Reckoning with Realness

Aaron Esh's Spring/Summer 2026 felt like someone had turned up the contrast: between tailoring and grit, between elegance and edge, between reverence to London's sartorial past and full-on presence in its street energy. In a season awash with spectacle, Esh delivers something that looks both made and lived-in, and emotionally precise.

The show was held at Hackney's Oval Space — a shuttered nightclub reborn for one night - the stage set with pulsing lighting, a soundtrack alternating between Merseyside rap, underground bass, and electro-clash. It felt like a waking moment after a long night, like London breathing as much through its body as through its tailoring houses.

Backstage, Esh spoke of taking time off, retooling, and getting deeper and more meticulous. The sense is: he didn't want this season to be about hype. He wanted it to be about clothes that earn their place in wardrobes — that can live beyond the runway.

There are vigorous nods to old London craftsmanship - 1930s couture, Savile Row tailoring - but Esh refracts them through modern leanings: leather pants, field jackets in suede, diaphanous satin shirts. The women, the men — in many cases, the same piece, worn and reshaped. Gender is offered as a possibility, not a binary.

Some pieces leave you breathless: bespoke suits with Charlie Allen, hand-basted patterns, embroidered and sequined tweeds, a coat with feathers at the lapel (but made from silk, not plumage), satin trousers, leather accents - all with visible signs of painstaking detail.

Esh shows we can still believe in craft.

There is sensuality in the cut: bias-twisted jersey dresses, satin Harringtons, close-fit leather pants, shimmering accents against matte surfaces. But it never feels gratuitous — rather, like honesty in the way one might walk home at 5 AM from a show or party, unguarded, glorious.

Colour moves between noir elegance and sudden flare: rich marmalade suede, deep greys and charcoals, soft satins, translucent silks, lacquered leathers. Texture is almost a character itself: satin sheen, feathers stripped back to silhouette, sequins hand-cut and scattered, leather that clings, tweed that holds form.

Mood is taut and alive. There is reverence to tailoring and tradition — the suits, the covered buttons, the detail-work — but also revolt: against overpolished uniformity, against fashion as spectacle without bite. It's clothes made for people who are in motion:

At parties, at after-hours, on city streets.

Esh's strength has always leaned into what feels authentic—vintage, leather, satin, and nightlife energy — and this season, those elements feel amplified. The craftsman's hand is visible. Though many pieces are "menswear-led" (as Esh himself states), the gender lines are soft. Jackets are shared, silhouettes are shared. Clothes are wardrobes, not markers. The Savile Row collaboration, the hand-embroidered panels, the studied cuts - these make seen moments of drama feel grounded. Esh shows growth in technique and refinement.

Some of the more dramatic texture work (feathers, sequins, extreme leather) may risk overshadowing the quieter, possibly more wearable pieces. The balance between statement and utility is delicate. Clothes made with such precise tailoring often come with tight margins - in terms of fit, comfort, and practicality. Translating runway bravura into daily confidence will be key. With many standout elements—leather, sequins, feathers, satin, and sheer— the risk is that some looks blend into each other without quieter moments to amplify the contrast.

Aaron Esh SS26 is a statement of where he believes fashion in London—and among young people—ought to be: skilled, expressive, and unapologetically hybrid. It leaves space for a designer who doesn't want to bow entirely to minimalism or spectacle, but who believes you can create something exacting and emotional at the same time.

For Esh, this feels like both arrival and preparation. Arrival, because this season looks like it's meant to be remembered. Preparation, because it sets the bar for how clothes can belong to people who live fast, oscillate between tension and release, and demand more than just image.

Aaron Esh SS26 is a collection rooted in reverence for craftsmanship, tradition, and tailoring — but also in revolt for identity, for wear in real life, and for clothes that carry mood, movement, and memory. It doesn't merely enchant; it anchors. In satin, leather, with feathered details and embellished tweed, Esh builds wardrobes for our now: loud, layered, honest, and unapologetic.