the cutesy collided with the clinical in a dreamy romance of care-core fantasy and candy-coloured kitsch. Think cotton grandma frocks paired with tactical vests, baby-blue bodysuits embroidered like hospital gowns and toilet paper bangles that flounced down the runway like little talismans of domestic ritual. It was surreal suburbia, but make it fashion.
The collection’s heart beat to the rhythm of routine – where trimming hedges or catching the 8:12 bus became acts of sacred selfhood. Williams painted a portrait of a provincial life steeped in tenderness: the nurse, the soldier, the cement mixer, all turned out in blush pinks and buttercup yellows, uniforms softened with rosettes and orthopedic heels.
Accessories stole quiet glances too: chair earrings dangled like relics from childhood dollhouses, watering can handbags dripped with charm and rings echoed the playful absurdity of a life lived lovingly in miniature. The toilet paper bangles? Not just wearable whimsy, but a symbol of turning the disposable into something adored.
It was equal parts Wes Anderson whimsy and wearability, finding its magic in the mundane. The result was charming, quirky and absolutely Ashley. And as her pastel army floated past in pyjamas cinched in with tactical utility belts, you couldn’t help but think: maybe contentment is the most radical look of all.
Photography courtesy of Ashley Williams.
