Hillary Taymour’s latest runway transforms familiar silhouettes into expressive extensions of her darker seasonal narrative.
A Runway Built on Sanctuary and Defiance
Collina Strada’s Fall Winter 2026 presentation, titled The World Is A Vampire, expands Hillary Taymour’s ongoing exploration of fashion as both refuge and resistance. Following the lighter conceptual contrast of the Spring Summer Shade showcase, this chapter embraces a moodier visual language, reflecting an atmosphere where protection, introspection, and self preservation take center stage.
The collection imagines retreat not as surrender, but as an act of autonomy. Layers become symbolic armor, textures evoke fragility and strength simultaneously, and the aesthetic shift toward deeper tones signals an emotional response to an increasingly chaotic world. Taymour’s universe continues to operate as a space where identity remains fluid and self defined.
Reworking Icons Through the Collina Lens
Footwear emerged as one of the presentation’s most compelling elements, anchored by collaborations that reinterpret well known designs without diluting their core DNA. KEEN, serving as the show’s official footwear partner, introduced two reimagined models that align with Collina Strada’s hybrid ethos of function and fantasy.
The Targhee EXP Collina Strada Boot channels utility while absorbing the brand’s expressive sensibility, merging rugged construction with unexpected visual character. Alongside it, the Jasper Rocks Collina Strada Sneaker balances performance roots with a playful yet subversive identity. Both silhouettes feel grounded in practicality yet unmistakably filtered through Taymour’s imaginative framework.
Converse contributed its own reinterpretation, offering a low top Chuck Taylor that preserves the shoe’s timeless cultural presence while adopting Collina Strada’s experimental spirit. The result is less about reinvention and more about reframing, allowing a universally recognized form to participate in the collection’s narrative.
Sound, Mood, and Emotional Texture
Beyond the garments and accessories, the presentation’s atmosphere reinforced its thematic intent. The vampiric undertones extended into beauty choices and the soundtrack, which layered contemporary energy with an undercurrent of theatrical tension. The sensory cohesion underscored Taymour’s ability to build immersive environments rather than conventional runway moments.
The World Is A Vampire ultimately reads as a meditation on boundaries, agency, and transformation. The footwear collaborations, rather than acting as secondary details, function as integral components of this storytelling, grounding the collection’s conceptual themes in tangible, wearable forms.
The KEEN collaboration is expected to arrive in October, further extending the runway’s vision into everyday contexts.
