At Daniella Kallmeyer's Fall/Winter 2026 show, it was clear that the Kallmeyer woman is evolving. She is not growing up per se—the Kallmeyer woman has always been grown up—more accurately, she is becoming a woman that is entirely her own. These tells were subtle. In moments of embroidery or subtle techniques, like jacquard coats and art deco beaded embellishments on trousers and flapper dresses.
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"We lean into these beautiful, monolithic silhouettes and what used to be called minimalist, but it's really not minimalism. It's very distinct and discerning palettes, silhouettes, fabrics. This woman is very emotional." Kallmeyer tells me before the show. What she means when she describes her as emotional, is emotionally attached. The collection, while austere and well-edited, points towards a confluence of collected treasures and family heirlooms. The hand-stained bugle beads on the aforementioned deco shapes have an intentional patina, the gilded gold jacquard coat with a mid-century cut towards the final exits feels as though it could have been passed down via generations, as does a tiny chainmail purse and pearl cluster brooch.
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For Kallmeyer, this was both and exercise in memory and identity. "The art deco pattern was inspired by a dress that I've kept, that's probably 50 years old from my grandmother. The embroidery and beading and brooches and bags are inspired by things I've collected over my travels, or things that I've kept from my mom or my grandmother." She says. Throughout Fall/Winter 2026, Kallmeyer assures us that minimalism—an entirely saturated aesthetic—doesn't need to mean repetitive or boring.
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Underscoring these magpie-like touches, are simply beautiful pieces of clothing. A draped butter yellow silk dress emerges first, followed by a neat black suit which is layered over a watery shirt of the same silk. A series of funnel neck trench coats are seen in classic black and camel, while other wardrobe staples—a pair of perfectly washed blue jeans, a black dinner dress, a leather trench coat, fortify the foundations of what feels like the grounding force of the Kallmeyer code.
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To reference the "Upper East Side woman" aesthetic would be easy to do here, and in ways, the brief fits. But there is a sense of loucheness that skews the Kallmeyer brand from fully adopting the mantle, Kallmeyer has a knack for refinement without boxing her woman in to any borough or tax bracket (at least not by silhouettes alone). "She's every age, every era. She's informed and intellectual, but she doesn't take herself too seriously."
