Season after season, Veronica Swanson Beard and Veronica Miele Beard lean into a theme. For pre-fall, they embraced the Wild West with prairie dresses and chap-like novelty jeans befitting a Yellowstone watch party. Resort was all about American sportswear. This time around, they took a more esoteric approach to their inspiration.
Propped up in the Veronicas’ showroom was a moodboard for fall 2026—dubbed “Trailblazers”—which aptly featured photos of Joan Didion leaning out of her Stingray; Bethann Hardison with her hand propped on her hip; Donna Karan, a fur coat draped over her shoulders; and Chloé Zhao clutching her Oscars. While these women don’t necessarily come through in every part of the collection, the sisters-in-law sought to channel their essences though strong shoulders, statement-making outerwear, and rich, yet muted colors.
There is a certain borrowed-from-the-boys ethos that comes across. “They’re inspired by these classic, iconic styles, but with a big hit of glam,” Swanson Beard said of the offering. “Pieces are inspired by menswear, but they’re really fitted for our bodies.” Take, for example, a rusty brown suit, its jacket complete with power shoulders, a nipped-in waist, and cabochon buttons. Elsewhere, in what was clearly a nod to Amelia Earhart (also a moodboard fixture) wasa reversible olive nylon funnel-neck jacket lined with faux fur.
For the Veronicas, storytelling was just as critical to the design process as the icons pinned to the moodboard. They want to create clothes that women wear not only on average days, but exceptional ones. As Swanson Beard put it: “We make the clothes that we want on her back when she’s doing amazing things, whether it’s a blazer or a killer coat or the most beautiful dress at some party that she meets the love of her life in.”
