For spring/summer '26, the Swedish label poses an eerily timely question: What happens when humanity flies too close to its own technology?
Like many great ideas often do, the vision for Deadwood’s spring/summer ‘26 collection was sparked over a few cold beverages. “It started with a stupid question I asked my brother in a bar a few months back: ‘If AI ever becomes sentient, does that mean that sand is waking up?’ You know – sand becomes silicon, silicon becomes microchips, and suddenly the desert is running your phone and soon the planet,” explains Felix von Bahder, co-founder and CEO of the Swedish brand. “I imagined how things could end in a huge standoff between mankind and the machines, an epic war. One that we are probably bound to lose. And then I guess everything turns back into sand again. How's that for some f**ked up irony?”
Dubbed ‘Sands of Icarus’, the SS26 offering explores a question many of us – not just von Bahder – have likely pondered recently: “What happens after humanity flies too close to its own technology?” Much like the mythological figure Icarus, who, despite warnings, flew too close to the sun and, well, paid the ultimate price.
Mulling over the idea of the sand, von Bahder conceived a metaphor: “The coming AI revolution is kind of like a sandstorm on the horizon. Everybody can see it out in the distance, but it seems so far away that people just go about their daily lives.”
Staged under the curved, lofty ceilings of the dimly lit Underground Ballroom tucked away in Villa Copenhagen, models meandered down the runway, some barefoot, others donning dust-covered combat boots as if they had just strode through a whirl of sand. The collection, rooted in grounded, muted tones, centres around three, slightly utopian, yet real-life inspired protagonists: The Trans-Humanist, The Luddite and The Desert Dancer, who come to life through everything from silhouettes to materials harnessed.
Take, for instance, The Trans-Humanist, influenced by what von Bahder calls “techno-optimists, who are living like freaks just to prolong life enough to upload themselves to a f**king cloud or whatever.” Enter not-from-this-world sculptural forms protruding from second-skin tops and gossamer, nude slinky mesh dresses and tops, recalling the shedding of one’s physical form – met with a dash of glam goth (see the structured, lattice-worked leather jackets).
Meanwhile, The Desert Dancer, inspired by von Bahder’s pals who attend “trippy festivals” in far-flung corners of the globe, manifests in nomadic, Burning Man-coded looks: cascading, draped tops and frocks crafted from deadstock parachute silk meet crinkled utilitarian coats, and airy, barely-there dresses and tank tops rendered in weathered chiffon. One floor-skimming maxi appears scorched by the relentless sun gazing down on the desert. “Some pieces I burnt with a crème brûlée torch like a complete madman,” he says. Elsewhere, balloon trousers and bubble hems subtly echo the silhouette of a looming sandstorm.
As for von Bahder’s own hot take on technology taking over the world? “We’ve put more faith in algorithms than in our own gut instincts,” he says. “Self-driving cars, swipe-right love, AI that writes your mom’s birthday poem. Beautiful, terrifying stuff. 2025 feels like we’re on the balcony, a martini in hand, watching the sun fry our wax feathers in real time. I’m not anti-tech, I’m just saying, maybe keep a parachute handy.”
Above all, he hopes people leave the show with “a sense of love for their fellow humans.” He adds, “If people want to strike up a conversation around artificial intelligence at the next bodega, that would be cool. I think we're all going to have to face these things fairly soon, whether we want it or not. So, let's talk about it over a Tuborg and a cigarette.”
See all the looks from Deadwood's SS26 collection below.
