Auralee Fall 2026: A Bright Winter Day

To describe Auralee as a brand of sensible clothes would be doing Ryota Iwai’s work a disservice.

While showy displays or extravagant shapes aren’t his style — this season’s venue was a tasteful antechamber in the Musée de l’Homme — he is someone who finds joy in life’s little details.

Take winter, with its bad rap for its gloomy weather, dwindling temperatures and cumbersome silhouettes.

For the Tokyo-based designer, the season is on the contrary full of “those little nuggets of happiness,” like the first breath of crisp air in the morning or a certain softeness the light takes.

In Iwai’s hands, such impalpable sensations were infused throughout a fall coed collection rife with bright colors, airy fabrics and clever constructions that offered volume without bulk. Textile development is a strength for the Tokyo-based brand and it showed.

Case in point, the putty-colored corduroy trenchcoat that opened the show. Rather than the traditional cotton or wool, it was made from cashmere, turning the material into something that whispered across the skin. It also gave enviable drape to trousers and took colors beautifully.

There were plenty more examples, from a lightweight flannel suit to little blousons that had a sheen reminiscent of nylon. Backstage, Iwai explained through a translator he’d in fact used whisper-thin calfskin, with a light down filling to round things out.

Elsewhere, intrigue came from a tweak in the cut, including a deceptively classic full-zip ribbed cardigan that revealed a scoop back, and a duffle coat revisited with a subtle cocoon shape, making it enveloping without superfluous folds of fabric.

This allowed Iwai to offer a masterclass in layering, showcasing how weightless he could make a shirt, a padded vest and a shearling blouson, or a fuzzy cardigan, pressed stonewashed denim jeans and a duster.

Such details might not sing when filtered through a screen, but in person, they elicit the thrill that most brands are chasing. So few capture it as effectively as Auralee.