"Tabanca": Longing, Remembrance, Carnival Afterglow

For Spring/Summer 2026, Jawara Alleyne turns away from the flamboyance of Carnival's spectacle and instead leans into tabanca — that post-carnival ache, a longing for the rhythm, the people, the pull of community in celebration. In doing so, Alleyne crafts a collection not just of costumes, but of memory, desire, and the residue that joyous nights leave on the skin and soul.

Raised on the vibrancy of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands carnivals, Alleyne is no stranger to color, movement, and pageantry. But SS26 isn't about the overt ornamentation per se — it's about what stays after the feathers and sequins are packed away. The designer described "tabanca" as "the sense of longing you might feel after carnival has been and gone... always about the people, and the community."

In London's ICA, despite cold weather and stately rooms, the runway felt sun-lit, humid in memory. Models walked with a languid pace, skin shimmering as though still warm from dance; fabric strips trailed, knots and slashes suggested movement still in motion. The show conjures the hazy morning light after a party that refused to end.

Alleyne continues to refine his signature techniques—slicing, knotting, and layering —with an increased sense of tactility and optical surprise. The first look set the tone: a sash of airy sky blue, draped over the torso, paired with neon briefs above low-slung pants like a freedom-steeped bumster. A striped knit that, from a distance, looks straightforward, but upon close inspection reveals pulled threads and tassel-like gatherings, resembling a T-shirt-turned-cocoon top when seen from behind. Slashed polos in "tequila sunrise" hues; cut-out panels of silvery jacquard fused with jersey; a sculptural top of shredded tulle exploding with contrast (pink and black) from chest to silhouette.

It's a design that plays with imperfection—ragged hems, knotted strips, and fabric trails—but with real craft behind it. The cuts are intentional; the distortions are created. There's a tension between what looks torn and what is shaped.

Color in SS26 is part mood, part metaphor. Alleyne uses sun-soaked oranges ("tequila sunrise"), sky blues, silvery greys, theatrical flashes of pink and black. The palette doesn't vibrate at full volume — it hums. Pastel meets neon; light meets shadow. It's the kind of visual chord that evokes both joy and longing.

The emotional tone is bittersweet, a blend of pleasure and exhaustion, desire and memory. You sense both what was beautiful and what is missing - friends not present, the echo of footsteps, the warmth fading. Tabanca is a delight mixed with ache. Alleyne doesn't shy away from that -but he envelops it in clothing that moves, that drapes, that reveals, that conceals.

Alleyne doesn't just design clothes; he conjures mood. Tabanca isn't a flashy "theme print" here, but the emotional current that the fabrics carry. The shredded, knotted, cut-out details all feel intentional. The effect is raw but refined. Optical illusions (a T-shirt revealing as more complex from behind, knits that reveal texture on movement) elevate the work. Unlike carnival's bright glare, this collection feels personal. The joy is in connection; the clothing feels built for gatherings, for sweat, for laughter, for closeness. There's vulnerability in what remains.

Some looks are very statement-oriented; their wearability outside of the runway or editorial may be limited. For many, the more shredded or revealing pieces might be aspirational rather than practical. Because much of the collection plays with texture and cut-outs, there is a risk of visual fatigue. In a long set, the brilliance of some may dim if contrast moments aren't distributed with care. The bittersweet tension (longing + celebration) is delicate. It can tip into sentimentality if the emotional framing isn't strong; Alleyne holds that line well here, but sustaining it over seasons is a creative challenge.

SS26 feels like an evolution, not a reinvention. Jawara Alleyne takes what was already distinct about him — theatricality, distortion, community spirit, love of dance culture — and deepens it. Instead of seeking spectacle, he now mines what lingered after spectacle: memory, vulnerability, connection.

This collection strengthens his position among designers who are not just about bold visuals, but about what visuals can hold: identity, emotion, culture. Alleyne's aesthetic aligns with movements in fashion that prize storytelling, texture, real life, and the curves of lived experience over polish alone.

Jawara Alleyne SS26 is a love letter to tabanca — that mix of joy, exhaustion, longing, and memory that follows celebration. It is clothes for the dawn, for sweaty skin, for the afterglow. Frayed, shimmering, cut, torn, revealing, yet stitched with intention. This isn't about perfection. It's about presence. And in that presence — in the raw edges, the dancing fabric, the neon flashes and fragile knits — lies the vivid, messy beauty of having lived.