We call it apocalypse, but it feels more like awakening — perhaps renewal exhaling from the abyss. Mikio Sakabe’s orbit, GROUNDS keeps playing god with the body’s balance. A sci-fi momemtum where the boundary between human and object dissolves and fabrics are revived as a relic of tomorrow’s ritual. The first minute got us in awe, amid the chaos, bodies glide like prophets of a new order, balancing between ruin and rebirth — proof that even at the edge of collapse, style finds a way to rise. The wearer becomes a sculpture, an insect, a ghost — a creature reborn from fashion’s fallout.
Since its inception in 2019 under the direction of Mikio Sakabe, GROUNDS has explored the gravitational pull between body, object, and imagination. What began as a Japanese footwear label obsessed with oversized bubble soles has now evolved into a full-fledged universe — one where shoes are both philosophy and prophecy. For SS26, the brand dives deeper into its own mythology: a world inspired by Japanese horror lore and the haunting humor of transformation. Jackets shed their formality; sleeves drag like kimono spirits; obi belts are reborn from waste. Stained socks masquerade as gloves, ties writhe with wire and attitude, while oversized insectoid sunglasses distort the human gaze into something deliciously alien.
Each garment feels alive, as if haunted by its own history — rusted, reprocessed, reimagined. It’s tailoring that flirts with entropy, and accessories that behave like mischievous ghosts. The collection captures that moment between beauty and breakdown, where elegance becomes eerie and play turns to possession. At the center of this strange solar system remain the shoes — transparent soles that float, bat-winged platforms that defy gravity, and silhouettes that remind us: fashion, like fear, is best when it keeps you slightly off balance.
GROUNDS SS26 is a séance in motion. Brutalist and apocalyptic yet playful, it dares to ask: what if the future of fashion isn’t about perfection, but about learning to dance with the beautiful decay?
