Genaro Rivas SS26: A Feast for Crows

The success of any fashion show lies in the details. The clothes may be what we come to see, but staging a great runway presentation is as much about atmosphere and timing as it is about silhouette and cut. It can often be more of a science than an art. When I stepped into the cool hush of the Swiss Church, greeted by the blast of expertly deployed air conditioning that washed away the rancour always associated with a muggy tube journey, I had the quiet sense that this was going to be a good one.

Genaro Rivas has been on my radar for a few seasons now. His work has always struck me as thoughtful and emotionally precise, so when I heard he’d clinched the Visa Young Creators Award (sadly at the expense of my sister) my interest only deepened. Any lingering bitterness quickly gave way to admiration; he is exactly the kind of designer the industry needs right now. With that in mind, I made my way to Covent Garden carrying a healthy amount of expectation, and the hope that I was about to witness something special.

These lofty predictions for what a Genaro Rivas show may entail were certainly met, and in many ways exceeded. His menswear debut, A Feast for Crows, marked not just a material shift, but a conceptual deepening of his design language. 

The collection, darkly poetic and impressively executed, leaned into denim’s grit and familiarity only to subvert it through radical, zero-waste pattern cutting, hand embroidery, and laser etched sigils lifted from 19th-century raven art.

The silhouettes felt deliberate and slow-burning; this wasn’t denim as Americana, but as ritual. One jacket, emblazoned with a spectral engraving of Havell’s Raven, looked like something you’d find in a museum of sustainable couture. 

Accessories made from discarded Lima metro uniforms brought a tactile, urban grit to the looks, while a raffia dress made from Peruvian market bags was a standout moment of ingenuity; fringed, sculptural, and regal.

Rivas’ rigorous dedication to circularity came through in every layer, from the repurposed textiles to the water-conscious treatments. The fact that 95% of the labour behind the garments was led by women across London and Peru added weight to the show’s ethical backbone; this wasn’t sustainability as marketing veneer, but as muscle.

Crows, those messengers of transformation, became emblems of rebirth in Rivas’ hands. Their presence was everywhere, whether embroidered across shoulder panels or hidden in folds of denim like protective talismans. It all felt a bit magical.

With original music by Kai Brophy swelling through the vaulted ceilings, and a tightly directed vision from the likes of Richard Phillipart on hair and Manuel De Castro on makeup, the show truly took flight; atmospheric, unapologetically moody, and deeply considered.

Now in his fifth consecutive season showing in London, Rivas has solidified his position not just as a rising designer to watch, but as a necessary one. There’s a clarity to his work, even when it’s layered in symbolism. And more importantly, there’s a soul.

You can see the full article at: https://thecoldmagazine.co.uk/genaro-rivas-ss26-a-feast-for-crows/?fbclid=PAdGRleAMj9RxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABp0OJ8rpT3gyjCdX3r2W8l-29Sh8Aqwxj9RZtl4nRE8MgoKG_aEhz3UQyLJQH_aem_TF8skm5MMvhqHQ5hB82wYg