September 12, 2025 |
Sets of “twinning” models made the case for accepting one’s dark side. See it, like it? Well, let’s run it back – but this time in black. Under an end-of-summer sun that seemed to flood the East River Pier’s concrete helipad with golden light, seeing double was the motto for Collina Strada’s spring 2026 collection. This was a show about duality and tethers, playing up the duet between the shadow and light of Plath’s Persephones; for every Mario has its Wario, every white swan its black mirror image.
Here, Hillary Taymour conducted a delightful sleight of hand. Once the static chime mix of QVC commercials and camera flashes was broken by breakbeats into an operatic rendition of Smash Mouth’s All Star, her models began walking down the tarmac in sets of two. The first wore a mostly restrained palette of whites, creams, pinks, greens and blue satins, followed two steps behind by the shadow of the same look, rendered in head-to-toe total black. In colour you get a clear look at the details from the seams to ruching of the fabrics to the faux boning of imitation hip padding. Taymour has a way with upcycling fabrics, playing up the contrasts between deadstock nylons, satins and cottons.
As for the dark side, it’s a shot of pure emotion. The sun’s reflection onto the black satins with lace and crepes made the skin suit donning models look even more dramatic and raw. The weightlessly puffed hips on oversized trousers or padded shoulders on 80’s style power tops felt like curious extensions of the model’s silhouette that snatched their waists, while extra long draped fabrics or trains felt like genuinely seductive tails. This alongside “hats” of fake hair meant to resemble an equestrian’s mane hanging out of a riding hat, Converse shoes with extended floppy tongues and belts with the scale and lustre of costume jewellery made in collaboration with Los Angeles based ethical jeweller Awe Inspired all required and were given a double look.
This shadow puppetry felt like a natural evolution of the Collina world from a focus on the earth and its many hues into a more heady and internal territory. Elegant, these black looks can also be seen as a play for a wider audience without abandoning the spirit of the Collina project. This Jungian shadow play extended onto the front row with Taylor Momsen in a black-viscose suit with a cape sprouting from between her shoulders next to Ella Emhorf in a reworked Collina wedding dress. Movingly, a second look around to guests in prior season looks wrapped in mossy greens, red clays and moody slips contrasted against the concrete and river in a beautiful way that really spoke to Taymour’s larger vision of a world linked together. One thing became clear, if you’re only looking at the occluding body in front of you without admiring its cast, you’re only getting half the fantasy.
Photography by Cris Fragkou.
