Like other designers this season, Maria McManus was considering the feeling of being “wrapped in a cocoon for the road ahead and how we can protect ourselves and each other.” Her label is not one of experimental clothes—she does the experimentation through her sustainable fabrics and materials—and so the “cocoon” she was thinking about was more metaphorical. A coat with a built-in scarf to wrap across the body; an extra-long, extra-soft scarf in her signature egg yolk yellow shade; a versatile oversized vest that ties at the side made from responsible alpaca; another luxurious coat in responsible mohair with voluminous pleats in the back.

Because McManus puts sustainability at the forefront, her collections have become a window of sorts into the kind of textile advancements that are currently available in the industry. What’s been most interesting about watching her develop over the last few years is seeing how her creativity and vision have expanded each season and the ways that she continues to work with factories and mills to improve the materials with which she works, like the recycled jacquard polka dot of a dress with long sleeves worn over a pair of wide-leg satin trousers. The styling of her pieces felt easy and modern.

Since her spring 2025 collection, she has injected a new softness in her clothes, which this season included lace pieces inspired by French Dentelle de Calais-Caudry, a “200-year-old lace that is actually certified and protected by the French government because it’s this artisanal craft.” It looked especially great as trim on the inside of a jacket sleeve for a bit of romanticism, and also as an underlayer on a recycled silk skirt in a nod to the ’90s.