MARKGONG SS26 collection, ‘Catch Us If U Can,’ channels the defiance of Thelma and Louise. It opens with a challenge to the notion that freedom must follow rules or fit within respectability. The collection translates their spirit of rebellion and raw independence into garments that honor imperfection and motion.
The story of Thelma and Louise remains a declaration of refusal. Each man they meet mirrors a form of control, from seduction to saviorhood. Their liberation comes through movement, driving forward, rejecting every form of authority disguised as kindness. MARKGONG captures this momentum through a wardrobe designed for women who refuse containment. The power lies not in revenge but in persistence, in the will to keep going together until the end.
The collection reflects that same tension between vulnerability and strength. Vintage leather collides with sheer lace, and western silhouettes meet fine embroidery. A leather bomber opens with pressed roses, fringed trenches stir like desert wind, and sun-washed denim holds traces of 90s florals, tokens from the road.
In collaboration with YVMIN, MARKGONG transforms metal into meaning. Sculptural body accessories draw from objects of travel and observation, rearview mirrors, flashlights, road signs, reforged into symbols of self-possession. Their mirrored surfaces reflect women who no longer view themselves through another’s gaze. The accessories act like armor forged from the debris of the road, turning tools of direction and control into emblems of autonomy.
The runway recreates the emotional terrain of the film. Guests begin in a dim corridor suspended between cinema and reality before stepping into a motel room steeped in nostalgia. Stained wallpaper and the hum of a distant engine suggest the weight of escape. As the show progresses, the setting expands into a desert stage, dust rising, light shifting, sound swelling. It’s a path westward, a visual metaphor for the decision to keep driving on one’s own terms.
Freedom, here, resists definition. Liberation hurts and exhilarates in equal measure. The final image recalls Thelma and Louise’s leap, an act not of surrender but of authorship. Mark’s closing words frame the collection as a salute to every woman who takes control of her direction: “Thank you to every woman who refuses to wait for permission. You are the reason we keep driving.”
