Sandra‘s Closet

Quiet Luxury Meets Rothko: Loro Piana‘s F/W26 Campaign in Houston

Houston might not be the first city that comes to mind when you think of quiet luxury, yet Loro Piana proves it is exactly the right one. For its F/W 2026 advertising campaign, shot by Mario Sorrenti, the Italian house travels deep into the cultural landscape created by legendary collectors John and Dominique de Menil.

About The Menil Collection
Philanthropists and art patrons John and Dominique de Menil established the Menil Foundation in 1954 to foster greater public understanding and appreciation of art, architecture, culture, religion, and philosophy. In 1987, the Menil Collection’s main building opened to the public. Today, the Menil Collection consists of a group of art buildings and green spaces located within a residential neighborhood in central Houston. The Menil remains committed to its founders’ belief that art is essential to human experience and welcomes all visitors free of charge.

The journey begins at the former de Menil residence, a historic landmark with interiors by couturier Charles James, and continues through the luminous galleries of the Menil Collection, designed by Renzo Piano and opened in 1987. The most moving stop is the Rothko Chapel, home to fourteen canvases by Mark Rothko, a space that is neither museum nor church but pure contemplation in colour and shadow.

About Rothko Chapel
Rothko Chapel in Houston is an iconic non-denominational space dedicated to contemplation, dialogue, and human rights. Housing fourteen monumental murals by Mark Rothko, the Chapel serves as both a meditative environment and a platform for global discourse. It convenes artists, activists, scholars, and community leaders through programs that engage spirituality, social justice, and civic responsibility.

Sorrenti captures an intergenerational cast, including Sigrid de L’Epine and her husband, artist Jean-Charles Blais, wandering through these spaces. The collection speaks the same language as its surroundings: moss green, brick red, stone, deep brown and chalk white echoing velvet sofas, mineral facades and the depth of Rothko’s monochromes. In the campaign film, the clothes live rather than pose, a couple strolling through the streets, a hand resting on a dog’s coat, everything shaped by movement and the incomparable touch of Loro Piana fabrics. Even the soundtrack has history: saxophonist Richard «Dickie» Landry, a close collaborator of the de Menils, weaves his improvised sound through the film.

Beyond the imagery, the house supports the Menil Collection ahead of its 40th anniversary in 2027 and contributes to the preservation of the Rothko Chapel. Fashion as patronage, done with the discretion the brand is famous for.

After Niemeyer’s Casa das Canoas, Cocteau’s Villa Santo Sospir and the Fondation Maeght, Houston is the newest chapter in Loro Piana’s collection of extraordinary places. And honestly, I already want to book a flight to Texas and go back to Houston where I had just recently been. Stay tuned!

LoL, Sandra

Photos: Courtesy of Loro Piana, The Menil Collection and The Rothko Chapel, Credits: Photographer: Mario Sorrenti Stylist: Aleksandra Woroniecka Creative Direction: Atelier Franck Durand Video Direction: Luca Werner Hair: Tomo Jidai Make-up: Aaron de Mey Models: Jean-Charles Blais, Robert Forrest, Selena Forrest, Jackson Giles, Jacqui Hooper, Noor Khan, Long Li, Colin Otto, Sigrid de L’Epine DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.

Pony Kids and Petticoats: Simone Rocha’s F/W 26 Love Letter to Ireland

High above London, inside the faded grandeur of the Alexandra Palace Theatre, Simone Rocha sent out one of the most poetic collections of the season. The Victorian venue, left in a state of beautiful arrested decay, was the perfect stage for what the Irish designer does best: romance cut through with reality.

For F/W 2026, Rocha turned her gaze homeward. The collection unfolded in three chapters rooted in Irish culture. The first act conjured Tír na nÓg, the mythical Celtic land of eternal youth, painted in moss green, olive and deep ruby, with a voluminous satin gown cinched at the waist that felt like folklore made fabric.

The final act celebrated the Weird Sisters, the eccentric siblings of the Yeats family who shaped the Irish Arts and Crafts movement, honoured through rich tapestry prints and tweeds that felt loved and lived in.

But it was the middle chapter that gave the collection its heartbeat: Pony Kid. Rocha drew on Perry Ogden’s cult 1999 photo book Pony Kids, which documented the working class children of Dublin, from both Traveller and Settled communities, who kept and traded horses at the Smithfield Horse Fair. Ogden captured them in the sportswear of the era, tracksuits and trainers worn with a fierce, tender pride. Together with Mike Newell’s 1992 film Into the West, these images of Irish kids and their ponies became the emotional core of the show.

The new Pony Kids collection by Simone Rocha is available now here.

This reference also unlocked the season’s big surprise: Simone Rocha’s debut collaboration with adidas originals, woven directly into the mainline rather than presented as a separate capsule. The designer, who spent her own teenage years wearing adidas running shorts under vintage tutus, made the pairing feel completely natural. Track jackets came with pouf sleeves and her signature pearl zipper pulls, tracksuits erupted in ruffles and scalloped edges, sporty knee high socks were bedazzled with trefoil logos, and a picot edged dress in ivory paper nylon carried a Rocha redesigned trefoil. Lace boiler suits and frills on your tracksuit, as she put it herself.

Of course, the Rocha girl was never far away. Corsages and ribbons trailed from masculine coats, equestrian prize ribbons were pinned to tailored trousers, and hints of vintage lingerie flashed beneath sheer layers. A moss green gown with an oversized bow, a curvy ruby sequin dress with a matching cap and shearling lined aviator jackets in olive grounded the fantasy in wearable, statement making reality.

What I love most about this collection is its emotional intelligence. Rocha took the myth of eternal youth and the very real, disappearing world of Dublin’s pony kids and stitched them into one wardrobe where a ballgown and a track jacket speak the same language. It is femininity with grit, nostalgia without sentimentality, and proof once again that Simone Rocha is one of the most compelling storytellers in fashion today.

The Adidas pieces will no doubt sell out in a heartbeat, but for me the true magic lies in the juxtaposition. Frills on a tracksuit have never looked so poetic.

LoL, Sandra

Photos: © Simone Rocha
DISCLOSURE: We may earn commission from links on this page, but I only recommend products I love. Promise.