February 16, 2026 |
A Sandy Liang show tends to play with the fantastical – wading around through the impulsive id, and pulling up the trinkets and symbols of childhood. For AW26, the brand’s rational ego clocked in to produce a collection that still twists the idea of bedroom comfort but makes it relevant for New York’s current brutal winter. It’s a tremendous ask to go out and look good when there’s month-old snow that’s now a tri-colour of brown, black and yellow alongside punishing winds bringing the temperature down to the negatives. To this, the collection says, if we must go out, let’s not debate comfort versus cuteness, we can shamelessly have (or rather be) both.
The collection was inspired by the Petit Trianon in the time of Marie Antoinette when she lived as a simple lady of the manor, shutting out most of society and only entertaining the king as a guest rather than co-habitant. For the “formal ware,” Liang took this level of unbothered and blended it with grandma’s now trendy apron. There were dresses and a skirt suit made in gym-worthy cotton jersey, glossy track suits with opera-ready bow trains and satin pyjama sets that resembled supersized first-communion garb. Comfort was also built into more formal looks, with a bed of bows adding padding to skirts, dresses, as well as a poncho that could double as a neck rest. One particularly successful chimeric experiment turned what resembled a child’s quilted mattress pad turned into a (TikTok trending) fencing outfit.
Continuing this experiment with casual formalwear, cosy thermal leggings were seen peeking out of most looks, paired with a contrasting knit sock into a series of kawaii yet practical footwear. In this series there was an opera shoe transformed by a shearling muff rim that foreshortened the foot into a doll-like slipper, a slipper with a shearling bob that seemed to dust the floor as it walked by, and the sure to be iconic floppy eared heel that looked like you threw on Mochi’s dog toy Lamb Chop for a quick errand. For heels, they all seemed as warm and soft as a house shoe, yet far more likely to delight at the function or even pooled at the doormat. Why dread leaving home when we can just wear it out?
Photography courtesy of Sandy Liang.
