September 13, 2026 |
This season marked a homecoming for Conner Ives. Born in Bedford, New York, the American designer had previously opted to show his collections in London, home to his alma mater, Central Saint Martins. For SS27, however, he brought his buzzy band of doe-eyed dolls and hereditary It girls across the pond, recruiting Iris Law, Lila Moss, Hari Nef and Dominique Jackson (who made her debut on Ives’ catwalk last season) to strut around the Pool Room in midtown Manhattan’s The Grill.
Casting is one of the designer’s strengths, as is making clothes that his cool-and-cultured cast would actually buy. Built into Ives’ DNA is a desire to lean into the unexpected. It’s an ethos which informs his attraction to found and vintage materials and slightly off-kilter cuts – this season included vintage tees with holes cut into them and a longline turquoise cardigan with its collar pricked up and half flapped over.
The result are pieces that are polished enough to feel sophisticated yet whimsical enough to allow the wearer to embrace their individuality. As such, girls like Law – who once told British Vogue about her inclination towards playful dressing by saying, “apart from androgynous looks in winter and retro dresses in summer, there’s not much continuity in what I wear” – look right at home in a slick red satin bodysuit, complete with gold embroidery and structured bodice, layered over a simple white tank top. The menswear – this season marked Ives’ second foray into the category – adopted the same tone. Ives’ boys wore classic-looking suiting layered over cummerbunds with geometric prints and shirts in bright shades of pink and green.
Ives has a particular knack for building on his codes whilst keeping you in the dark as to what is coming next. Classic Conner Ives staples such as intricate embroidery and fringe appeared on the catwalk, but as did newcomers like crimped, equestrian-themed tanks in acidic hues of purple and green. A lover of the slogan tee (Ives’ ‘Protect The Dolls’ t-shirt, which called for solidarity with the trans community in the face of rising transphobia, was one of the most successful enterprises from an emerging designer in the past year), the designer dropped a new one for SS27, sporting a simple typeface spelling out “Bring back Shame”. A humorous dig at division, discrimination and those pedalling it, Ives’ SS27 presentation felt, as always, in touch with the world outside of fashion.
Ardent in his defence of and support for the trans community (the Protect The Dolls initiative has raised more than $600,000 for trans-led organisations including Trans Lifeline and Not A Phase), the fingerprints of Ives’ worldview were stamped all over this showcase. Celebrating individuality, beauty and diversity, Ives curated a spring wardrobe designed to make his customer feel strong, and to show up in the world exactly as they choose.
Photography courtesy of Conner Ives.
