Affinity: On Love, Heritage & the Tension of Emotion

Priya Ahluwalia's Spring/Summer 2026 collection, Affinity, unfurls in Covent Garden's leafy conservatory atrium at the NoMad Hotel — a space suffused with light and green with promise. Affinity is at once a love letter to dual heritage and a map of emotional complexity: joy interwoven with constraint, expansiveness held tightly, and openness tempered by structure.

Ahluwalia's starting point is romance in its many shades — inspired by Bollywood's ebullience, Motown's soul, the delicate brushwork of Indian miniature paintings, and stories of Nigerian deities such as Oshun, goddess of love and fertility. Through these lenses, she asks: what does it feel like when love lifts you, and what does it do when it tightens? When you are light and wide — or when you are constricted. It is this switchback of feeling that gives Affinity its narrative spine.

The season's motifs - handwritten love letters, black cherubs, marigolds — nod to ritual and symbolism: weddings, offerings, the carrier of devotion across cultural geographies. It's Ahluwalia's signature move: personal and cultural histories become emotional signals embroidered into cloth.

A core strength of Affinity lies in how Ahluwalia balances opposing forces: tailoring and flow; structure and drift; vulnerability and armor. Parkas, zipped jackets, and practical, utilitarian pieces remain anchored in functionality, providing a firm base for the more expressive looks. Fly-away silk fringing and draped forms become physical metaphors for emotional release. A dress sliced asymmetrically, skirts pouffed to suggest movement, are signals of love's buoyancy and uncertainty. Denim dresses sliced to one side reveal vulnerability; knit pieces and party dresses inject energy, opulence, and glow. Ahluwalia offers both day-wear and evening wear flashes.

The palette and print work in Affinity strike a balance between exuberance and subtlety: prints such as black cherubs, marigolds, and love letters — small enough to feel intimate, yet frequent enough to accumulate emotional resonance. Colour choices echo ritual and warmth: the glow of silk, the brightness of flowers, the contrast of deep tones against lighter fabrics. Hues shift between boldness and softness, much like the emotional narrative. Symbolic detailing is essential: fringing, the slicing and tension in seams, the way specific garments feel "pulled" or "released". The pieces are not only beautiful, but also expressive.

Affinity doesn't merely reference love; it interrogates it – euphoria and anxiety, expansion and restriction. This complexity gives the collection weight. The blending of Ahluwalia's Indian and Nigerian heritage in the iconography, print, and ritual symbolism feels authentic, not ornamentation but foundational. As with previous seasons, Ahluwalia's core commitment to responsible material sourcing, sustainability, and craftsmanship underpins the visual drama without compromising integrity.

Because many pieces gesture so strongly at metaphor, there's a risk that some garments feel more poetic on a runway than practical in wear. The balance between spectacle and closet-use is delicate. The emotional weight of print, fringing, and slicing could, in specific pairing or styling, tip into overstatement. Subtlety is key, especially in the quieter pieces, so they don't get overshadowed.

The dual heritage and rich references make for expressive work — but keeping them fresh (not repetitive) will require continued innovation in silhouette, materials, and narrative framing.

Affinity signals a designer increasingly confident in weaving together culture, emotion, and craft. Ahluwalia is less interested in just making beautiful clothes, more in producing garments that feel like lived experiences—identity, love, and cultural hybridity. In the current fashion climate, where sustainability, stories, and authenticity are prized, Affinity positions the brand not just among rising names but among those leading with heart and purpose.

Priya Ahluwalia's Affinity for Spring/Summer 2026 is less about perfect moments and more about the in-between: the pulse of love, the tug and release, the layering of heritage, the interplay of joy and tension. It dresses emotional states: glowing, constricted, expansive, vulnerable. And in its appearance—sliced denim, flying fringe, marigolds, black cherubs—one can see not just clothes, but emotional geography. Affinity doesn't just show what love looks like; it shows what love feels like.