Meruert Tolegen Spring 2026: Opening the Door to the Season

It’s a big day at Meruert Tolegen. The designer, who has been a finalist for both the LVMH and CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prizes, is opening her first store at 39 Wooster Street in New York’s SoHo.

“I want to bring people to experience the actual world,” she said. “People have to see my garments and touch them and feel them.”

Tolegen is on to something, since her work is full of so many details that an image on Instagram doesn’t capture the nuances of her skill set and craft. Filled with faux dark wood and dirt cone sculptures, the space set the mood for her romantic and darkly ethereal line up. For spring she’s focusing on tailoring, which she has always had but she wanted to get “immersed” in this season, with, for example, a puff sleeved jacket with nipped waist top coat, lined in muslin and worn over a pleated skirt.

Her dressers are still worth noting, though. This season they came in multiple fabrications with bumps and lumps creating unique shapes. The mostly black lineup often required several looks to catch all her details, like the mixing of fabrics, textures and even some horse hair. There were hints cascading down the backs of some of the dresses of what it would be like to tie a sweater or a button down around you, creating a unique trompe-l’œil effect.

Menswear came with oversized cardigans baring skin and satin pants, complementing the line up.