KNWLS Debuts at Milan Fashion Week with Nike
Last week, the Visconti Pavilion was transformed into a replica of South Bermondsey, home to KNWLS headquarters, evoking the district’s gritty mix of warehouses, galleries, and underground raves. Amplifying this industrial atmosphere, the Spring/Summer 2026 fashion show featured DJ VTSS at the console, setting the confident pace of the models. KNWLS makes its debut at Milan Fashion Week with a collection called Sinergy, which is no coincidence, given that it is a collaboration with Nike. On the catwalk, the highest point of convergence between the independent brand and the sports giant is a hybrid sneaker between an Air Max and a sabot, with rounded pads and corset-style laces. A sort of astronaut shoe that captures the avant-garde feel of the collection. The atmosphere of Spring/Summer 2026 was thus revealed at the meeting point between futurism and the Victorian era, with deconstructed lingerie, skinny pants adorned with lace and woven embroidery, puffed shoulders, laces, and buttons. All reinvented with modern fabrics such as neoprene, jersey, Nike’s Flyknit, and KNWLS’ iconic washed denim. Colours are acid-hued, textures are material, and prints are minimal, tracing the lines of the body. Thus, jackets with central zippers, narrow waists, and rounded shoulders become a uniform, babydolls gain strength with sporty finishes, and skirts become utility-style in waterproof fabric. Alex Arsenault and Charlotte Knowles’ vision of contemporary femininity is a highly successful one, a window open to the future. Among the guests at the show were: Arca, Imani-Lara Lansiquot, Sami Miro, Jessi Andrews, Clara Kong and Ginevra Mavilla.
Text: Anna Zucca
Photos: Vincenzo Migliore
