SUSAN FANG SS26: Air-Evolution at London’s Barbican Conservatory

Source: Susan Fang

On September 22, during London Fashion Week, Susan Fang unveiled her Spring/Summer 2026 collection Air-Evolution at the Barbican Conservatory, a setting chosen for its unique interplay of nostalgia and brutalism. Against a backdrop of plants that have flourished since the 1980s and a DNA-shaped spiral staircase symbolizing evolution, Fang introduced a collection that blurred the boundaries of fashion, philosophy, and future vision.

Air-Evolution was conceived from an original story written by Fang, set between the present year of 2025 and its mirrored future in 5202. The collection’s narrator, Nasus—an eleven-year-old girl from 5202—envisions a world where humanity evolves to perceive ever-expanding dimensions, ultimately merging with the universe itself. Clothing in this imagined future is not mere adornment, but a sensory amplifier.

As Nasus tells us,

This philosophical premise manifested in garments designed to heighten awareness of nature and emotion, questioning whether joy, sorrow, and connection might represent our truest technologies in an age where AI blurs the real and artificial.

Fang translated this speculative future into extreme flowing silhouettes, pastel feather embroidery layered through organza, and digital coded prints inspired by nature’s algorithms. Her signature “air-flower” technique—crafted with her mother—produced voluminous floral structures in lively colors, while transparent bubble beads and laser-cut petals created shimmering surfaces that seemed to breathe with the body.

Innovative methods included the “beaded bubble smock,” adding elasticity and movement to dresses, bags, and tops, and the “air-puzzle” technique, where coral-like forms puzzled together into three-dimensional patchworks resembling petals reflected on water. These constructions conjured organic lifeforms, bushes, and coral, simultaneously fragile and architectural.

Central to this season was the work of Fang’s husband, Orelio De Jonghe, Head of Accessories and Footwear. Formerly at Dyson, De Jonghe employed experimental 3D printing and computational design to create ecosystems where accessories appeared to grow according to biological logic. His process allowed objects to evolve virtually as 4D entities before being “frozen” in time for production. The resulting pieces—fungi- and coral-inspired bags, eyewear with mushrooms sprouting across the frames, and even a dress alive with flower-like organisms—felt less manufactured than organically born.

Three collaborations extended Air-Evolution beyond the runway. Nike infused Fang’s philosophy into Dunk and V2K styles adorned with bubble beads and organza lace, incorporating forget-me-not blue and jacquard bases from paintings by Fang’s mother. Melissa interpreted the growth system into futuristic ballerinas embellished with cherry blossoms, while Rockfish introduced whimsical comfort with furry boots, ribboned Mary Janes, and delicate spiderweb details on accessories.

The immersive show was scented with Penhaligon’s Vra Vra Vroom perfume—a “vitality vapor” blending floral, fruity, and spicy notes—while live steel pan music added a dreamlike soundtrack. Contemporary dancer Kat Collings performed among the spiraling set, deepening the narrative of evolution and presence.

Fang’s message resonated through Nasus’s words:

Through Air-Evolution, Susan Fang delivered more than a seasonal collection. She presented a meditation on the relationship between nature, technology, and human emotion, proposing that in the symbiotic future she imagines, clothing will not only clothe but amplify our deepest capacities to feel and connect.