YAKU AW26: READY, PLAYER, FIGHT
YAKU STAPLETON NEGOTIATES WITH REALITY THROUGH COMBAT IN HIS FOURTH INSTALLMENT AT LONDON FASHION WEEK. ZA SENOI SHARES HER THOUGHTS.
Written by Za Senoi
Edited by Gabriel Mealor-Pritchard
Photography by Christian Tuckwell Smith
“We’re trying to make art that responds to the world rather than simply offering hope, because hope alone doesn't drive change”, read the show notes of Yaku Stapleton's AW26 presentation, Evolution of Combat.
This collection acts as an effort to bridge the gap between reality and the role-playing game-inspired narrative that Stapleton has been building since his MA at Central Saint Martins in 2023. Previous iterations of this world have echoed the video game-adjacent sentiment of escape – of offering refuge from the real world through an adventure in a distant land. However, for AW26, the team “realised that limitlessness cannot sensibly produce only positive outcomes.”
Each YAKU collection is based around members of the Family, characters created largely based on Stapleton's own relatives. “The story this season focuses on two brothers, the protectors and warriors of the Family. Our research looked into combat; the beauty and discipline that comes with it, but also exploring what happens when the motives behind it change,” Stapleton told Asthetik amid the aftermath of his presentation.
The team takes a layered approach to portraying combat, a central aspect for RPGs and, really, video games at large. The show is divided into a four-act structure, following the narrative of warrior Télavani – the inhabitants of the YAKU universe – navigating the challenges of their universe.
Though Stapleton has been known to world-build in previous seasons, this collection kicked things up a notch. The universe constructed in the basement of 180 Strand enveloped attendees in a sensorially immersive experience. In the dimly lit hall, stalagmites emerge from the floors urging guests to stay on high alert and watch their step. Around the runway path, Télavani characters frozen in motion: some resting in battle formation, others scaling pillars or sword fighting while hanging from the ceiling.
Ominous music floods the space as a faceless, flowing figure draped in black cotton fabric strips walks through, beckoning a disembodied narration that booms through the space. This characteristic directly references RPGs – the game will always guide its player through opportunities and storylines. The narrator then sits back, among the audience, allowing for the first characters to descend upon the runway.
The first act's pieces are free-flowing. Ultra-wide trousers and loose t-shirts allow for movement, while airbrushed muscles and 3-D printed Hulk-like gloves signal confrontation. The performers (as they cannot be described uniquely as models) dance as if the Télavani are training for a battle. Stapleton drew heavily on movement inspiration from Caribbean martial arts and the intersection of fight and play. This act's oversized clothes lend themselves to the eagerness in each motion, while simultaneously acting as armour for cartwheeling soldiers.
The music quiets, the narrator stands, and Act Two begins. The score becomes more upbeat and whimsical, as do the dancer's movements. Each now carries a weight on their back – whether a recognisably ready-to-wear backpack or a protruding mound concealed by a moss-green cape. In this section, Stapleton also introduces the brand's upcoming collaboration with Nike. The look in question, a full tracksuit in classic grey jersey, brings the collection's visual language starkly back into the real world. “Previously, we worked to balance reality and fantasy within each garment, aiming to hit somewhere in the middle. This season, we experimented with separating them,” the show notes acknowledge.
Though it is encouraging to see an industry titan like Nike collaborating with the new generation of designers, this look stood out in its simplicity. In contrast with the dramatic, gathered silhouettes that precede it, the ensemble would benefit from ludic styling elements that incorporate it more seamlessly into the rest of the collection.
