MILAN – Carlotta Oddi was lost in the blue for Alanui’s spring 2026 collection.
The brand’s creative director was inspired by “The Blue Lagoon” — both the coming-of-age romance novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole and its following cinematic adaptations — in further pushing the envelope in knitwear experimentation and exploring textural possibilities with her latest effort.
The natural landscapes of French Polynesia — evoking the idyllic scene where the story of the two teens surviving a shipwreck, learning to fend for themselves and finding love in the process is set — tickled Oddi’s imagination and infiltrated her knitted creations, along plenty of underwater themes and sunset hues.
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As she looked to reprise the protagonists’ connection with nature and their free-spirited attitude, Oddi reworked Alanui’s signature Icon motif with palm trees, frangipani and hibiscus flowers on a laid-back wool cardigan, while natural sceneries became the focal point of a charming high-definition toile de Jouy pattern or were reworked in a hand-sketched effect in other takes of the knit staple.
Sustainable cardigans and crewneck options crafted from recycled cashmere also acted like postcards from remote islands, while cotton versions were embroidered with handmade writings and drawings by Alanui’s team to represent the fashion equivalent of “a message in a bottle,” said Oddi.
As per previous iterations, the brand’s Remember Me jacket introduced last year once again stood out for its pure lines and seasonal embellishments, including motifs such as the moon and the sun, an exotic mermaid, a fish, a sea turtle, as well as tropical flowers and seashells.
The piece found some compelling competition in new styles that refreshingly expanded the Alanui lexicon, such as a white felted wool cardigan that came with handmade eyelet-like embroideries. This was the prelude of a textural richness that stretched in different directions, as Oddi underscored her relentless “research of different techniques and weights so that we never have a flat knit.”
Cue the weft knitted surface of a sand-and-white pearl cardigan featuring a geometric motif and the chunky knit stitch of a colorful style with dropping yarns.
Textures inspired by fishnets, enriched by allover applications of mother of pearls and brooches, also nodded to the way the novel’s protagonists discovered a trunk filled with fabrics and objects they use to create something unique. Hence, the plethora of knitted crochet styles, spanning from a boxy jacket with matching miniskirt and a bra to a dress with seashell-shaped cups, as well as handmade crochet patches adorning the hemlines of a cardigan or popping on denim separates.
Cascades of real mother-of-pearl, sparkling sequins, shimmering beads added to fringed details and tie-dye effects in enriching the lineup, while exuding the relaxed, tropical vibe of the inspiration.
The joyful color palette, spanning from pink and coral tones to desert hues and shades of blue, infiltrated also in the Alanui Finest line, the pinnacle of the brand’s offering expressed via monochrome silhouettes crafted from an exclusive cashmere and silk blend. This season, the timeless pieces came in two new shades, a bold coral red and a rust tone.
As reported, earlier this year Oddi and her brother and Alanui’s chief executive officer Nicolò bought back the stake held by New Guards Group, or NGG, in the brand they launched in 2015, regaining full control of the company. NGG first invested in Alanui in 2017.
The spring 2026 line, which was already presented to buyers but has been unveiled now with a see now, buy now timing, is the first to be directly distributed by the label from a Milan-based showroom.
