Fashion is a conversation that allows designers like Biyan Wanaatmadja to share thoughts directly with those who wear his work. Through needle and thread, Biyan muses upon the mundane and the fantastical: the smooth finish of shell buttons and the practicality of a hidden zipper meeting strong opinions on the strength of nature and the magic of light. It is not difficult to discern Biyan’s point of view from his dramatic, highly-stylized collection: sometimes beauty should exist purely for beauty’s sake.
For Biyan, embroidery is a particularly powerful method of storytelling—embodied in a skill that represents the character and circumstances of its creator. In this delivery for Fall/Winter 2026, his stitching is instinctive and organic, as if the embellishments were rooted and growing in vines from the fabric itself. Even on the black silk of his jacket and coat selection for the season, light picks up across the glossy hand-beaded florals for a bas-relief effect. While we have seen Biyan play many times with appliqué… here, he seems to be working with light itself.
Notable in this collection is the presence of kain songket, a traditional woven fabric from Indonesia made by hand-weaving silk or cotton with gold threads to create intricate patterns—a technique similar to jacquard. This technique creates a “jeweled” effect without the need for additional embellishment, allowing Biyan to play with light without weighing down the draping. blah.
In the words of the designer, the pieces of this collection “[carry] sophistication with a playful ease and elegance that speaks with clarity, without pretense.” By combining Indonesian crafting traditions, such as fine applique, batik and woven motifs, with European tailoring and couture references, Biyan crafts a collection that is all at once out of this world, and at the same time the very essence of it.
Glam it Up with Diamonds & Dries
Tone it Down with Shells & Marsèlls
