For autumn/winter 2026, AVAVAV harnesses the female gaze by flipping the traditional runway on its head
AVAVAV is no stranger to a runway stunt (see the falling models of spring/summer 2023 or the zombie models of autumn/winter 2025), but creative director Beate Karlsson’s latest schtick was more than a gimmicky concept orchestrated for views. For autumn/winter 2026, Karlsson explored the “lesser-examined concept of the ‘Female Gaze’” by having female models stand where guests would normally sit and (rather surprised) show guests walk the runway. It’s a concept that echoes 1990s cult hit The Night at the Roxbury, in which a night club is opened “on the outside” and a sidewalk erected within.
“The fashion industry has long been focused on womenswear and the female consumer, yet the female perspective remains underrepresented,” says Karlsson. Those looking for proof of Karlsson’s point need only look towards the great designer shakeup of SS26, which found only two female talents taking up creative director positions amongst the list of 16.
The collection itself was made with a woman’s eye in mind. “I wanted to design the pieces with the mindset of women dressing with other women in mind,” says Karlsson. “I grew up learning what femininity was supposed to look like through images that had already been decided for me.” The result are pieces that are feminine, yes, but never overtly sexy. A deconstructed approach to power dressing with plenty of signature AVAVAV cool. Ties are styled as bows around the neck, cropped blazers or sharp shirts buttoned all the way to the top. A sheer stocking skirt, its shape warped with boning, met with a too-big 1930s brassiere overtly pokes fun at the antiquated idea of dressing for men. “Overall, the collection explores silhouette and reinterprets historical feminine themes,” says Karlsson, pointing out a pair of pinstriped suit pants with a built-in pencil skirt that nails this dichotomy especially well.
While AVAVAV’s ongoing collaboration with adidas popped up again this season by way of second-skin triple-striped looks, the title sponsor was with fellow Swedes Oatly, who created three custom cocktails for the occasion (the bourbon-based “New Fashioned” was particularly alluring). “The Oatly drinks are like liquid interpretations of the collection – almost as if we were giving each drink its own outfit,” says Karlsson. According to Rowena Roos, Oatly’s Global Head of Food and Drinks Experience, the drinks were created “the same way Beate and her team approach their garments: thinking about structure, proportion, tension, and how familiar things can be rearranged into something unexpected”. “Each drink became its own little piece of the collection, playful, a bit strange, thoughtful,” says Roos. “We took classic drink forms and twisted them just slightly, using our oat-based innovation, so they felt comforting but also provocative, carrying the same attitude as the clothes on the runway.”
There were plenty of AVAVAV signatures on offer, too. Ribcage slices adorn t-shirt dresses, sweatpants pool around stilettos in oversized ruffles and, yes, the finger shoes extend into stockings. Unmissable looks that beg to be gazed at.
See the full AVAVAV AW26 collection below.
