Aaron Esh used his first AllSaints collection to reposition the high-street label firmly in its East London DNA. The chief creative officer hosted a launch at the brand’s Jacks Place store in Spitalfields, unveiling the fall 2026 line and surrounding it with music, installation and the collaborators who shaped the campaign.
Guests arrived already wearing slim denims, sinewy slip dresses and leather and suede pieces from the collection, an immediate signal that Esh’s aesthetic translated straight from studio to street. Born and bred in London and a Central Saint Martins graduate, he populated the event with figures from his world: musicians, models, artists and stylists who embody the city’s contemporary cultural codes.
Installations throughout the store presented the campaign imagery shot by Alasdair McLellan, styled by Katy England and art directed by Jamie Reid. Campaign faces, including Kiki Willems, mingled with a roomful of collaborators: Aidan Zamiri, Bertie Brandes, Olivia Singer, Julia Hobbs, Stevie Sims and Saskia Lambert. Matthew Whitehouse, the former editor of The Face, attended; Esh served as a contributing editor at that title until its shuttering earlier this year. Davy Reed, the magazine’s former music director, was also present and has taken on curation of AllSaints’ in-store playlists.
The evening’s soundtrack and programming underlined the brand’s cultural pivot. Slauson Malone 1, the musical project of Jasper Marsalis, opened the night, followed by sets from Ledbyher and Sinn6r. Later Jonas Glöer and Charlie Gosling took over the decks. Food and drink were passed through the crowd, with dirty martinis, negronis and grapefruit fizz alongside burger sliders and truffle toasties.
The store itself became part installation, part theatre. Mannequins built for the night by Jodie Hill and John Allen were dressed in the collection and staged to read like partygoers, wigs askew, faux furs showing wear and skinny scarves dipped in champagne flutes. The staging suggested AllSaints will lean on experiential retail and cultural programming under Esh’s leadership. The launch also extended into publishing: Matthew Whitehouse edited a limited-edition zine, The Ram, slated for release during London Fashion Week.
