BY JAY AQUINO

JANUARY 17, 2026

SHINYAKOZUKA’s Fall/Winter 2026 collection arrived at Pitti Uomo inside Florence’s Fortezza da Basso. The show unfolded across a floor buried in artificial snow, an austere intervention that transformed the industrial venue into a silent winter terrain. The atmosphere was immediate and uncompromising, melancholic, contemplative, calibrated to Shinya Kozuka’s internal logic rather than audience expectation.

Black anchored the palette, carrying the weight of deep winter and prolonged shadow. It was interrupted sparingly by white, sepia, navy, and occasional icy accents—tones that functioned as structural counterbalance. These shifts prevented the collection from collapsing into monotony while preserving its inward gravity.

IMAGE SOURCE: PITTI UOMO

Since founding his label in 2015 after Central Saint Martins, Kozuka has framed his work through what he describes as “picturesque scenery.” His references originate from private observation, solitary walks, handwritten notes, fleeting images, and resolve into garments that resist instant legibility.

This season’s central image was a single glove left behind in snow, a marker of presence within absence, suggesting orientation, memory, and forward motion. The strongest pieces carried this sensibility without illustration: long cape coats shifted from dense black at the shoulders into softened grey, the fabric shaped by frost and exposure. Needle-punched white flecks and uneven speckling suggested surface disturbance rather than pattern. Utility motifs recurred through layered aprons—some nodding to workwear, others reinterpreted in mohair or knit, blending function and tactility into sculpted forms.

One apron-overall hybrid stood apart, inscribed with handwritten fragments reading “Small trades co ltd. Youth is gone. Moon is there. Winter stands.” The language landed quietly but decisively, framing the collection’s fixation on time passing, objects left behind, and solitary movement.

IMAGE SOURCE: PITTI UOMO

IMAGE SOURCE: PITTI UOMO

Heavy mohair knits delivered tactile density and warmth. Oversized jackets in intricate black-and-white jacquards, geometric and folkloric in tone, layered over lean turtlenecks and wide trousers, created silhouettes both artisanal and controlled. A navy knitted cardigan, structured yet yielding, referenced tailoring lineage while paired with exaggerated wide-legged shorts, asserting proportion without concession.

The most commanding silhouette arrived in an oversized black wool coat: sharp collar, elongated lines, lower half erupting into a dense field of raised white spherical forms interspersed with metallic gold and shadowed shapes. Styled with metallic silver-grey tights and fur-trimmed boots, it achieved sculptural presence without theatrical excess.

Not every element held equal tension. A grey hoodie and track pant combination retreated into familiarity, momentarily easing the pressure the collection otherwise sustained.

SHINYAKOZUKA’s Fall/Winter 2026 offered atmosphere over narrative. In a season defined by noise and performative concepts, Kozuka reminded us that menswear thrives on discipline, poetry, and precision.

Discover the Shinyakozuka Fall/Winter 2026 collection here.