“There is a moment before dawn when longing becomes absolute. The Ashi Studio 2026 collection explores the space between devotion and destruction—where Victorian mourning rituals meet contemporary couture, and desire becomes indistinguishable from possession.” That was Ashi Studio’s official, and poetic, Instagram framing. The collection itself, however, was sensual, sculptural, and… hairy.
And what does haute couture love more than femininity (of which there was plenty)? A dash of history. Corsetry was the collection’s structural obsession. Built with 18th-century methods, bodices were cinched within an inch of their lives, forcing bell-shaped silhouettes into existence, with hips blown up into rounded, shell-like forms. Basically, less anatomy, more architecture.
During the Victorian era, hair was almost ritualistic. Mourning didn’t just involve wearing black, it involved keeping your deceased loved ones in your jewelry, your wreaths, even your embroidery. Think of it as a tangible connection with the departed, a daily accessory of grief. In necklaces, bracelets, lockets, fabrics, even décor. Mourning was more of a presentation, especially for women. In Ashi Studio, hair was stitched straight into the silhouettes, patterned too.
Fabrics were painted by hand, cotton was treated with glue, made to appear endlessly wet, trompe l’oeil effects strutted down the runway, plastic erased texture under the garments showing the body as something manufactured in a doll-factory rather than alive. Much of this was outsourced to people who usually fake blood for a living, including the hair team from last year’s Dracula.
Under Mohammed Ashi, the collection did what it promised, corsetry, texture, embroidery, and plastic, all in place, all very serious. History was everywhere, and the body mostly went along for the ride. With flowers and vivid colors everywhere that week, black and grief felt surprisingly refreshing, hairy bits included.
