I’ve made it to Sunset Tower, where my plan is to work, decompress, and “do High Touch things” after a carnival-esque 36 hours in Palo Alto with Meta.
Have you guys tried the glasses? It was my first time. Very early-digital-camera way of capturing a moment, down to the flattering, skin-blurring lower-res quality. And I like that they naturally offer POV material that’s nothing at all like the staged stuff on TikTok where, just out of frame, someone is wearing an iPhone harness.
But that’s not really what I’ve been thinking about since I left. By now, you’ve heard that Meta announced new frames with Ray-Ban and Blackpink’s Lisa (I got the Capri pair), plus a sleeker-than-what’s-on-the-market VR device that’s being positioned for productivity more than just gaming. But the big through line was that Meta wants to be chic.
I was invited alongside a group of fashion people that included Mike Amiri, Laura Kim & Fernando Garcia, Chris Black, Zanna Roberts Rassi, Puck’s Malique Morris, Wayman Bannerman & Micah McDonald, and a dozen others, the lot of us shuffled through the Severance-scale campus by Eva Chen to panels with IG’s Adam Mosseri and AI execs and seated front row at the keynote presentation, within AirDrop distance of James Cameron. Mark (Zuckerberg…) came to speak to our group directly after the announcement. He wore The Row pants and a custom Amiri t-shirt, which he pounded his fist into on stage in a tender exchange with its designer Mike, who was seated two people to my right.
The emphasis on us, plus that Times article from this morning, plus the emergence of a new, formalized design language at Meta—Alan Dye, its new Chief Design Officer who was poached from Apple earlier this year, told me about the “grown-up hacker” look he was establishing for the company, one inspired by Donald Judd and Frank Gehry—tells me this is the just start of Meta’s strategic presence in fashion spaces.
So we know all about elevated basics…but what about funky basics? The devil’s in the details in LES-alt-girl institution Café Forgot’s Forgot, the indie store’s debut in-house line. Drawstrings are moved to the side on the library skirt; the journal pant has a fold-over waistband reminiscent of a yoga pant, but are made of a classier cotton twill. Two Maya-favorites are the honest top and Agnes hoodie dress for their strategic use of the cap-sleeve.
UNIQLO:C, erstwhile Givenchy / Chloé creative director Clare Waight Keller’s price-capped line for the brand, rolls out FW26 with a whole lot of color and cashmere (sometimes at the same time, in the case of the fluffy relaxed v-neck and cardigan sweaters). The shirts are ideal for making a styling statement, particularly this cotton stand collar number. Plus, for the first time, leather boots and shoes for under $100.
Lots going on at Net-A-Porter this fall. Two new brands join the ranks: French minimalist outdoor-wear brand Rier with its fishing-inspired leather knee boots and virgin fleece half-zips, and Antwerp Six icon Ann Demeulemeester, from the slinky goth maxi dresses to classic boots like the Henrica. Extreme Cashmere also returns to the site with everything from snoods to sweaters, as does Lauren Manoogian with similar (yet more neutral, as in the case of the belted Coto cardigan) cozy fare. To round it all out, some new FW26 McQueen, some of McGirr’s finer and more subdued work, like this pleated wool dress and cropped floral jacket.
Meet Culians, an independent outerwear brand based in NYC. The brand just launched Collection 01, a comfy duo of lambswool sweaters each in two colorways: one striped in a superfine fabrication, and one with a sweet sailor collar made out of a thicker milled fabric.
It’s shaping up to be the season of oversized hide coats. From Rachel Comey, an entire edit dedicated to shearling, from the collarless hill jacket to the Vanelli coat; and from Eckhaus Latta, the woolen bomber and an associated furry act, the Toscana coat made in 100% suede-backed shearling.
There’s also: A new edit of Prada mini bags, including the new top handle Avoir; the very angular COS outerwear collection which features some very Khaite-like uniform coats; a restock of the Kallmeyer x Nike tennis centre shoe; the arrival of some of the more eccentric Acne Studios runway looks, including the $3,800 snake-printed bag; some FW26 newness from Maria McManus, car coats and all; and the Alison Roman x Margaux collaboration collection, featuring a very fashion-food girl-style platform clog.
Men’s releases
Veja and Magliano team up to present the Panenka leather sneaker, a shoe inspired by vintage European football cleats. There’s an elongated tongue and double laces, just in case you couldn’t decide on colors. The Panenka also comes in tan and metallic pink, with unisex sizing.
Huge day for that guy you know who only listens to music made by Black people and gets his “taste” from Instagram moodboard accounts: the A.P.C. x Clarks Originals collaboration is out. The capsule focuses on two silhouettes, the desert boot and the crepe-soled weaver, and delivers them in very “fashion” colors, like this blue ribbed split Italian leather.
There’s also: A Visvim collection exclusive to Mr Porter, featuring an $11k leather jacket; and the puffed-up Jeff Koons artist collaboration with Hublot (yes, it’s the balloons but watches).
Home releases
Architect Sam Chermayeff just launched some new storage solutions with MCM giant Knoll and, as to be expected, they’re forever pieces. Chermayeff puts his unique bend on the Knoll simple-clean that makes pieces like the bar cabinet an instant classic (if you have between $7-10k to spare).
The Thom Browne uniform is unmistakable, and it has a new addition: this collaboration pair of QuietComfort Ultra headphones done with Bose. The headphones bear the mark of the designer: a light grey grosgrain, the 4-bar motif, the little red white and blue tag. At $950, these are a really great collectible that you can actually use for a high-quality audio experience.
The Tory Burch fall event is here, just in time for a Nor’easter. The deal? 25% off all purchases $200 and up, and 30% off purchases $500 and up. For the best deal, we recommend stacking carts just barely above $500 to maximize that 30%, or just going for a piece like the embellished mirror skirt which, right at $519, ends up at $363.
It’s a fall friends and family sale at Maison Rogue with FF2026 at checkout, granting 30% off all pieces in this edit. Maison Rogue stocks a lot of brands-to-watch from the Magasin matrix like 6397 and Aya Muse, so this sale is a great chance to see if a missed-out-on cardigan or cargo pant exists here in your size.
There’s up to 70% off of Shopbop’s sale section, as a sort of “this is final” moment. This is the kind of discount that’s more indicative of a last call for merchandise that wasn’t sold through, with some random gems as a reward for digging—like this Aesther Ekme crossbody marked down to $274 from $685.
There’s also: Yet another 15% off sitewide at Louis Poulsen, in case you’ve been eyeing another color of the Panthella; the Great Estate sale at Flamingo Estate, a rare selection of one-of-a-kind bath, pantry, and home items from the brand’s archive; 30% off select Saltair products at Ulta (the serum deodorant gets below $10); and 25% off sitewide at Vince with FF25 at checkout, including new season pieces like this turtleneck cape cardigan.
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So disappointing the uncritical endorsement of the Meta glasses.