Andrej Gronau’s Fall/Winter 2026 collection ROOM-FOR-PLAY unfolded as a considered exploration of how space shapes clothing. Presented during Berlin Fashion Week, the runway moved through a domestic setting, an Altbau apartment whose rooms, textures, and transitions framed the pace of the show. The environment was not treated as a backdrop, but as a guiding structure, shaping how silhouettes appeared, how bodies moved, and how garments were read. The collection drew from the interior as a lived system. Domestic space appeared as a place where taste unfolds differently, where ornament, comfort, and personal codes coexist without hierarchy. Carpets, curtains, blankets, and their ornamental patterns entered the wardrobe as references, translated into fabric, proportion, and surface. The runway traced a movement through rooms, allowing garments to settle into space rather than announce themselves.

To understand how ROOM-FOR-PLAY came together, we spoke with Andrej Gronau about the memories, materials, and spatial decisions that shaped the collection. His reflections move between personal observation and design method, tracing how interior space, ornament, and comfort became structural elements rather than references. His words are woven into the show’s reading, offering insight into a collection built from lived environments and emotional continuity.

What was the first image or feeling that sparked this collection?

The collection began with images of stucco and ornamentation that I photographed in an old villa during my grandmother’s birthday. Those details stayed with me and led me toward researching old colour catalogues and trend forecasts from the 1960s. At the same time, I found myself having many conversations about interiors, Victorian dollhouses, and comfort. We talked about how so much of life and social activity has moved indoors. That combination of decorative interiors, domestic space, and the feeling of being inside became the starting point of the collection.

How did the space and format of the show influence how you built the collection?

The space and format of the show directly shaped how the collection was built. Knowing that the presentation would take place in a domestic setting allowed me to push certain design decisions further. The silhouettes became softer and more playful, proportions more intimate, and details more tender. I felt freer to embrace sweetness, ornament, and comfort because the collection was never meant to exist in a neutral or anonymous space. This way of designing influenced everything from how pieces were layered to how materials were used. Clothing was built to feel lived-in rather than performative.

The collection grew in dialogue with the idea of being inside a house rather than on a traditional runway. The setting itself was present in my thinking very early on. I knew I didn’t want a conventional runway in an industrial hall. The concept was rooted in ideas of the dollhouse, being at home, and inviting people into a salon-like environment. The final location reflected this perfectly. Much like a dollhouse, no room was the same. Different floors, walls, colours, and ornamental details created a sequence of intimate spaces. A specially composed soundtrack echoing familiar domestic sounds reinforced this atmosphere. The set did not just frame the collection, it helped everyone involved immerse themselves more deeply into the world of the show. Music, space, models, hair, make-up, and clothing fed into one another, allowing the concept to fully unfold.

Which materials and techniques mattered most this season, and why those?

The materials this season were essential in translating the ideas of interior and comfort into clothing. Some of them were new for me, but they felt necessary. We worked with velour and brocade in metallic finishes and muted pastel tones, as well as satin and velvet. These are textures often associated with furniture, curtains, or carpets. The intention was to reference decorated interiors without the garments ever feeling like upholstery. In contrast, we also used materials such as wool, loden, mohair, French terry, and fleece. These fabrics bring the idea of comfort back to the body and recall blankets, cushions, and homewear. Rather than representing specific objects, the looks create a scenario. Someone wearing comfort-driven clothing inside a house filled with stucco, floral wallpapers, and velour furniture. In terms of technique, elastic waistbands and soft belt constructions played a key role, allowing garments to hold the body gently rather than restrict it. Many buttons were hand-covered to maintain a sense of softness while still introducing a level of exclusivity and luxury. Comfort was never compromised, but it was carefully refined.

Footwear feels especially considered in your work. What role does it play in shaping the silhouette and the mood of a collection?

I really believe in the idea of a full look, where every detail comes from the same world. Shoes, accessories, gloves, scarves, hats. For me, they are never an afterthought. Often a collection starts with a muse or a persona, and for me that process frequently begins with accessories, knitwear, and especially footwear. This season, the dollhouse reference played a key role. When you think of dollhouses, you immediately think of Mary Janes or ballerinas. I’m quite certain the collection would not have translated in the same way if we had worked with an external shoe sponsor or used branded sneakers. That can work in other contexts, but for this silhouette and this narrative, it felt essential to control that element.

The footwear helped shape the proportions of the looks. Strongly layered outfits benefited from flat, shorter shoes that allowed socks and colour to remain visible, such as Mary Janes or ballerinas. Looks that were less layered but closer to the body needed a different kind of grounding, which is where the boots came in. They helped the body still feel dressed and held. Colour is also very important to me, and shoes offer an opportunity to introduce an additional splash of colour where a look might need it. Overall, footwear helps create cohesion. For me, that sense of cohesiveness is crucial to how a collection comes together.

What does the idea of a “vacuum” mean to you in the context of your work?

When I think about the idea of a vacuum, I associate it with preservation. For me, it means holding onto and protecting a certain artistic DNA or point of view. The brand is currently going through a strong turning point. It feels more mature, more considered, and it also comes with a new set of expectations about what people think my work should be. In that context, the idea of a vacuum becomes important. It’s about maintaining what feels essential to me while allowing the work to evolve. I hope that moving forward, I can preserve a sense of playfulness within that growth, and continue to surprise people without losing what makes the work feel honest.

On the runway, the collection unfolded with a precise internal rhythm. Knitwear, tailored jackets, shorts, and layered separates appeared in calibrated proportions, attentive to how bodies occupy space over time. Nothing felt rushed or declarative. Garments moved with a sense of continuity, allowing each look to register before giving way to the next. The effect was cumulative rather than episodic.

What distinguished the collection was not any single gesture, but the way elements aligned. Silhouettes, surfaces, and colour worked in sequence, forming a visual syntax that evolved across the runway. Knit structures softened tailoring without dissolving it. Proportions adjusted incrementally. Texture and volume circulated between looks, creating a sense of progression that relied on nuance rather than contrast. Clothing communicated through proximity and repetition, establishing coherence through relation. Footwear played a crucial role in stabilising this language. Mary Janes, ballerinas, and boots grounded the collection’s shifting proportions, shaping how the body met the floor. The strapped and laced constructions of the Mary Janes introduced structure without rigidity, allowing socks, hosiery, and colour to remain active within the silhouette. Their presence carried a note of wit and lightness that resonated across the collection. Boots, more compact in stance, provided counterbalance where silhouettes drew closer to the body, subtly adjusting posture and pace.

Material choices deepened this system. French terry extended into elongated trousers, velour and velvet absorbed light, and wool and mohair added density without weight. Brocade recalling ornamental stucco appeared not as decoration, but as surface logic, bringing architectural texture into motion. Colour moved with restraint and confidence: saturated yellows, turquoise, mint, and gold circulated through the collection, offset by muted greys associated with everyday uniform. These tonal shifts operated quietly, passing between garments and accessories without hierarchy. Accessories completed the framework. Socks, gloves, scarves, and knit elements were integrated as part of the silhouette, extending the collection’s internal logic across the body. Nothing functioned in isolation. Each component responded to the others, creating a sense of garments existing in dialogue rather than display.

ROOM-FOR-PLAY articulated a way of dressing shaped by interior life. Comfort emerged as an intentional stance, privacy as a form of assurance, and taste as something that unfolds through everyday use. Andrej Gronau’s Fall/Winter 2026 collection presented clothing that carries memory, colour, and proportion forward, allowing garments, footwear, and accessories to move together through space and experience.