Eighteen is a big year. Children are sprung into independence, given the chance to embrace liberation while forced to confront the realities of adulthood. For his eighteenth collection, Alejandro Gómez Palomo reflects on the rites of the milestone—freedom, maturity, and transformation—both in life and in design. Returning to the MBFW calendar, he trades his familiar New York backdrop for Madrid’s storied Palace Hotel, staging an intimate Spring/Summer 2026 presentation.

Courtesy of Palomo

Palomo joins a lineage of contemporary coming-of-age works, referencing Sofia Coppola’s iconic filmography and distinct aesthetic. The adolescent trope of self-discovery, which has thematically painted many of Coppola’s films—The Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, and Priscilla—is referenced throughout, from the nostalgic, soft soundtrack to the powdery pastel color palette and intimate fabrics.

The foundation of the collection, an opaque, stark white, first presented as a pristine babydoll frock, is gradually phased out. As the collection evolves and the white fabrics fade, the girlish innocence once present in the introduction takes on a more womanly shape. Women’s silhouettes begin to bear puffed, exaggerated hips, while the men’s gain prominence in the shoulders—with maturity comes freedom. In tandem, an iconic symbol of vulnerability and new beginnings, the bunny, is represented through pillbox caps, which transition into audacious oversized neckties and dramatic belts.

Courtesy of Palomo

“It has a lot to do with leaving the town where we have always been and where we started Palomo—leaving the workshop, leaving your home,” says Alejandro Gómez Palomo. “Even with beginning to distance yourself from that family nucleus you’ve been attached to your whole life. We see it reflected in the characters of the collection, but in reality, it also speaks a lot about us, the Palomo team.”

Courtesy of Palomo

Courtesy of Palomo

Courtesy of Palomo