Fashion Scout Presents Ones to Watch AW26

As it approaches its 20-year anniversary this September, Fashion Scout hosts their annual ‘Ones to Watch’ runway on Saturday 21, February, continuing its well-earned reputation as a talent incubator giving a platform to emerging designers. The Saturday schedule ends at Protein Studios in Shoreditch, with a diverse, global selection of new designers: Aleska Vertige, Invisible Boundaries, Khushi Kumar, Adolf Maldonado, Mad Daisy, Label Astha Garg and Min-Ji Kim.

Aleska Vertige, winner of Fashion Scout Armenia 2025, starts off the show with her grounded collection inspired by the Japanese samurai code of honour, ‘Bushido’. The collection explores themes of moral strength through unisex silhouettes and contemporary textiles. The looks consist of a grey muted colour palette accented by the richness of mulberry red, often in macramé knot details that highlight the themes of discipline. Sheer fabrics are layered against structural designs, the final look being a long black leather shift dress over sheer grey crinkle sleeves and a mulberry red, macramé-knotted head piece. This collection successfully refines tradition in a modern era.

Invisible Boundaries, a brand operating ‘in the space between emotion and expression’, showcases their collection ‘Overlook’, which explores the connection between fashion and art through ambiguous pieces that represent our desire to blend in. The collection consists solely of black and grey pieces that are abstract in design, with one dress completely restricting the arms and mouth through a cage-like detail that straps itself across the head. The unspoken human boundaries of restraint are clearly illustrated to the audience.

Khushi Kumar, a fashion house founded between Delhi and London, brings Indian culture to the forefront of the runway with a series of floor-length dresses and jumpsuits in deep red velvet with rose gold embroidered vines running across each look. UK-trained designer Kushi Kumar brings her experience in luxury fashion retail to draw from heritage and craftsmanship, aiming to represent “the clarity of the modern Indian voice”.

Adolf Maldonado, a Spanish designer based in London, embraces a ‘modern-couture spirit’ with the influences of architectural sculptures and the texture of insects. Balancing both femininity and masculinity in his menswear collection, ‘Silhouettes of Eden’, his pieces offer a quiet eccentricity to the wearer. A few standout pieces include a periwinkle blue crocodile overcoat with an emphasised collar, an oversized olive-green shaggy fur coat and a black leather anorak with silver buckles.

Mad Daisy, ‘an artistic fashion initiative founded by Dr Margarita Fedoseev’, presents their AW26 collection “Lumière de Guillaumin”, a womenswear collection which reimagines French impressionism as wearable art. Inspired by Jean-Baptiste Armand Guillaumin’s work at the Petit Palais, the collection presents an array of light, brushstroke paint prints on airy fabrics with some grey-toned tailored blazers and coats to balance the lightness. The collection leans into vibrancy, femininity and playfulness.

Label Astha Garg, an Indian fashion designer based between London and Dehradun, focuses her collection ‘Lingering’ on ‘embracing what remains’, whether that be looking at the contact between the garment and the body or working to build materials from the dust of banana leather. The collection hosts unique elements like the traditional wood-carving details developed in collaboration with Indian artists and intricate woven prints seen in multiple dresses. Material innovation is the focal point of each look.

Min-Ji Kim, a Korean-born, London-based fashion designer, closes the show on an energetic note with her collection ‘Call Me’, which presents unconventional proportions, striped shirts and gloves, enlarged buttons and prop payphone coins along with telephone wires hanging out of bags or stuck on shoes. The concept feels fun and engaging as it transports the audience into a 1950s candy store phone booth. The Ones to Watch runway has always been a celebratory event, and the AW26 finale ends the evening on a high.