MishaTolu Coker’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection brought the future by taking us back to a past. This past that wasn’t ours to experience, but one that belonged to our parents. From the moment the show began, it held me captive. A tapestry of history, identity, and resilience that somehow felt deeply personal. This collection stole the show for me in ways I can’t wait to unpack.
Coker, a British-Nigerian fashion and textiles designer based in London, has built her name on storytelling. After graduating from Central Saint Martins, she launched her brand and quickly gained recognition for her craftsmanship, weaving narratives about society, politics, and sustainability. Her work has been celebrated by artists such as Doechii and Tyla and spotlighted by major publications like Vogue and Sky News, amplifying her global reach. Each collection feels both intimate and monumental, bridging personal history with contemporary design.
This year’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection, which I like to call “A Time Survived, That Appeared Thrived” drew inspiration from Coker’s own mother, Olapeju, the muse of this collection. Framed in a gallery-like setting, the runway was lined with vintage diamond-print wallpaper and black-and-white family photographs that transported us to the late ’60s and ’70s UK. This was a time when division thrived and immigrants were even less welcome than today. The soundtrack, a blend of soft jazz and modern beats, layered nostalgic a energy, creating a full sensory immersion.
The collection itself was study in contrasts. Heavily textured fabrics and darker tones evoked history and struggle, while floral patterns and fluid silhouettes suggested vitality and hope. Every piece felt like a story, a memory, or a dream passed down from one generation to the next.
Favourite Looks and Standout Moments
Every look served vintage glamour through a modern lens. I had to narrow it down to my top three.
Starting with Look 3 – no pun intended – showcased a bold geometric print in warm oranges and browns, a motif that appeared several times throughout the show. This just so happened to be my favourite spin of it. The square neckline, cropped top, and mini skirt gave the outfit a youthful, boxy feel, contrasting with the circular patterns on the fabric. Coordinated gloves and a round bag elevated the ensemble, while the chunky circular necklace, reminiscent of elephant ivory, and confident orange court heels tied it all together. This look was quirky and funky, a true nod to the 70s mod aesthetic.
Look 14 channelled ’60s sophistication with a modern edge. Head-to-toe in chocolate brown houndstooth paired with glossy leather detailing created a seamless blend of sharpness and style. The look was another visual conversation between squares and circles suggesting control versus creativity. Finished with matching knee-high boots and a gloss detail in the beret, it gave a militant finish powerful, poised, and intentional.
They may have saved the best till last with Look 31, showing out with pure vintage bombshell energy. A full-length cobalt blue dress with white bust detailing and a thigh-high slit fused elegance with sensuality. The blue straps, baker boy hat, and matching pumps added a touch of high-society charm, wrapping the show in cinematic sophistication.
This collection perfectly depicted the late ’60s and ’70s while maintaining total relevance to 2025’s fashion landscape. Being transported back into this living room set stirred a strange sense of nostalgia in me like I wanted to remember more, as if I was even a thought back then! Hairstyles were sleek, bouncy, and conforming displaying conformity to Western influence.
What fascinated me most was the sequence of the looks. The early pieces leaned neutral, subtly contrasting or completely monochrome. Then came the transition, neutral to colourful contrasts, saturated leathers, playful silhouettes, and bursts of colour. The blacked-out look that followed felt like a moment of self-confrontation, a reset before self-actualisation to closing with the bold blue and white finale.
From start to finish, the collection carried an unapologetic spirit, symbolising not just the evolution of society, but of the self, the muse, Olapeju. Her name, meaning “wealth,” reframed the concept to encompass family, legacy, and culture. The collection’s story moved from youth and conformity to confidence and maturity, a mirror to both womanhood and history. It captured the shift from post-war minimalism and social tension in the late ’60s to the liberation and vibrancy of the ’70s.
Tolu Coker’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection honoured generational dreams, celebrated overlooked histories, and reminded us that identity and resilience can be expressed with both softness and strength. It was proof that the energy of the past is never lost; it’s alchemised, reborn through fashion, and carried forward through stories, textures, and memories.
It reminded me that some of the dreams we live today are the manifestations of the mothers before us. Dreams deferred but never denied therefore our actions not about trying but the duty of doing – no pressure! We relive their hopes through our own evolution, and that is the true beauty of legacy.
