New York Fashion Week kicks off this week, and I’m not sure anyone around me knows how to feel about it. Luxury fashion has always existed in juxtaposition with inequality and political unrest. When a show is done well, it can make a statement or, at the very least, provide escapism, but the industry also has a habit of pushing things under the rug. Law Roach styled Lauren Sanchez at Paris Fashion Week; meanwhile, her husband’s company, Amazon, is powering ICE’s deportation machine, which has resulted in the death of at least eight people so far this year, including Keith Porter, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. America is in a state of mourning and distress – and Marc Jacobs’ SS26 show on Monday (February 9) met people where they’re at.

Titled ‘Memory Loss’, here’s everything that went down at the SS26 show.

EMPTY SPACE, BLACK WALLS

Marc Jacobs took a break from the New York Public Library, where the brand showed two spring-summer collections in a row, for ‘Memory Loss’ and brought everyone to the Park Avenue Armory. There, in the ginormous, empty space with black walls, models like Alex Consani walked closeby a single row of chairs, soundtracked by Björk’s “Jóga”. In his signature fashion, the show came to an end in a matter of minutes.

THE CLOTHES LOOKED BACKWARDS (LITERALLY)

On the runway, clothes acted as blank spaces to memories lost. Models wore pitch-black tights and leather hot pants or rigid, square skirts that felt almost like placeholder items, or clothing drawn by memory. There were even multiple coats worn backwards. It was far more understated than Jacobs’ previous shows and didn’t exactly feel like a summer show, but it was clear: the designer was interested in revisiting the past for this show.

EVERYTHING WAS HIGHLY REFERENCED

The show notes came with a list of “credits and receipts” that went as far back as Yves Saint Laurent Couture in 1965. Other notable mentions include X-Girl in 1994, Prada’s SS96 show and the Marc by Marc Jacobs show in 2003.

IT WAS ULTIMATELY ABOUT LOSS

The Marc Jacobs SS26 show was dedicated to Louie Chaban, who Jacobs once called a member of his “fashion family”. Chaban passed last year and, shortly after, Jacobs posted a photo of him at the March on Washington for LGBTQ+ rights in 1993, as a touching tribute to their friendship. “I have so many beautiful memories of the times I spent with Louie, but only a few pictures,” Jacobs wrote in the caption.

...AND HOW HOPE TAKES WORK

This show wasn’t simply about getting nostalgic for fashion’s past. It was about how our memories shape, influence and inform our purpose. As the show notes put it: “Recovering the past also reminds us that loss is inevitable and that hope is work.” That bittersweet reality lingered long after the four-minute show – a reminder to honour the past and fight for the future.