For AW26, Emelie Helmstedt draws on shells, roots and the body’s inner landscape to shape 'Serenity', a collection grounded in preservation and care
“One, two, three seashells along the shore – each of them I collected, each of them had a different voice.”
Autumn/winter collections aren’t typically where you expect to find yourself thinking about the beach. But for Helmstedt’s AW26 offering, 'Serenity', creative director Emelie Helmstedt starts precisely there – or more specifically, with what the ocean leaves behind. Seashells became the focus point, not as a sun-soaked spring/summer fantasy, but as objects of preservation and grounding.
The idea took shape during a period of personal transition. “I was in a big moment of listening for my emotions – searching,” Helmstedt says. Drawing became a way of slowing down, of allowing images to surface without forcing them. As the process unfolded, nature entered, well, naturally. “This time, I wanted to go deeper into how nature felt in my body when I was present in it.” That shift from observation to sensation is where the collection’s central imagery emerges. Roots recur throughout – not only of trees, but those within the human form. “I transformed blood vessels in my body into roots in the soil,” Helmstedt explains, describing a visual language where anatomy and landscape fold into one another. “Connecting all the parts of my body, connecting all parts of nature.”
A sense of vulnerability, and the uncertainty of not knowing one’s path, underpins both the artwork and the clothes themselves. “It’s about human insecurity,” Helmstedt reflects, “and how that can create new stories and a deeper understanding of yourself.” Small motifs appear across the collection: birds mid-flight, shells nestled into prints, root-like structures framing the chest. “Roots supporting your chest, creating safety around the heart,” she says. The colour palette follows the same emotional logic. Earthy browns, mossy greens and golden oranges sit alongside crisp blues and starlight blacks – tones Helmstedt describes as “protective shells against the winter chill.” Together, they form a landscape where warmth and coolness coexist, echoing “the delicate moment between autumn and winter.”
The seashells returned again for the lookbook shoot, by Helmstedt's hands. “I made all the seashell crowns the night before we shot the collection,” she says. “It was a magic moment, everything coming together in my living room, by candlelight.”
See the full Helmstedt AW26 collection below.
