Dear Shaded Viewers,
Few figures have traveled through history as persistently as Salomé. She has appeared in scripture, inspired painters and writers, captivated the opera, and long occupied fashion’s imagination. For Fall/Winter 2026–2027, Luke Azzopardi returns to her story, approaching Salomé less as a historical character than as an idea that has continually evolved across cultures and generations.
The collection explores how clothing carries memory. Veils become its central vocabulary, deconstructed and rebuilt into sculptural silhouettes that shift between revelation and concealment. Their transformation reflects the changing meanings attached to femininity, ritual, and identity, allowing familiar symbols to take on new forms through meticulous artisanal craftsmanship.
Azzopardi also draws an unexpected connection between the legend of Salomé’s Seven Veils and the Maltese għonnella, placing two distinct traditions in conversation. The exchange reveals how garments can preserve cultural histories while continuing to evolve. Throughout the collection, textile manipulation and handwork reinforce that sense of continuity, giving each look the presence of an object shaped over time.
With Salomé, AZZOPARDI treats couture as a form of cultural inquiry. History, mythology, and craftsmanship meet in garments that invite reflection as much as admiration, suggesting that fashion can preserve inherited narratives while finding new ways to tell them.
Photos by Jason Lloyd Evans. Special thanks to DORN Communications, William.
Yours digitally,
Pedro
