N21 presents the Fall Winter 2026 collection during Milan Fashion Week through a concept defined as natural femininity. Alessandro Dell’Acqua builds the season around observation, intimacy, and the emotional presence carried through clothing and personal objects. He draws direct inspiration from Sophie Calle’s photography book The Hotel, created after the artist worked as a chambermaid for three weeks and documented the belongings left behind in guest rooms. These images revealed traces of identity through garments, suitcases, and personal items. Dell’Acqua also references Federico Fellini’s film 8½, where the final parade gathers characters who reflect the creative and emotional complexity of life.
FALL WINTER 2026
These references guide Dell’Acqua toward a wardrobe grounded in awareness and variability. He approaches femininity through daily gestures and familiar materials, without theatrical construction or distance from reality. The collection studies clothing as evidence of presence, shaped by private routines and individual experience. Dell’Acqua describes this process as an act of creative truth, informed by Calle’s images and Fellini’s characters, both of which reveal identity through observation. Black serves as the starting point, functioning as a neutral field that allows silhouettes and textures to emerge with clarity.
The collection opens with a white shirt paired with poplin and cool wool trousers, layered under a black wool twin set. This restrained introduction establishes a direction focused on proportion and structure. Sack dresses with wide sleeves and small white collars present a controlled silhouette, while bustier gowns introduce a more sculpted form. Leather jackets appear with cropped tops and lace or chiffon skirts, creating combinations that shift between structure and transparency. Lace slip dresses paired with full chiffon layers extend this exploration of surface and volume.
Wide kimono coats and double-cloth coats introduce architectural volume, while tailored suits with narrow jackets and pencil skirts maintain precision. A mannish suit appears alongside a chiffon cape, placing tailoring in dialogue with fluid construction. Eveningwear introduces variation through texture and reflection. A black sequin dress, bow evening dresses, and a bustier dress with black-on-pink brassière elements extend the visual range.
Fur collars trimmed with pink satin introduce contrast within otherwise controlled silhouettes. Laminated paper fabric forms structured skirts, while gold lamé appears in dress form. Satin and faille anoraks feature geometric color patterns, introducing graphic clarity while maintaining the collection’s focus on proportion and surface.
Accessories extend the collection’s visual language through glittered black and silver shoes finished with satin toe details in white, pink, and beige. Gold flower earrings introduce sculptural emphasis, while duchesse sashes and knit gloves reinforce texture and layering. The Cabiria bag appears in medium size as the season’s defining accessory. For Fall Winter 2026, Dell’Acqua shapes the collection through observation, memory, and cinematic reference, drawing from Sophie Calle’s documentation of personal belongings and Fellini’s characters.
