Collina Strada’s “The World Is a Vampire” Turns Climate Anxiety Into Wearable Sanctuary
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By PAGE Editor
On a gray February evening at 459 West 15th Street, Hillary Taymour transformed a West Chelsea space into a metaphorical bat cave. For Fall/Winter 2026, Collina Strada presented The World Is a Vampire—a collection that examined cultural exhaustion, climate anxiety and the art of retreat through satin, plaid and plant-based fur.
“The world is a vampire, sipping slowly on our warmth and wonder,” the show notes began. It was less melodrama than diagnosis. As literal and political climates worsen, Taymour proposed sanctuary dressing: translucent layers, organza collars rising protectively at the neck, and silhouettes that fade from the mirror rather than reflect a brutal world. In Collina’s universe, you are only seen on your own terms.
The front row embodied that ethos of expressive autonomy. JT, Tove Lo, Icona Pop, Tommy Dorfman, Ella Emhoff, Abbey Lee and Waris Ahluwalia joined a multi-hyphenate crowd attuned to Collina’s balance of satire and sincerity.
Gothic Romance, Grounded In Responsibility
The show opened with the Lestat Dress in white deadstock lace and melon crepe de chine—bridal, spectral and unmistakably Collina. Mauve and washed meadow chiffon Plume gowns floated by like fragile optimism, while chocolate satin slip dresses and painted plaid velvets brought depth to the palette. By the finale—black panne velvet, hollow blossom chiffon and the closing Lestat gown in deadstock black lace—the metaphor had crystallized: sharpened fangs, softened edges.
Yet beneath the drama was discipline. Recycled suiting anchored Ilana jackets and Camellia trousers. Organic cotton Joel tees layered beneath chocolate painted plaid organza. Greenwash denim cargos and thermal waffle leggings added pragmatic texture. And bio-based alternatives from BioFluff—including Savian, its 100% plant-based fur—reinforced Taymour’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and radical transparency.
Collina Strada, manufactured in New York and shown each season on the official NYFW schedule, has long used its runway as civic platform. From racism to politics to climate change, Taymour’s shows ask the same underlying question: How can you be the best version of yourself today?
When Runway Sensibility Becomes Daily Utility
Fall/Winter 2026 also marked a strategic commercial evolution: the preview of a new collaboration between Stand Oil and Collina Strada, unveiled for the first time on the runway.
Headquartered in Seoul under KOZHA Co., Ltd., Stand Oil has cultivated a global following—particularly among women in their 20s across Asia, North America and Europe—by translating classic design into everyday function. The limited-edition STAND OIL x Collina Strada collection, launching globally on May 15, 2026 (KST), reimagines Stand Oil’s iconic Mushy Bag and Ringo Bag, alongside its distinctive Grip Ring mobile accessory.
On the runway, the collaboration appeared seamlessly integrated into the styling—less product placement, more narrative extension. The Star Mushy Bag ($275) featured a reworked silhouette punctuated by star-shaped string pleats and irregular spiky edges, constructed from glossy nylon and Green Continue® cactus leather. Inside, two open pockets and a zip compartment underscored the brand’s functional ethos.
The Cloud Ringo Bag ($215) explored layered pleats and tone-on-tone Butter Plaid, alongside an Orange Blur Floral graphic that echoed Collina’s romantic irreverence. A hidden magnetic closure and structured dual handles balanced softness with structure. Meanwhile, the Princess Bear Grip Ring ($50)—a glittered resin accessory with cubic zirconia accents—rotated 360 degrees, functioning as both grip and stand, collapsing runway whimsy into an object of daily use.
Both brands positioned sustainability not as aesthetic, but infrastructure—embedding responsible material selection and long-term design thinking into every stage of development.
“I loved designing with Stand Oil because it was exciting to turn my ideas into accessories that customers can wear every day,” Taymour said. “Fashion can be playful and dramatic, beautiful and messy — and I’m obsessed with that tension.”
YUN JO, Brand Communications Team Leader at Stand Oil, framed the collaboration as a cultural inflection point: a Seoul-born brand stepping onto New York Fashion Week’s global stage to build community around shared values of art, sustainability and creative expression.
Infrastructure For The Emotionally Aware
Backstage, the ecosystem reflected the show’s multidimensionality. Hair by Bumble and bumble channeled undone romanticism, while luminous complexions powered by d'Alba amplified the collection’s otherworldly glow. Footwear collaborations with KEEN and Converse bridged outdoor pragmatism and American sneaker heritage, reinforcing Collina’s fluid interplay between fantasy and function.
If The World Is a Vampire offered a thesis, it was this: retreat is not weakness; it is recalibration. Despite all our rage, we may still feel like bats in a cage—but at least, in Taymour’s universe, the fur is plant-based, the tailoring is recycled and the bag you carry into the night is built to endure.
In a season preoccupied with spectacle, Collina Strada delivered something more durable: fashion as emotional infrastructure—designed not only to be seen, but to be lived in.
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