Castaneda’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, titled Arx-Imaginaria, transported guests into a world where imagination becomes conviction. Staged inside a castle built from recycled cardboard, complete with wooden floors and arched passages, the show was infused with theatricality and intimacy. Models advanced to variations of Handel’s Sarabande, famously used in Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon, while knights in cardboard armour scattered red rose petals over them.
Designer Ivo Barraza framed the season around the story of a young boy who dreams of living in a castle. “There are elements of him that resonate with a younger me,” he said. The collection became a tribute to that imaginative impulse — the so-called “delusional voice” that dares to dream and to create. As Barraza reflected: “I think it is so important to have this delusional voice inside of you. It is the voice that tells you to go and do it. It is the voice that, two years ago, woke me up and carried the belief that I could make a brand.”
The clothes themselves carried this vision with wit and precision. Tailoring took centre stage, reimagined with oblique welt pockets, pointed elbows and arched hems. Hidden work with horsehair brought subtle structure, while new textiles such as neoprene lined with foam allowed 3D decoration without weight. Some pieces were veiled in Leavers lace, combining romantic texture with sculptural form.
Playful motifs ran throughout. School-like ties wrapped around waists, twisting uniforms into fantasy. Horns sprouted from skirts, jackets and hats, ranging from twisted ram’s horns to more abstract, sculptural shapes. Accessories leaned into storytelling too, from berets and golf caps to a “Dragon Chihuahua” gavroche, all extending the sense of wonder.
The chromatic palette mixed navy, brown and green with flashes of red and pale blue, grounding the drama in earthy tones. Despite its theatrical staging, the collection felt purposeful and wearable, inviting audiences to step into the castle and see themselves as its hero.
