Berlin Fashion Week: Play Hard, Land Softly - A Study of Youth and Identity in Luke Rainey’s AW26 Dagger Collection

An urban fallen angel of skateboarders, in ripped jeans and holding a bottle of beer, stood centre of the runway during Luke Rainey's Dagger show in Berlin. All photographs and cover by Jay Zoo for DAM 

Dagger’s new Autumn/Winter 2026 collection called Play Hard, was a standout at Berlin Fashion Week, and a personal reckoning for designer Luke Rainey, whose work encompasses his own early experiences of having to make something from very little, writes Jeanne-Maire Cilento. Photography by Jay Zoo

Starting out with t-shirts printed with 

quotable statements, the designer has 

built a sophisticated label.

LIVING in Berlin for the past five years, Northern Irish designer Luke Rainey named his label Dagger after a ritual blade associated with change and transition, built on the idea that identity is forged under pressure.

Rainey launched the brand in 2020 at a moment of rupture, turning professional rejection into motivation and imprinting that defiance into his work. 

"Each look is rooted in personal memory, reflecting resilience, freedom and creativity shaped through scarcity," the designer says. "Play Hard is not about perfection, but about rough edges, fragility and the strength found in community." 

Growing up in a coastal town in Northern Ireland, he learned early that style wasn’t about polish but survival. Skateboarding offered a sense of agency, friendship and a raw, resourceful mindset that still drives the designer's approach. It gave him a shared language and a way to belong when options were thin. 

"Play hard is a love letter to growing up in Portrush, a working-class seaside town," the designer says. "Surrounded by boarded-up arcades and harsh coastal weather, skateboarding became an escape, a culture and a way to form identity when opportunity was limited." 

The strength of Luke Rainey's work lies in his evocation of youth and perseverance, a reminder that the most compelling fashion often comes from necessity rather than excess

Growing up skateboarding in a small town in

Northern Ireland is key to Rainey's designs. 

This season, Rainey channels memories of freezing weather, closed storefronts, and the restless energy of youth searching for release. 

The designs feel protective and worn-in, created for movement and endurance. Textures are tough, silhouettes strong, and details deliberately imperfect, reflecting a world shaped by a small range of options and shared ingenuity.

"The collection draws from winter nights at home, empty arcades, distant sounds, fog and flashing lights, capturing a feeling that is both beautiful and unsettling," explains the designer. 

The strength of Luke Rainey's work lies in his evocation of youth and perseverance, a reminder that the most compelling fashion often comes from necessity rather than excess. 

Scroll to see more highlights from Dagger's AW26 collection at Berlin Fashion Week