The start line for Paolina Russo’s spring 2026 assortment got here throughout a analysis journey to Ilsan, northwest of Seoul—a metropolis identified for its huge array of classic retailers. “They’ve these mountains of classic, from America, the UK, in every single place,” the model’s namesake co-founder Paolina Russo mentioned in a preview. The temporary? To seek out archival designs that learn “Laura Ashley meets sport”—which, unsurprisingly, was a near-impossible job. “There weren’t any garments precisely like that, however we have been sort of clashing collectively silhouettes,” Russo defined.
Laura Ashley’s ditzy florals might sound 1,000,000 miles away from Paolina Russo’s trademark jersey tops and optical phantasm prints, however Russo and co-founder Lucile Guilmard wished to discover a extra female facet this season. This may very well be seen by way of the light-weight chiffon handkerchief attire, adorned with a mix of Liberty-esque florals and graphic sports activities jersey numbers—collaged collectively utilizing blown-up pictures of archival designs from earlier seasons. The pastoral theme (additionally mirrored by this season’s intentionally low-fi lookbook, that includes pictures taken by Russo throughout a hike in Wales) continued with the pair’s “girly” tackle a tracksuit, within the type of an elasticated maxi skirt and matching zip-up jacket, that includes distorted picnic blanket checks.
The model’s lighter, extra wearable knits have been additionally new for this season—painstakingly developed in collaboration with a vertical manufacturing facility in Hong Kong that manufactures the whole lot from “fiber to closing garment.” Whereas prior to now, Paolina Russo has arguably discovered extra success with its fall collections—because of its standard warrior princess knits and laser-printed denim—spring 2026 marked a pivotal second within the model’s growth. “We really feel prefer it melds all of the issues that we’ve been constructing for the previous few seasons, however it’s now extra of an expanded wardrobe,” Russo mentioned. “It’s one in every of our favourite collections.”
