Ashley Williams turns everyday items into luxury goods

The codes of aspiration are subjected to a radical exercise in attention.

This SS26 season, Ashley Williams proposes a universe where purpose is found in what we already have, in those small gestures of care that sustain daily life, and not in the unattainable as we tend to believe. To do so, she introduces us to a kind of provincial town, a seemingly nondescript territory where the ordinary is elevated to ritual.

And, naturally, the protagonist of this story takes pride in simple pleasures: conversations with neighbours that are more valuable for their consistency than their content; hedges trimmed simply because they look nicer; household chores carried out with the respect of someone who understands that every minute on earth is an act of gratitude.

In this scenario, the designer transforms the functional into a language of style. X-ray technicians, nurses, soldiers and toilet paper factory workers parade in mint and pink garments. Belts and tactical vests are reconfigured for comfort, while safety goggles are adorned with delicate rosettes. Even orthopaedic pads find their place in the silhouette, softening the implicit violence of high heels.

All of this raises a question that is as subtle as it is uncomfortable: who really has access to the home, in its deepest sense?