424 AW26 “ARTIGIANALE”: Where Craft, Imperfection, and Subculture Become Luxury
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By PAGE Editor
For Autumn/Winter 2026, 424 returns to the runway with ARTIGIANALE—a collection grounded not in speed or spectacle, but in the quiet authority of the hand. Drawing from the Italian tradition of artigianale, Guillermo Andrade places labor, time, and process at the center of luxury, proposing a vision where value is measured by touch, wear, and intention rather than industrial perfection.
This season unfolds as an exploration of tension: durability versus erosion, refinement versus damage, control versus collapse. Reclaimed luxury textiles are reworked into new forms, released only in the naturally limited quantities in which they exist. Fur is fused with denim through experimental construction techniques, while half-century-old military blankets are upcycled and reshaped into tailored silhouettes that carry both history and weight. Materials sourced deep within the supply chain—fur and leather once rejected for their perceived flaws—are reclaimed and transformed through intensive hand processes: distressing, dyeing, weaving, and aging. What was once deemed imperfect is elevated, celebrated, and made essential.
The result is a wardrobe that bears proof of life. Texture replaces polish. Wear becomes narrative. The hand remains visible throughout, underscoring the difficulty—and discipline—required to make imperfection feel intentional. In Andrade’s world, garments are not static objects but living records, designed to evolve alongside the body that wears them.
That philosophy extends beyond the clothes themselves. The show’s soundscape, composed by Jacob Mühlrad and Opm Babi, moves fluidly from contemporary beats into orchestral composition, unfolding like an opera. The progression challenges expectation, reinforcing 424’s refusal to sit comfortably within a single category or tempo. It is a reminder that range, when rooted in clarity of vision, becomes a form of rigor.
“Design your life not products,” Andrade states—a mantra that resonates throughout ARTIGIANALE. It speaks to a broader worldview: one that values lived experience over surface novelty, and continuity over trend.
AW26 also marks 424’s first collaboration with Azuki, signaling a meaningful convergence of fashion, subculture, and next-generation storytelling. As trading card games and collecting culture continue their ascent into the mainstream, Azuki identified 424 as a natural collaborator—one deeply embedded in youth culture and subversion—to bring a once-niche art form onto the global stage of Paris Fashion Week. United by a shared respect for craft, design, and narrative world-building, the partnership reinterprets four Azuki TCG characters through fashion, extending the Azuki universe into physical form. Looks 3, 5, and 6 draw direct inspiration from Azuki trading cards, translating illustrated identity into material reality.
“When you build a strong narrative universe, it naturally invites interpretation,” says Zagabond (Alex Xu), founder of Azuki. “424 took four Azuki TCG characters and expressed them through fashion—extending the Azuki universe onto the Paris runway at a moment when TCG culture is becoming a global creative force.”
In ARTIGIANALE, 424 once again defines luxury not as something preserved behind glass, but as something worn, weathered, and deeply human. It is a collection that insists meaning is built over time—and that the truest form of craftsmanship is allowing garments, like people, to show where they’ve been.
See full runway:
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