There are collections that simply present clothes, and then there are collections that ask us to reconsider the way we think about fashion. ANCIELA’s SS27 Collection, ‘ROOTS’, belongs firmly to the latter.
Presented during London Fashion Week on 17 September at Regent Quarter, King’s Cross, the London-based sustainable luxury womenswear label brought together catwalk fashion, material innovation, installation, sound and live performance in an immersive exploration of ancestry, motherhood, memory and our increasingly urgent relationship with the natural world.
At the heart of the collection is the complex relationship between mother and daughter, a bond shaped by love, protection and the passing down of knowledge, but one that can also carry tension, difficulty and inherited trauma. For Colombian-Chilean interdisciplinary designer Jennifer Droguett Espinosa, this relationship becomes a powerful metaphor for humanity’s relationship with Mother Earth. It is an idea that gives ROOTS both emotional depth and a very tangible purpose.
The collection moves between past, present and future: what we inherit, what we do with what we have now, and what we must create for those who come next. It is an approach that feels particularly relevant to fashion, an industry increasingly being asked to reconsider not simply what it makes, but what it uses, wastes and leaves behind.
ANCIELA has developed an adaptive approach to tailoring in which garments are designed to change with the wearer rather than becoming disposable when circumstances change. Adjustable panels, detachable sleeves and interconnected layers can be tied, knotted and repositioned around the body, allowing silhouettes to evolve with movement and shape. This is tailoring with flexibility at its core, contemporary, experimental and highly considered, while addressing practical questions of fit, comfort and longevity. The brand describes its ethos as “Functional and Fun,” and that philosophy is evident in the way the pieces are conceived. These are garments intended to be worn, altered, lived in and loved rather than simply admired for a season.
The approach also reflects ANCIELA’s belief that a garment’s story is not limited to its visual inspiration. It includes the materials from which it is made, the people involved in its creation and what happens to it once it leaves the studio.
For SS27, ANCIELA combines materials with histories of their own. Among the collection’s textiles are vintage silk donated by artist Allegra Hicks, rescued wool suiting from Orsola de Castro, deadstock cottons, certified Tencel and recycled cotton. The decision to work with existing materials rather than automatically beginning with new resources is central to the label’s circular design philosophy. Recycling and upcycling are not treated as an afterthought; they are considered from the beginning of the design process.
The ANCIELA ‘ROOTS’ Collection also looks forward, introducing a series of next-generation materials developed through collaborations with innovators working at the intersection of fashion, science and nature. One of the most intriguing is AlgaFila, a fibre made using seaweed extract, air and nanotechnology. Used across knitwear and padded garments, the material is lightweight and thermally insulating, offering an alternative to conventional padding and yarns. There is also Savigne by Planet of the Grapes, an animal-free, plant-based leather alternative made from pressed grape skins, stalks and seeds left over from winemaking. The material is sourced directly from organic and biodynamic vineyards in Provence in the South of France, giving agricultural waste another life within fashion.
Even the colour story has an ecological dimension. The ‘ROOTS’ Collection features abstract fern motifs inspired by the layered darkness of jungles and deep forests. These are created using a black bio-based pigment developed by Octarine, a synthetic biology platform exploring low-impact solutions inspired by nature. For ANCIELA, these collaborations are about more than sourcing innovative fabrics. They provide an opportunity to explore how fashion can become a meeting place for experimentation, education and the exchange of knowledge. Perhaps one of the most compelling expressions of the brand’s circular thinking was found beyond the garments themselves.
At the centre of the presentation was ANCIELA’s Upcycled Sound Cocoon, an interactive installation created from reclaimed foam, wadding and fabric offcuts collected from the studio over five years. First presented at the Design Museum in 2025, the Cocoon was given new life for the SS27 presentation and was accompanied by a new sonic composition by artist Yasmin Rai. The result connected the physicality of discarded materials with sound and the natural world, encouraging visitors to think about ecological systems that exist both visibly and invisibly from the hidden life of soil to the changing landscapes of the Amazon. It is also indicative of a wider practice at ANCIELA. Materials that are no longer suitable for garments are not necessarily considered waste. Set designs for shows and campaigns are made from reclaimed and otherwise unusable materials, allowing them to continue their stories in a different form.
This philosophy extends beyond the catwalk, too. ANCIELA operates a take-back scheme for its garments, alongside a Re-fresh and Repair service, designed to keep pieces in circulation, extend their lifespan and ensure that clothing is not simply discarded when it needs attention.
The presentation itself was structured as a piece of multidisciplinary storytelling. Directed by filmmaker Marie Lanna with artist Luzmira Zerpa, the live performance unfolded across three acts exploring ancestry, connection, transformation and regeneration. Here, clothing became part of a larger conversation about identity, migration, tradition and the environment, themes that have been woven through Jennifer Droguett Espinosa’s work since she founded ANCIELA in London in 2019.
Her Colombian-Chilean heritage informs a practice rooted in South American folklore, childhood memories and migration, while experimental tailoring provides the language through which those ideas are translated into contemporary womenswear. Music, movement, installation and clothing therefore exist alongside one another rather than separately. This is fashion as a cultural and educational platform, as much as a design discipline.
Since its foundation, ANCIELA has consistently expanded the idea of what a sustainable fashion label can be. Alongside collections, the brand has developed installations, augmented reality experiences, performances, workshops and panel discussions, all intended to encourage more conscious engagement between designers, makers, consumers and the wider fashion industry. That commitment has increasingly brought wider recognition. In 2026, ANCIELA was selected as one of the Visa Young Creators x Global Fashion Agenda winners and presented its work at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen. The brand was also selected for Fashion Britain, the British Fashion Council initiative showcasing British fashion talent.
The collection celebrates community, tradition, music and design while confronting questions around immigration, identity, inheritance and our shared responsibility towards the environment. And perhaps that is what makes ANCIELA’s approach particularly interesting. Sustainability here is not presented as a visual trend or a single fabric choice. It is embedded in the way a garment is conceived, constructed, worn, repaired, transformed and ultimately remembered.
In the ANCIELA ‘ROOTS’ Collection, the past is not something to leave behind. It becomes material for the future.
by Kim Grahame
Fashion Editor
Photos Marcus Hartelt
