Yonathan Carmel’s fall 2026 collection evolved smoothly from his summer lineup. That was the first to be conceived while he lived full time in an Italian village and had to do research about archival pieces from different periods.
The designer’s research is wide-reaching and intuitive. “It’s always about finding different pieces, different objects that I feel attracted to somehow,” Carmel said. But this season, he leaned further into men’s tailoring. A jacket shape from the 1950s might be mixed with a leather bomber silhouette from the ’80s.
“Somehow, I find this connection even though there is no real connection,” Carmel said. The conversation of disparate pieces wound into fall, when he also gleaned inspiration from the pride of place and identity that he found in nearby villages.
“It’s not universal, and it’s not digital,” Carmel said. “It’s not global in the contemporary meaning. It is like nationalism without a nation, almost.”
Channeling that, the designer used heavy tailoring and protective outerwear full of fine detailing. A wide-shouldered gray checked blazer and trousers, cinched at the ankles with ties, came with a white Oxford shirt and emerald green sweater.
A brown-and-black checkered woolen, calf-length jacket wrapped around the body to an asymmetric, swirling effect. There was one chunky woolen vest embroidered with a landscape, including houses, flowers, hills and trees. Another sweater, in beige with cables and a turtleneck, looked well-loved. It was worn with a long, dark brown skirt, lighter brown gloves and checkered woolen cap.
“It was interesting to mix all these details,” Carmel said. “It’s only about the details.” They made the past contemporary.