Since her debut collection for fall, Fforme’s Frances Howie has had a lot of eyes on her but no worry, she is a bit of a Luddite, preferring to bring her “experience. I’m not sidetracked by what people are saying. I don’t get tortured by it. I just have a quiet confidence about what I’m doing,” she said at an intimate preview in her studio.
Howie comes with a stacked pedigree, studying with Louise Wilson at Central Saint Martins and working for Alber Elbaz at Lanvin. She looked back further for her spring 2026 collection, thinking on her childhood in New Zealand growing up with black sand beaches. “They learn to swim before they learn to talk, because the ocean is so fierce and so dangerous,” she said.
Enter molded rubberized pieces with neoprene lining sculpting the body, which were a literal interpretation of the theme and incredibly modern. Other surf moments came from little details — a liquid satin cobalt bias-cut dress used surf stitching to hug the body. It came with a satin rip cord that glided in the wind.
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Fforme historically hasn’t done many bright colors but Howie is slowly adding them in a few styles to add a bit of “joy.” Her tailoring has a secret weapon: a family of tailors who have worked on menswear for generations, resulting in meticulous finishings. “This is how his royal highness would have had his trousers made. We really want that level of quality for a woman’s product,” she said of the linen trouser and matching blazer. Other options in a black crinkled metallic cotton were like liquid catching the light. “If we’re going to do a going to do a black suit, we want to make sure ours stand out there,” she said.
She reveres the titans of American sportswear and infused touches of workwear with an airy cotton and silk pants look, saying she wants it to be “weightless workwear. Which is the most modern take on innovating American sportswear. We’re a young American brand and we have to speak to this heritage.”
Several dresses mimicked the casual cool idea of a towel wrapped around the model, each hand frayed in a viscose double crepe from Italian mills. Howie said she wants a “poetic, emotional quality” in her dresses and it showed, like a few knit styles hand embroidered with a plume of hand-done feathers that floated off the body.
Alba Navarro created the jewelry for the show, a second collaboration with the interdisciplinary artist. Combining the concept of performance and object creation by using materials sourced from worn bow strings, she created fringe fan extensions realized in oversized collars and earrings. But Howie doesn’t plan to do accessories for the time being. “The clothing is my focus,” she said proudly.
Minimalism has been the talking point for the past few seasons, but Howie doesn’t see her work in that lane. “I really think people are over this stripping everything back,” she said. “I think they want something that has a bit of soul or a bit more design.”