Clara Chu made her debut at London Fashion Week for AW26, returning to the core of the brand’s practice and circular philosophy. It asks, what do we do with all of this stuff? With objects, with the man-made, with the natural world, with everything we live amongst. How can we co-exist with all of these things? Taking mundane mass-produced household items and elevating them through play and experimentation into new and unexpected contemporary design is at the heart of the Clara Chu brand. This season focuses on one: the plan and simple elastic band.
Cheap, functional, easy to ignore; but it binds, holds, connects. Mass-produced but never identical — different tension, thickness, colour. Some snap quickly, some last for years. When you find a “good” one, you know it straight away. Strong, reliable, just right. There’s satisfaction in that small difference, that discovery amidst the ordinary. Designed to be temporary, yet often enduring, elastic stretches, adapts and keeps working. Over time it carries the marks of use. Rubber, elasticity and flexibility shape this season. Pieces loop, flex and fasten. Components can be added, removed or swapped. Upholstery offcuts, oven mitts, jar seal rings, bathrobes and carpet samples are brought into the mix. Accessories shift over time, changed through use. Elastic.
Handwritten Notes brings Clara Chu back to its DIY foundations, pushing the everyday into elevated design-led spaces without losing their everyday feel. The big idea this season? We make a lot of things. We live with them. They don’t just disappear. We continue to live with them once we’re done. How can the natural and the man-made co-exist with us, and how can we handle what we’ve already created with a bit more thoughtfulness, a bit more creativity, and a lot more play.
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