LFW SS26: VIN + OMI on their 'world-first' textile innovation and striking sustainable showcase
Norfolk-based eco-designers VIN + OMI made a striking return to London Fashion Week with DYSPHORIANA, debuting a "world-first" collaboration with King Charles III.
Unveiled last night, the show delivered a powerful and creative reflection of today’s global mood - exploring the widespread chaos and anarchy, and their social and environmental impacts.
"This collection had a few inspirations. DYSPHORIANA seemed an appropriate choice, given the global unrest - we are walking around in a constant sense of unease," VIN told TheIndustry.fashion.
"We are living in a very complex time, where it's difficult to go about normal life without being constantly exposed to global trauma - environmental, political, and emotional. We wanted to create a dark collection, but introduce a burst of colour in the middle of the catwalk show to indicate that life goes on."
Jo Wood, Jane Moore and Prue Leith walk on the catwalk during Vin & Omi SS26 Showcase
Describing the collection in three words, VIN said: "Moody, complex, impactful." As part of the show, Dame Prue Leith returned to the catwalk for the fourth time, once again joined by Loose Women regular and journalist Jane Moore, as well as eco advocate Jo Wood.
Most notably, as part of their ongoing collaboration with the King, the designers also unveiled yet another world-first in sustainable textile innovation - crafted from plant waste sourced at Sandringham.
Their latest creation is a lightweight, fine textile made from red-barked dogwood, a woody shrub native to Siberia and China. VIN + OMI have not only transformed the plant’s fibre into fabric but have also repurposed its vibrant red bark as a natural dye.
This fabric represents VIN + OMI’s third "world-first" in eco textile innovation from the Sandringham estate, following their work with chestnut leather and Butterbur-based fabric.
Though primarily based in Norwich, the design duo have been working in collaboration with King Charles - long admired for his commitment to sustainability - since 2019, continually pushing the boundaries of what sustainable fashion can look and feel like.
"We have a great relationship with the team at Sandringham who are always coming up with new waste materials for us to explore to underpin our collaboration with King Charles," revealed VIN.
In addition to red-barked dogwood, the DYSPHORIANA collection featured an array of other innovative materials transformed into textiles, including nettle and wood clippings. Further pushing the boundaries of sustainable fashion, used milk cartons from Sandringham were also recycled into a thin, paper-like textile.
Prue Leith walks on the catwalk
Continuing their collaborations with large institutions to explore innovative approaches to recycling and eco development, VIN + OMI extended their long-term partnership with RAF Brize Norton, transforming discarded plastic and parachutes into fashion pieces - including a recycled parachute gown worn by Dame Prue Leith.
The duo also partnered with art supply giant Daler-Rowney, turning waste paint tubes into bold print dresses that featured on the catwalk.
It further embraced circular fashion by reworking second-hand garments from the British Heart Foundation. Using eco dyes and sustainable processes, vintage dresses and suits were repurposed with a fresh, modern edge.
"The collaboration holds personal significance for the designers, particularly in light of OMI’s recent heart attack, making their support for the BHF especially meaningful," the show notes read.
Recycled wedding dresses were dyed with blood red Eco dyes to signify "the end of many marriages and relationships in war torn areas".
"We wanted to throw in a few shocks on the catwalk, which is why we also had a model running in a wedding dress twice around the runway. Some models did two circuits of the catwalk, along with shock nudity and imagery, to mirror how day-to-day life feels now," shared Vin.
Another piece on the catwalk was a white dress crafted from waste textiles and linen sourced from the host venue, art'otel Hoxton. This collaboration marked the beginning of a new partnership, with VIN + OMI appointed as art'otel Hoxton’s official ambassadors.
Speaking about why continuous innovation is vital to both their creative process and the future of fashion, VIN said: "We have the flexibility and freedom to play and explore in many different ways to create brand-new fabrics. This research is passed on to the wider public at no cost - just to show them what’s possible. Education is a valuable part of our work, and disseminating our research and textile development is what we’re all about."
He concluded: "We're unique and sit outside the commercial machine of London Fashion Week. We’re also opposed to many of the ways young designers are encouraged to overproduce and, in effect, create debt before they’ve even found their feet.
"For those reasons, we choose not to show on the official London Fashion Week schedule. It’s easier for us to present at the start of the week, when international press are in the country and the focus is already on fashion."
