Karina Bond: A/W26 | VIVARIUM

SøEdited Team
Article: Astrid Kearney
SøEditor-in-Chief: Chris Saint Sims 
​SøFashion Director: Savannah Barthorpe

In VIVARIUM, Karina Bond imagines fashion as something rarer than luxury: a living relic. Eight looks, destined for eight wearers, each garment meeting its host once before retreating into archive silence. Sculptural silhouettes emerge through 3D printing, hand-painted feathers, sustainable leathers and gilded organza, pulsing in a palette of incendiary red against bruised purple and burning orange.

Nature threads through the work. Inspired by the beetle specimens seen at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Bond created her own scarab motifs, translating the jewel-like armour of insects into sculptural embellishments, a quiet homage to the beauty of nature.

The collection also celebrates innovation and sustainability. Bond debuts her new line of 3D printed handbags in Dial 8, crafted with zero waste, lined with velvet microfibre and featuring a unique opening mechanism. Each bag embodies her commitment to responsible design, honouring the principles of zero waste while maintaining a sense of refined artistry.

Hair, led by Efi Davies with the Toni and Guy session team, moved with lacquered chignons, flicks and polished  glass fringes precisely separated to create a sense of motion. Hair as sculpture rather than ornament. Makeup by Lan Nguyen-Grealis using Kryolan delivered glossed skin, minimal brows, gilded eyes or orbs of radiating burnt browns or silvered lilac washes on inner and outer lids,, accented with a fine elongated red liner and fine red lashes at outer zones to that pull the gaze outward. Long high glossed almond nails by Giulia Oldani were ombre or red with radiating gilded rivets up the centre adding to the visual storytelling.

Bond’s dialogue between craft and technology continues to evolve. 3D printed structures sit alongside hand-painted and embellished textiles that hover between armour and ornament. The collection carries tension and intimacy, a subtle whisper of the post-apocalyptic creeping into her vision. In VIVARIUM, fashion is not merely worn; it is inhabited briefly, remembered, and then preserved like a rare specimen, fleeting and unforgettable.

Anna Huang

Credits

P.R : Cellar Communications
Lead Makeup : Lan Nguyan -Grealis  using Kryolan
​Styling : Borna Prikaski
Nails : Giulia Oldani using Orly
Lead Hair  : Effi Davies with Toni & Guy Session Team using Lable M
illustrator : Anna Huang (Dolls in a row)
Jewellery : Vicki Sarge London
Footwear : Natacha Marro
Set Design : Liv Snowden
Photography : Astrid Kearney