ALEKSANDR MANAMIS AW26: ROMANCE, REIMAGINED
There is something beautifully nostalgic about ALEKSANDR MANAMIS AW26.
Not nostalgic in the traditional sense, but as though every piece has a history of its own. Faded florals, archival portraits, earthy herringbone and richly textured surfaces give the collection a time-worn quality, while relaxed tailoring and unexpected proportions pull everything firmly into the present.
For Autumn/Winter ’26, romance takes on a darker mood. Tobacco, umber, olive, rust and black replace anything overly pretty, while botanical prints appear faded and imperfect rather than pristine. Jackets soften around the body, trousers become more relaxed and familiar heritage fabrics feel altogether less conventional.
A DIFFERENT KIND OF ROMANCE
Romance runs throughout the collection, but rarely in the way you might expect.
There are flowers everywhere, yet nothing feels particularly floral. Blooms emerge through washed-out earthy grounds, colours appear faded with age and delicate botanical details sit against structured tailoring.
That contrast is what makes AW26 so interesting.
The Botanical Print Tailored Jacket in Automne Rouge is a beautiful example. Its softly structured silhouette gives the print some formality, while scattered flowers in muted burgundy, rust and earthy neutrals make the surface feel almost antique. Another striking statement dress is printed throughout with a collage of archival-style portrait imagery, rendered in muted black, charcoal, sepia and soft neutral tones.
The same idea appears across longer coats and shirts, allowing you to decide just how much of the print you want to wear. A single botanical jacket against a dark trouser feels completely different from layering several related textures and tones together.
Both work.
HERITAGE, SOFTENED
One of the strongest fabric stories is also one of the most traditional: brown herringbone.
But this isn't heritage tailoring in the conventional sense.
Across the Longline Herringbone Coat, Classic Herringbone Waistcoat and Tapered Herringbone Trouser, the familiar weave is given a softer, more relaxed character. Proportions feel slightly undone, layers aren't overly precise and the earthy brown palette makes everything incredibly easy to combine.
Wear the pieces together and you have a wonderfully unconventional take on a three-piece suit. Break them apart and they become some of the easiest pieces in the collection to introduce into an existing wardrobe.
We particularly love the waistcoat layered over one of the botanical shirts, allowing just enough print to interrupt the herringbone.
It's traditional tailoring, but with the formality taken out.
THE BEAUTY OF SOMETHING FADED
Look closely at the prints throughout AW26 and they feel almost as though they've been discovered rather than newly created.
Oversized florals, trailing foliage and delicate insect motifs appear against warm, earthy grounds. Colours aren't sharp or overly saturated; they're softened and muted, giving the fabrics an archival quality that works beautifully against the season's herringbone.
The Oversized Heritage Floral Coat in Green Flower takes that idea into outerwear. An olive ground and darker floral motif give the coat depth without making it difficult to wear, while its generous shape allows it to sit naturally over the collection's layered silhouettes.
Then the Floral Print Oversized Coat in Bouquet takes the mood somewhere darker. Deep brown and black meet burgundy, rust and faded blush, creating something much richer and almost oil-painted in appearance.
Two floral coats. Two completely different moods.
THE ART OF THE LAYER
This is a collection that becomes more interesting the more you put together.
A botanical shirt beneath a herringbone waistcoat. A long coat over cropped trousers. Florals against stripes. Something precisely tailored next to something deliberately loose.
Rather than matching pieces perfectly, ALEKSANDR MANAMIS seems to invite you to build an outfit gradually.
Start with the trouser. Add a shirt. Introduce a waistcoat. Then a coat. Let a cuff show. Allow one print to sit against another.
The earthy AW26 palette makes that experimentation surprisingly easy because tobacco, brown, olive, rust and black all sit naturally alongside one another.
It is less about putting together a prescribed 'look' and much more about collecting pieces that somehow belong together.
ALEKSANDR MANAMIS AW26 AT HOUSE OF VALERIE
There is a certain beauty in clothes that don't feel too perfect.
That's where ALEKSANDR MANAMIS AW26 really comes into its own. Traditional tailoring is softened, florals look faded with age, proportions are allowed to feel a little unexpected and beautiful fabrics are layered rather than presented too carefully.
From the brown herringbone tailoring and oversized floral coats to botanical jackets and the extraordinary Les Portraits silk dress, this is a collection that rewards looking a little closer.
And perhaps even more importantly, it rewards experimenting.
Layer the prints. Mix the textures. Break up the tailoring. Let something unexpected show beneath the coat.
It's about making it personal.
