For FW26, No. 21 began with intimacy – not through exposure, but through the idea of being observed. Creative director Alessandro Dell’Acqua looked to conceptual artist Sophie Calle and her 1981 project The Hotel, in which she worked as a chambermaid in Venice, discreetly documenting the private traces guests left behind. This met a cinematic reference: the closing marching band procession of 8½ by Federico Fellini, where surrealist chaos resolves into a fragile, collective order. The meeting point? An exploration of creativity and human nature – voyeuristic, yet tender.

The opening look set the tone with a crisp white men’s shirt, cool wool poplin trousers, and a black twinset. From there, silhouettes expanded and contracted with deliberate rhythm. Sack dresses with prim white collars stood in contrast to sculpted bustier gowns. Micro crop tops slipped beneath leather jackets. A mannish suit met a weightless cape. Kimono coats swung wide, offsetting sharply cut pencil skirts.

Despite the severity of the collection, there was shimmer: sequins, lamé, laminated paper fabrics. However this never verged into a spectacle of glitter, even the pink satin trims and black on pink brassières felt subtle and lived in. The accessories were an extension of this story, glittered shoes capped in satin, gold floral earrings, duchesse sashes and knit gloves. The Cabiria bag debuted as a practical medium-scale iteration.

Across the collection, a femininity emerged that was stripped of performance and attuned to real life – mid-thought, poised between structure and spontaneity.