Simon Cracker FW26: An Ode to the Extraordinary Aunts of Everyday Italy

At Milan Fashion Week, the Fall/Winter 2026–2027 runway by Simon Cracker unfolded like an eccentric family album brought vividly to life. Titled Slow – Final Chapter: Aunts, the collection celebrated the women who quietly shape personal style across generations: the unforgettable aunts, grandmothers, and everyday characters whose wardrobes often carry more personality than the fashion system itself.

Model walks the runway during the Simon Cracker fashion show at Piazza Tomasi Da Lampedusa, hosted by Lineapelle for Lineapelle Designers Edition, on February 28, 2026 in Milan, Italy, during Milan Fashion Week. Photo by Loris Patrizi.

Founded by designer Simone Botte, the Italian label has built its identity around reinvention, transforming discarded garments and forgotten materials into expressive fashion pieces since its launch in 2010. The brand’s creative philosophy centers on upcycling and storytelling, giving new life to fabrics and clothing that others have left behind.

The latest runway chapter continued that narrative with a deeply personal theme. Inspired by a lifetime of memories—from great-aunts Alberta, Iliana, and Prima to grandmother Alba—the collection drew from the wardrobes and personalities of women scattered throughout Italy. Their presence has quietly shaped the brand’s aesthetic since its earliest collections, forming an archive of style rooted in real lives rather than fashion mythology.

Presented during the Fall/Winter 2026–2027 shows in Milan, the collection captured a vibrant mix of nostalgia, humor, and street energy. The runway atmosphere echoed the spontaneous joy of neighborhood festivals and the unfiltered charm of everyday Italian life. Beneath aprons and practical clothing, the imagined protagonists of the show revealed unexpected glamour—women stepping into heels and dancing late into the night after a day of cooking and conversation.

At the heart of the concept was the idea of “Chicracker,” a playful redefinition of chic shaped by personality rather than rigid aesthetic codes. For the brand, elegance emerged from quirks and memories: the decision to wear a single bold color, bows crafted from candy wrappers, stiff leather skirts, and fabrics stained in earthy yellow or terracotta hues. These personal gestures transformed into garments that carried both irony and affection.

Material experimentation played a central role. With support from Lineapelle, the collection incorporated leather as a new creative foundation—resilient, adaptable, and symbolic of the brand’s constant reinvention. The runway featured leather garments shaped into dramatic silhouettes, including eighteenth-century-inspired skirts and tutus, structured maxi-collar coats that doubled as capes, and statement pieces punctuated with oversized piercings and jewelry details.

Construction techniques highlighted the label’s unconventional craftsmanship. Many garments were assembled without electricity, built through knots and joints like wearable puzzles rather than traditional seams. The result was clothing that felt both artisanal and rebellious, merging raw experimentation with theatrical storytelling.

Faux and recycled furs appeared in multicolored coats and collars, while hand-graffitied PVC skinny jeans introduced flashes of underground energy. Accessories carried the same irreverent spirit: leather bags decorated with earrings, asthma-inhaler earrings transformed into jewelry, and hand-painted leather pieces that blurred the line between object and adornment.

A milestone moment arrived with the debut of the brand’s first official bag. Created with Gabriele Santoriello, the design was crafted from recycled leather and inspired by the “Cracker Boy,” a graffiti symbol associated with the label since 2010. The bag represented the evolution of a character that has long embodied the brand’s playful identity.

Footwear collaborations added another dimension to the presentation. A capsule collection developed with Dr. Martens translated the shared ethos of both brands into bold shoes that complemented the runway’s irreverent silhouettes.

Beyond its visual impact, the collection carried a broader philosophy about accessibility and authenticity in fashion. The designers emphasized garments meant for everyday people with everyday salaries—pieces intended to live beyond the runway and become part of real wardrobes. The idea challenged the distance between fashion imagery and daily life, imagining a world where the same clothes admired in magazines could be worn by someone flipping through those pages at the hairdresser’s.

Ultimately, Slow – Final Chapter: Aunts celebrated community as much as design. The runway honored the women who have supported the brand from its earliest days alongside the newcomers who continue to believe in the project. Their presence reinforced the collaborative spirit that defines the Simon Cracker universe, often described as a collective vision sustained by a network of creatives known as the Cracker Crew.