BEHIND THE COLLECTION | SPRING SUMMER 26 – Bianca Spender

To mark the arrival of Spring Summer 26, we sat down with Founder & Creative Director, Bianca Spender, to explore the ideas, artists and design details that shaped Quiet Rebellion.

Grounded in the tension between solidity and freedom, the collection explores sculptural form, unexpected materiality and the power found in approaching the world differently.

Scroll on as Bianca shares the inspiration behind the collection, the piece that came to define it and the subtle details she hopes you will discover.

WHAT DOES “QUIET REBELLION” MEAN TO YOU, AND HOW DID THAT IDEA SHAPE THIS COLLECTION?

“I was really drawn to this idea of freedom, while also thinking about the bigger context of how we can play with freedom. I began looking at sculptures that carried a sense of free form – forms that could empower us and take us somewhere beyond what we might ordinarily imagine.

I discovered the work of sculptor Barbara Hepworth. There is a solidity and roundness to her forms, but also a lightness created through negative space. Her work brings together contrasting materialities: dimensions of roughness, the strength of stone and the delicacy of string. These juxtapositions encourage us to think differently, whether about rebellion, freedom or the way we move through the world.

We worked with these ideas to build the collection’s textures, explore colour and create its sculptural forms.”

WHICH PIECE FROM THE COLLECTION BEST CAPTURES THE SPIRIT OF QUIET REBELLION?

“It was the last piece I designed and also the finale of the show: the Pistachio Taffeta dress.

There is always a moment when you are distilling and distilling ideas, and then suddenly the light bulb switches on and everything comes together. I loved beginning with a sculptural funnel neck and allowing the fabric to fall away in a completely free form. The way it is caught at the hem creates a bubble that almost floats around the body. That balance between solidity and movement felt really powerful.

Taffeta also carries these traditional associations with couture. Reinventing it in a way that felt so free captured the collection’s sculptural essence, freedom and rebellion.”

IS THERE A DETAIL WITHIN THE COLLECTION THAT MIGHT NOT BE IMMEDIATELY OBVIOUS, BUT THAT YOU WOULD LOVE CUSTOMERS TO NOTICE?

“The detail I’m most drawn to is the funnel neck. There is a roundness and weight to the way each one has been constructed, which gives the garments their sculptural quality.

They are also finished with metal elements, whether through the magnets used on the tops or the zips in the bombers. I love the contrast between that roundness, softness and sculptural form, and the mechanical strength of the metal. It gives each piece a strong and distinctive way of holding its shape.”