Lorena Pipenco’s Lalele: “A Naive Hero’s Journey” | NYFW Spring/Summer 2026

Lorena Pipenco presents Lalele, “A Naive Hero’s Journey” — a fashion show inspired by the 1965 Romanian film De-a Fi Harap Alb. In the film, a young prince, underestimated by all, sets out on a fantastical quest across two divided kingdoms of land and water. Despite doubt and conflict, he succeeds not through strength or strategy, but through unlikely luck, quiet resilience, and sincere kindness, even in the face of danger.

Within a fashion system often constrained by commerce and capitalism, designers are pressured to prioritize marketability over vision. Yet Pipenco resists this push, reminding us that fashion need not abandon storytelling or whimsy. What some dismiss as frivolous—fantastical, dreamlike, or even “silly” garments, becomes, in Pipenco’s hands, a portal for reimagining ourselves.

Her collection mirrors the young prince’s sincerity, creating a sense of peace, understanding, and healing in response to hyper-capitalized production cycles. The garments fuse armor with tenderness: hand-felted stripes, enlarged maramè structures, and yarn-knotted cascades evoke folkloric weight. A floor-length gown constructed from 900 lemon peels embodied both whimsy and edge, while one of the most striking looks — a red-and-white backless dress paired with an enlarged cream mushroom like hat, played with fantasy proportions, balancing femininity and sex appeal.

The palette, drawn from food and memory, awakened hunger, nostalgia, and joy. Baker’s cream suggested the warmth of something homemade and imperfect. Apple red conveyed temptation and bravery. Meanwhile, playful pastels — mint green, grape, candyfloss pink, blueberry blue — brought a sugar-coated defiance, while forest green grounded the collection in mystery and growth.

Prestigious and established houses could learn much from Pipenco’s approach: how to stage a runway that balances wearable ready-to-wear with avant-garde artistry, and how to highlight a designer’s breadth of technique while keeping storytelling at the center. Pipenco’s vision shows how fashion can extend beyond the runway into exhibitions and curations, inviting audiences to fully immerse themselves in the brand.

The work also holds the potential to thrive in innovative spaces such as the metaverse, where people seek liberation and the freedom to create fantasies beyond the constraints of reality. Lalele reminds us that resilience, kindness, and imagination can be radical forces in fashion.

Melquan Ganzy