Milan Fashion Week: The Power of What Lies Beneath ~ Dhruv Kapoor Creates Layers of Meaning in His New Collection

Brilliant colour and fine embroidery enhanced Dhruv Kapoor's themes in his new SS26 collection, presented in Milan. Photograph above and cover picture by Jay Zoo for DAM.

At Milan Fashion Week, Dhruv Kapoor offered a thoughtful collection that examined what lies beneath the surface of fashion. His Spring/Summer 2026 show, Foundations & Futures, elevated everyday underlayers and reimagined traditional Indian silhouettes, asking audiences to reconsider which garments, and which histories, are given visibility. Blending cultural reference with contemporary design, he used clothing as a lens to explore identity, heritage, and transformation, creating one resonant statement. Story by Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Photography by Jay Zoo

Decorative outerwear inspired

by the forms and embellishment

of under garments. 

DHRUV Kapoor struck a different chord when he presented his new Spring/Summer 2026 collection in Milan. Known for his approach to exploring gender and cultural identity, the Indian-born, Milan-trained designer delivered a show that was both intimate and expansive, moving from the private world of undergarments to the symbolic weight of tradition.

Rarely meant for public view, slips, petticoats, and vests were not treated as background pieces by Kapoor but recast as the main story. These foundations became confident outerwear, a comment about visibility, questioning why certain garments, and by extension, certain identities, are kept out of sight.

Kapoor’s exploration did not stop there. Drawing from Indian heritage, he reinterpreted familiar pieces such as the kurta and the bandhgala jacket. Rather than showing them in their classic forms, he altered proportions and the design. The effect was less about nostalgia and more about reimagining how tradition can live in the present. These looks suggested that cultural garments need not sit untouched in the past but can evolve alongside shifting ideas of self-expression.

By bringing the unseen into visibility and reworking tradition, Kapoor reminds us that innovation is not always about the new, but about how we choose to reinterpret the familiar

Earthy hues added to the collection's

grounded notes and emotional power. 

While the collection's themes carried the intellectual weight of the collection, earthy colour gave it emotional power. Kapoor said he chose tones inspired by planetary references from ancient Indian texts, grounding the show in hues that suggested harmony and energy. 

This was less about literal spirituality and more about aligning fashion with a sense of universality. The result was a palette that felt both grounded and futuristic with these shades paired with brilliant dashes of red and pink. Even the runway was covered in a path of dark sand to enhance the connection to nature.

Kapoor also looked beyond clothing to extend his narrative. Eyewear came through a collaboration with Paloceras, a Helsinki-based studio known for turning digital concepts into sculptural frames. Their exaggerated designs added a surreal layer to the runway. The atmosphere was completed by Swiss-Nepali musician Aïsha Devi, whose immersive soundtrack gave the show an otherworldly pulse. Together, these collaborations emphasized Kapoor’s interest in fashion as a multi-sensory, multidimensional experience.

In Milan, the collection landed at a moment when conversations around gender, heritage, and identity remain at the forefront of fashion

A collaboration with a Finnish 

eyewear company brought new

ideas to life in sculptural frames. 

This season reinforced themes Kapoor has examined since launching his label in 2014: independence and the rejection of rigid gender roles. His work often plays on the tension between softness and strength, drawing on emotion as a form of power. 

The Spring/Summer 2026 collection sharpened that philosophy. By spotlighting undergarments, he elevated what is usually hidden, while his reworking of traditional silhouettes suggested a fluid dialogue between past and future. It was a collection that asked the audience to consider not only how garments look, but also what they represent.

Kapoor’s trajectory reflects the international perspective that shapes his work. He studied at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in New Delhi before moving to Milan to complete a Master’s degree at Istituto Marangoni. A formative stint at Etro gave him insight into Italian craft and global markets. Returning to India, he launched his label and quickly won recognition: the Vogue India Fashion Fund in 2015, GQ India and other designer of the year awards.

The designs frequently cross generational and cultural lines, speaking to a global audience without losing sight of Indian heritage

Bespoke fabrics and fine tailoring

have meant that the label stands

out from Indian as well as 

international runways. 

What distinguishes Kapoor is not just technical skill but a willingness to challenge convention. His collections frequently cross generational and cultural lines, speaking to a global audience without losing sight of Indian heritage. 

The brand’s DNA, find tailoring, and custom fabric development, has allowed it to stand apart on both Indian and international runways.

In Milan, Kapoor’s collection landed at a moment when conversations around gender, heritage, and identity remain at the forefront of fashion. Foundations & Futures tapped directly into these debates, offering garments as vehicles of transformation. A petticoat turned into a statement dress, a kurta reshaped into something entirely new, each piece asked how much of identity is inherited and how much is chosen.

Drawing from his Indian heritage, the designer reinterpreted familiar pieces such as the kurta and the bandhgala jacket, showing these garments need not remain in the past but can evolve alongside shifting ideas of self-expression 

Kapoor was able to balance intellectual

ambition with practical and appealing

design. 

While the collection carried a strong conceptual thread, it also offered wearable ideas. Layering, exaggerated proportions, and bold colors could easily filter into contemporary wardrobes. Kapoor balanced intellectual ambition with practical design, ensuring the message did not overwhelm the clothes themselves.

In a season already filled with theatrical displays in London and New York, Kapoor’s show felt like a measured disruption, quiet in tone but radical in implication. Rather than overwhelming the audience with spectacle, he asked them to look more closely at what they take for granted in clothing. By bringing the unseen into visibility and reworking tradition into the present, Kapoor reminded us that innovation is not always about the new, but about how we choose to reinterpret the familiar.

Dhruv Kapoor’s collection was a standout on the first day of Milan Fashion Week because it refused to play by predictable rules. Inspired by heritage yet unbound by it, intimate yet open to the world, the designs suggested empowerment. For Kapoor, fashion is not just about how people dress, it is about what they reveal, what they reclaim, and how they choose to carry history into the future. 

Scroll down to see more highlights from Dhruv Kapoor's SS26 collection plus backstage moments

London Fashion Week: From Latex to Lifestyle - Harri’s Latest Collection Turns Experimental Couture into Wearable Design

Harri's Spring/Summer 2026 collection at London Fashion Week moved away from spectacle to designs that are artistic but suitable for quotidian life. 

At this season’s London Fashion Week, Harri's Spring/Summer 2026 collection continues the label’s dialogue between art and design while shifting toward a more wearable approach. The show marked a move away from the inflatable forms and hyper-sculptural silhouettes that first brought the designer international recognition, instead focusing on garments that carry the same imaginative spirit but are conceived for daily life, writes Antonio Visconti

A sinuous silhouette and black and 

white palette made this ensemble

a highlight of the Harri collection. 

HARRI'S new collection evinces how fashion can function simultaneously as cultural artifact and lived experience and be at the intersection of performance and practicality, 

Called Museumwear, the Spring/Summer 2026 show was unveiled during London Fashion Week. Known for his intriguing, inflatable silhouettes that blur the line between fashion and art, Harri’s new direction aims to translate the surrealist energy of past shows into a more accessible, ready-to-wear language.

Founded by the Kerala-born designer in 2020 after completing an MA at the London College of Fashion, Harri has developed a reputation for treating clothing as both artistic expression and experimentation. 

Previous collections pushed boundaries with latex, inflated forms, and exaggerated proportions that caught international attention. For SS26, the London-based designer changed the focus from spectacle to wearability, positioning the collection as a bridge between art observed from afar and fashion lived in everyday contexts.

The show had a balance of contrasts: minimalist, tailored looks set against experimental structures; fluid textiles paired with sculptural shapes. While echoes of Harri’s signature theatricality remained, the collection leaned into pragmatic cuts and materials that suggested a desire to move beyond runway performance into wardrobe reality. The concept of MuseumWear underscored this ambition: pieces that acknowledge fashion’s place as cultural artifact while also functioning within urban life.

Awarded the British Fashion Council Fashion Trust grant earlier this year, following earlier backing from BFC Newgen, reflects Harris’s position as a designer navigating art-led fashion and market readiness. The collection was staged with the help of an extensive network of collaborators, highlighting the collective effort behind translating a conceptual label into a functioning ready-to-wear line.

The designer raises a question that sits at the centre of contemporary fashion: how can experimental design rooted in performance and spectacle evolve into clothing that engages with everyday culture? For Harri the SS26 collection marked a step toward answering that, proposing garments that retain an imaginative spark while entering practical circulation.

In a season where London Fashion Week spotlighted both theatrical innovation and commercial grounding, Harri's contribution stood as an ambitious aim to inhabit both worlds at once, keeping art at the forefront, but making space for quotidian life within it.

Scroll down to see the Harri Spring/Summer 2026 collection at London Fashion Week

Robert Redford: Ten Great Films From a Brilliant Career

Robert Redford, left, with Paul Newman in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." Screen Archives/Getty Images. Cover picture of Redford in Malibu, shot by Annie Leibovitz in 1980.

By Daniel O'Brien

OVER the course of an illustrious film career which began in 1960, Robert Redford starred in more than 50 films and directed nine. He was nominated for an Oscar four times, won best director for his debut Ordinary People in 1980, and received an honorary Oscar for his contribution to the film industry in 2001. It’s an extraordinary body of work – here we pick our ten favourites.

1. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Paul Newman insisted on the 

(relatively unknown at the time)

Robert Redford to be in the film.

Robert Redford defined his Hollywood stardom in 1969 with George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, a film that reconfigured both the western and the buddy movie. Riding the momentum of New Hollywood titles like Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy, Hill’s film struck a balance between fresh storytelling and classic Hollywood style.

Playing opposite Paul Newman’s wily Butch, Redford’s cool, sharp-shooting Sundance creates one of cinema’s most iconic duos. Their charisma and wit onscreen are as striking as their arresting good looks. But this is also carefully balanced. Sundance’s inability to swim, for example, adds humour and vulnerability, humanising Redford’s star power. The final defiant freeze-frame is culturally iconic, while the film’s legacy lives on through the Sundance Film Festival, providing a platform for independent filmmakers.

2. Jeremiah Jonhnson (1972)

Redford’s portrayal of 19th-century mountain man Jeremiah Johnson tells the tale of a disillusioned figure retreating into the wilderness, seeking solace in the solitude, beauty and danger of the Rocky Mountains.

Sparse in dialogue and narrative, the film relies on Redford’s quiet authority to carry it. Very much a product of its era, it frames Johnson in violent clashes with both Native Americans and nature itself. Most significantly, it marked the beginning of Redford’s long partnership with director Sydney Pollack, a fruitful collaboration that would later include The Way We Were, Three Days of the Condor, and Out of Africa.

3. The Sting (1973)

Reuniting with director George Roy Hill, Redford teamed up again with Paul Newman for The Sting, a stylish 1930s caper about two grifters scheming to outwit a crime boss, played with icy menace by Robert Shaw – a stark contrast to the warmth between the leads. This time it’s Newman’s turn to wear the moustache, with Redford clean-shaven, a playful reversal of their Butch Cassidy look. With its clever twists, Scott Joplin ragtime piano score and screen-wipe transitions, the film won seven Oscars at the 46th Academy Awards, including best picture and best director, and earned Redford a nomination for best actor.

4. All the President’s Men (1976)

Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford 

in All the President's Men.

Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men paired Redford with Dustin Hoffman in a serious contemporary role, dramatising the Watergate scandal just two years after Nixon’s resignation. A taut, uncompromising account of investigative journalism, the film showcases Redford’s range in a part that eschews glamour for realism and the pursuit of truth. Fifty years later it remains one of cinema’s most sophisticated political dramas. The project owed much to Redford, who approached Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein before securing rights to their book, and adapting it for the screen.

5. Ordinary People (1980)

Redford’s directorial debut, Ordinary People was a huge success, winning best picture and earning him the Oscar for best director. A powerful family drama about grief and alienation, it starred Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore and Timothy Hutton. The film transformed Redford’s career, expanding his influence behind the camera.

6. Sneakers (1992)

Directed by Phil Alden Robinson, Sneakers let Redford dip back into the caper genre, this time with a tech-age twist. He plays a former hacker turned security consultant who, along with a mismatched crew (Sidney Poitier, Dan Aykroyd, River Phoenix), is pulled into a plot over a code-breaking device. The film mixes comedy, intrigue and early 1990s paranoia about surveillance, while retaining a breezy touch as Redford holds it all together with his familiar charm.

7. Quiz Show (1994)

Redford’s fourth feature film, Quiz Show, returned to his interest in public scandal – this time shifting from the White House to NBC’s 1950s game show Twenty-One and the controversy surrounding contestant Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes). Exposing how producers rigged the contest to engineer Van Doren’s success, the film probes questions of truth, media and morality, echoing Redford’s enduring fascination with power and integrity in American culture. Nominated for four Oscars, Quiz Show remains one of Redford’s most accomplished and incisive directorial works.

8. The Great Gatsby (1974)

Mia Farrow and Robert Redford 

in The Great Gatsby. 

Jack Clayton’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby cast Redford as one of literature’s most enigmatic figures: Jay Gatsby, the wealthy, detached, and obsessive dreamer pining for Daisy Buchanan (Mia Farrow). With his good looks and charisma, Redford embodied Gatsby’s allure, mystery and melancholy, even as the film itself divided critics. Lavish costumes and period design capture the excess of the Jazz Age, while Redford grounds the story’s glittering parties with Gatsby’s aching loneliness.

9. All Is Lost (2013)

J.C. Chandor’s All Is Lost is an engaging piece of action survival cinema, with Redford at 77 proving he could still carry a film entirely alone. He plays an unnamed sailor in the Indian Ocean whose boat is punctured by a drifting shipping container, an accident that escalates into a fight for survival on the open sea. With almost no dialogue (just 51 words), the drama relies on Redford’s presence and physicality. Like Jeremiah Johnson transposed from mountains to water, the film is elemental and meditative, and Redford delivers a late-career performance of remarkable endurance, which earned him the New York Film Critics Circle Award for best actor.

10. The Old Man & the Gun (2018)

David Lowery’s The Old Man & the Gun was announced as Redford’s final starring role, and it feels like a fitting farewell. While he later appeared briefly in Avengers: Endgame (2019) and in the anthology film Omniboat: A Fast Boat Fantasia (2020), this was the last feature he headlined.

Redford plays Forrest Tucker, a real-life career criminal who, well into his seventies, escapes prison and keeps robbing banks with a smile. The film isn’t about suspense so much as presence, and Redford brings the same easy charisma that defined his early career. Gentle, nostalgic and playful, it stands as an apt curtain call for a legendary performer and filmmaker.

Daniel O'Brien, Lecturer, Department of Literature Film and Theatre Studies, University of Essex

The Sting of Goodbye: Robert Redford, America’s Golden Rebel Who Rewrote Hollywood’s Script with Charm, Conscience and Cinematic Grace

Robert Redford with his Oscar for directing his debut film “Ordinary People" in 1981. It garnered critical and commercial success and won four Oscars. Cover picture of the actor in Malibu, shot by Annie Leibovitz. 

By Nathan Abrams

Robert Redford was no airhead

but a sensitive actor that used his

good looks to his advantage. 

Robert Redford was perhaps everybody’s idea of a classical Hollywood movie actor. His conventional good looks – his blond hair, boyish charm and chiselled chin – led him to be cast as a sex symbol and a romantic lead opposite Jane Fonda in Barefoot in the Park (1967), Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were (1973), and Meryl Streep in Out of Africa (1985).

Dustin Hoffman described him as a “walking surfboard”. But the Californian golden boy belied his appearance. No airhead, beneath the surface was a shy and sensitive actor who used his looks to his advantage, insisting on starring in and later directing movies with weight. These included a series of anti-establishment and countercultural films that reflected his anti-corruption and pro-environmental activism.

From the early 1960s through to the 2020s, Robert Redford appeared in some of the most iconic, if unconventional, films of the second half of the 20th century. Those of us born in the late 1960s and early 1970s grew up with Redford. He came to attention as the timid, newly married Paul Bratter in Neil Simon’s Broadway play, Barefoot in the Park, in 1967, before starring in the movie of the same name.

His breakout role was as the titular Sundance in the irreverent and subversive paean to the wild west, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), beginning what would later be called a bromance with his co-star, Paul Newman. He teamed up again with Newman, a fellow activist, in the Depression-era set The Sting (1973), which led to Redford’s first and only Oscar nomination as an actor.

That same year, he starred in The Way We Were alongside Streisand, who described him as “the blond, suntanned California guy, surfing and riding horses”. Directed by Sydney Pollack, Redford would go on to star in a further six of his films. The director called him “an interesting metaphor for America, a golden boy with a darkness in him”.

Following his liberal instincts, Redford appeared in two of the post-Watergate and post-Vietnam War films that encapsulated the pervasive feeling of distrust and suspicion of the government that followed the administration of Richard Nixon.

In the spy thriller Three Days of the Condor (1975), Redford was an introverted CIA codebreaker caught up in a conspiracy. And in All the President’s Men (1976), he played the real-life Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward alongside Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein as they exposed the Watergate Hotel scandal that helped to bring down Nixon.

The film, which Redford was instrumental in bringing to the screen, was so powerful that it has been credited by some with swinging the presidential election of that year to the Democrat Jimmy Carter.

Redford branched into directing with Ordinary People in 1980, about an upper-middle-class family’s fracturing with grief following their son’s death. The film starred Donald Sutherland and Mary Tyler Moore and won four Oscars, including for best picture and best director, beating Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull.

Redford’s later efforts were not always as successful, but Quiz Show in 1994, about the real-life scandal of a fixed television game show in the 1950s, received Academy nominations.

Other films he directed showcased his politics. The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), about the fight to protect a small beanfield in a New Mexico village against larger business and political interests, reflected Redford’s own concerns about the environment and land preservation.

His 2007 Lions for Lambs explored the impact of US foreign policy through the intersecting lives of a US congressman (Tom Cruise), a journalist (Meryl Streep) and an academic (Redford) against the backdrop of the war on terror in Afghanistan.

In 2014, Redford even joined the Marvel cinematic universe, starring as US government leader and secret Hydra operative Alexander Pierce in 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Endgame in 2019. It was a callback to those 1970s paranoid thrillers, especially Three Days of the Condor. This introduced him to a younger generation of fans and audiences most likely unfamiliar with his earlier work.

“The idea of the outlaw has always been very appealing to me. If you look at some of the films, it’s usually having to do with the outlaw sensibility, which I think has probably been my sensibility. I think I was just born with it,” Redford said in 2018.

“I wanted to tell stories about the America that I grew up in. And for me, I was not interested in the red, white and blue part of America. I was interested in the grey part – that’s where complexity lies.”

Nathan Abrams, Professor of Film Studies, Bangor University