FRIDA ZAZOU AW26, TEXTURE & SHAPE
We are in love with FRIDA ZAZOU for Autumn/Winter ’26.
Chocolate browns, soft blush pinks and warm neutrals set the tone, but it’s the texture that brings this collection to life. Herringbone wool alongside crushed velvet, cashmere-blend knitwear, pinstripes and checks, creating clothes that feel considered without becoming too formal.
It’s a collection that sits beautifully alongside some of our other understated favourites at House of Valerie, PAS DE CALAIS, MANUELLE GUIBAL, HANNOH WESSEL and AQUAMENTE – with that same appreciation for beautiful fabric, relaxed proportion and clothes that don’t need to shout to be noticed.
Having styled the collection in the studio, what we love is the choice of silhouette. It can be neat and cropped one moment, oversized and wonderfully boxy the next. It makes the collection incredibly easy to adapt to how you like to dress.
HERRINGBONE, TWO WAYS
One of our favourite fabric stories from AW26 is the wool-blend herringbone. Available in earthy Coffee and Grey, it appears across jackets and trousers, allowing you to build a complete tonal look or take just one piece and work it into what you already own.
The cropped Ginny Jacket is the neater way to wear it. Gently structured through the body with a curved front hem and contrasting cotton lining, it sits closer to the frame and looks particularly good with the cuffs turned back. Yas, who is 5'5" and a UK 8–10, wears a Small.
Then there’s the Flora Jacket. Made in the same herringbone wool blend, the proportions are completely different: relaxed, boxy and oversized, with enough room underneath for knitwear. Yas wears a Small here too, but the effect is deliberately much looser.
Same fabric. Two very different ways to wear it.
TROUSERS MADE FOR REAL WARDROBES
Rather than restricting the collection to one shape, AW26 moves between wide-leg and tapered balloon silhouettes. The Giona gives you that fuller, sweeping line, while the Fosco brings volume through the leg before tapering towards the ankle.
And importantly, the trousers have elasticated waistbands.
It sounds like a small detail, but it changes how these pieces feel to wear. The Fosco, for example, is a proper pull-on trouser with a fully elasticated waist and pockets, so despite the beautiful herringbone fabric, it doesn't feel overly tailored or restrictive.
We love them with the matching jacket, but perhaps even more with a soft knit and chunky SORT AARHUS shoe.
VELVET WITHOUT THE FORMALITY
Velvet runs throughout the collection, but not in the traditional eveningwear sense.
FRIDA ZAZOU uses it across relaxed jackets, trousers and oversized coats, taking something that can feel quite dressy and making it surprisingly easy to wear.
The palette helps. Soft Porcelain pink and deep Chestnut brown give the velvet a warmer, more modern feel, particularly when several pieces are worn together.
And then there’s the Cara Coat in crushed velvet, oversized, dramatic and exactly the sort of final layer that can transform the simplest outfit underneath.
CASHMERE, COLOUR & SOFTER LAYERS
Against all that texture and structure, the knitwear brings softness. The Ferruccio Pullover has a relaxed shape, while the cropped Fausta offers a shorter proportion that works beautifully with the collection's fuller trousers and skirts. Both are cashmere blends, available across a selection of seasonal shades.
This is also where we'd have some fun with colour.
A wine-coloured knit against the softer pinks, or a warm neutral against chocolate herringbone, gives just enough contrast without losing that beautifully muted AW26 palette.
Try styling the Wine Fausta over the oversized Cindy cotton shirt, a lovely example of how these pieces can move away from matching sets and into an existing wardrobe.
PINSTRIPES, CHECKS & THE ART OF MIXING TEXTURE
Look beyond the velvet and herringbone and there are smaller pattern stories running through AW26 too. Pinstripes and checks appear across the outerwear and skirts, including the Isa Coat (although this is stunning in Slate as well) and Isotta Skirt, alongside a checked version of the Isotta.
We wouldn't be afraid of mixing these with the other textures in the collection.
A striped wool coat over cashmere. Herringbone trousers with a simple knit. A checked skirt grounded with something oversized and plain.
Because the colours speak the same language, the fabrics don't have to match perfectly for the outfit to work.
FRIDA ZAZOU AT HOUSE OF VALERIE
Start with a great trouser. Add the matching jacket or deliberately choose a different texture. Put cashmere underneath. Throw an oversized coat over everything.
The earthy browns, blush pinks and soft neutrals make the collection easy to combine, while velvet, herringbone, checks and pinstripes stop tonal dressing from ever feeling flat.
FRIDA ZAZOU is understated dressing with plenty to discover up close. Beautiful fabrics, interesting proportions and pieces designed to be worn very much your own way! You know at HOV, thats the sort of style we love.
