Breaking Free from the Lore of (Chopova) Lowena
Review of Chopova Lowena Spring 2026 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Sensory overload, Texture Takeover, Gothic Grandeur
Emerging designers can often break through, not necessarily into the mainstream but onto the radars of fashions tastemakers with one (if they are lucky two or three) distinctive signature designs. Take Telfar’s ‘Bushwick Birkin’ as a keen example of one such success story. And while this can result in a raised profile and a healthy bottom line – as both customers and retail partners come knocking – it can also lead to some brands becoming one hit wonders, buckling under the pressure to produce a distinctive best seller season-after-season.
Chopova Lowena’s spring 2026 collection showed the first signs of a need to shift gears away from their beloved pleated skirt and sensory overload design aesthetic, as the show skewed towards a younger audience with its childlike pile-it-on layering and naive graphic elements. In this case diversification will be key, or if we were to take it to the other extreme, cutting off supply altogether by discontinuing (or at the very least severely reducing) an item in the vein of The Row, who are rumoured to have reduced access to their much-referenced, and duped, bestselling Margaux bag.
Titled ‘Cheerlore’ the high school-esque production of today’s show felt partly like a distraction – an inflatable pig outside the venue and ‘furry’ greeters (i.e. mascots) brandishing snacks, as well as the mis-matched seating all contributed. But one section of the collection to be commended were the goth-inspired chainmail and velvet pannier dresses as well as the embellished separates that were more attuned to their fall 2025 presentation which saw the brand evolving in an assured new direction, while losing none of their rebellious whimsy. Next spring seemed to lean too heavily into the high school ‘Cheerlore’ and varsity tropes that have been referenced and repeated ad nauseam, and are what we have come to expect from brands such as Coach – who have themselves moved away from the more overt Americana signifiers.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
If a strategy to appeal to a younger demographic (or else the child in us all who spent weekends at the mall poring over Claire’s Accessories latest finds) was in play then this collection would be a solid yes, but it may fail to win over their brand loyalists. One silver lining may arise in the fact that the brand has just unlocked a potential new revenue stream in the creation of a diffusion line, which will be sure to draw in the younger siblings of Chopova Lowenas longtime fans.
