Bora Aksu’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, unveiled at London Fashion Week, is a tender meditation on imperfection, nostalgia, and rebirth. Inspired by his trove of damaged Victorian dolls, the designer reimagines their fractured beauty into garments that transform flaws into something exquisite. It is a season that embraces vulnerability not as weakness but as a source of strength and artistry.

The show unfolded in the rose garden of St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden, a setting that mirrored the collection’s fragile romanticism. Here, dolls’ dresses were scaled up into ethereal gowns, each piece carrying echoes of the past while finding new life on the runway. A highlight was a ruffled nightgown fashioned from iridescent lace, sourced from the deadstock of a closed Turkish bridal house. The fabric woven through overlays, trims, and appliqués spoke to Aksu’s commitment to sustainability, resourcefulness, and narrative-driven design.

This season also revealed the designer’s newfound fondness for cotton, worked into puff-sleeve dresses and striped peplum blouses softened by layers of tulle, lace, and crochet. The effect was both familiar and fresh: a playful twist on Aksu’s signature antique chintz aesthetic, reinterpreted with lightness and charm.

Playfulness was a recurring thread throughout. Jumbo sequins flickered beneath gauzy sack dresses, and baroque swags of mustard georgette and crimson silk danced across asymmetrical gowns, while boyish short suits in mismatched checks injected spontaneity. What might once have felt meticulous was now joyfully imperfect, an embrace of randomness and freedom that gave the collection its vitality.

Ultimately, Spring/Summer 2026 is less about perfection and more about perspective. Aksu invites us to see the beauty within what is broken, to wear our vulnerabilities with pride, and to celebrate the grace found in imperfection. It is a collection that proves fashion, at its best, can transform discarded fragments into poetry.