Robert Wun's FW 2026 Couture Takes You Back to Childhood A collection that celebrates the purest form of creativity
Like watching the Nutcracker ballet for the very first time, gasps of wonder rose in unison at the entrance of each look during Robert Wun's Couture FW 2026 show. Each one a fantastical character, as unique as Tchaikovsky's most beloved protagonists, from the Sugar Plum Fairy to the Snow Queen. Titled Childsplay, the collection fully embodies the spirit of imagination that governs childhood, suffused with a sense of creative freedom that managed to transform even something as serious as a haute couture show into a spectacle capable of awakening the inner child of everyone present.
«To believe in the power of imagination, that the courage to create is far greater than the desire to consume» — these are the words that inspire the collection, a phrase that should, at least for a moment, cross the minds of every creative director in haute couture who lately has been somewhat crushed by the commercial demands of an industry in crisis. And so, while others treat Couture as an opportunity for media positioning, the Hong Kong designer dreams of the surrealist tailoring of a time that no longer exists, paradoxically managing to be entirely of the moment precisely because of that dream.
Dozens of colourful balloons decorate the crinoline of a black dress with a conservative silhouette, whose shoulder straps echo the roundness of the inflatables it carries along. Full transparent masks add an air of mystery to traditionally Couture-ous looks, such as the long evening gown covered in long, slender white feathers, while other pieces unleash the creative innocence at the heart of the show even further with extremely literal references — among them a voluminous pink tutu worn with a rigid bodice with irregular, seemingly melted edges, and a hat topped with a figurine of a spinning ballerina.
The more minimalist looks — if they can even be called that — were complemented by oversized accessories, such as a teddy bear plush toy, a horned helmet, and an enormous glittered butterfly perched on the chest. The more elaborate pieces, meanwhile, drew on icons of international childhood culture: from Harlequin, reimagined as a suit with a paint-splattered bolero, to a skeleton wearing a coat, and finally Cinderella, whose influence seemed to inspire first the blue bows rising above a model's head, then two lifelike doves lifting a pair of electric-blue shoulder straps. In short, just three years after his debut at Couture Week, Robert Wun has once again made his mark — and perhaps more than anyone else this week: further confirmation of how much the new guard of Haute Couture has surpassed the veterans of Paris.