Sweet Edge & Subversive Softness

With his official debut on the Paris runway, Abraham Ortuño Pérez presents Abra SS26 (Women’swear) as both a tribute and a redefinition. Having built acclaim in the footwear and accessories world (notably for JW Anderson, Loewe, Jacquemus), Ortuño Pérez now brings his distinct aesthetic—part sweet, part spiky, part nostalgic—to full dressing.

The collection feels like revisiting childhood memories— pastel bows, ballet references, tulle— but through a lens sharpened by punk attitude, structural surprises, and a queer sensibility. The contrast between innocence and bite, softness and edge, becomes the central tension of the show.

Abra SS26 plays with balance: tailored jackets with exaggerated shoulders claim space next to draped skirts that flirt with volume. Oversized surf shorts, cargo silhouettes, satin trousers with oversized welt pockets contrast with delicate layers, open-work panels, and soft draping.

A standout device is the inversion of expectations: skirts in ballet tulle might hide cargo pockets, while tailored leather jackets are softened by pastel hues. His aesthetic, always teetering between masc and fem, shows itself in pieces that cross that divide—cargo shorts in a soft blush satin trimmed with rosettes, or sharp-shouldered leather made in muted tones.

What always sets Abra apart is his attention to signature detail. Shoes remain hero pieces—balloon heels, ballerina sneakers, spiky slingbags—and here they anchor the clothes.

Fabrics include satins, soft leathers, open-work knits, tulle, and cargo material. He uses embellishments—roses, oversized pockets, draped lapels—as narrative notes rather than mere decoration. His applied details have purpose: they punctuate the softness, they fracture the pastel purity.

Ortuño Pérez cites the "good girl gone bad" characters of '80s/'90s cinema (Grease, Cry-Baby) as emotional lodestars: young women who start sweet, but harbor something wild beneath. Abra’s SS26 channels that conflict of image and identity—softness with

grit, prettiness with danger.

The presentation format underscores this tension. Abra showed in a presentation (not full runway) using '80s-style mannequins (complete with wigs and makeup), supported by a fashion film and printed lookbook "on a pedestal." This staging suggests the designer sees fashion as theater, as memory, as performance.

The signature aesthetic is strong and present. Abra is not trying to hide who he is; rather, he distills and amplifies it into full dressing. The balance of edge and softness: pieces rarely lean fully into sweetness or aggression–they live in the interstice, which is rich terrain. Rosettes, oversized pockets, structural cuts, and the continued prominence of footwear all feel intentional, integral, not accessories. Many looks could find life in editorial or night scenes, perhaps even wardrobes of those with adventurous taste.

Some of the more "out-there" pieces (ballooned cuts, heavy embellishment) may risk being seen as novelty rather than core wardrobe, depending on styling. Because pieces rely heavily on silhouette and detail, photographing or translating them in varying contexts may flatten nuance. The emotional tension between fantasy and day-life is powerful—but bridging that gap will be key for longevity: which pieces transcend runway into lived life?

Abra SS26 is a confident excavation of self and memory. In revealing half fantasies of pastel, half rehearsal of edge, Ortuño Pérez stakes a claim: that fashion can be gentle and sharp, nostalgic and new, intimate and performative.

This is not just a debut—it’s a declaration. Abra says: we can play with prettiness, perhaps even weaponize it. We can wear bows and boots in the same walk. And in doing so, we become our stories.