By Louise Daniel
Where do the cool kids spend time together during Paris Fashion Week? Are they at Louis Vuitton or Saint Laurent? Or perhaps, are they even at fashion week at all?
Enfants Riches Déprimés is considered a living institution that still safeguards the very essence of punk, harkening back to the 80s when subversion and rebellion were not just codes of aesthetics but fully embodied by the members of the niche. Henri Alexander Levy, the originator of the ERD community, has always operated within the friction between fashion and culture. His inspirations often come from the least likely of places.
For Fall/Winter 2025, the collection drew breath from the concept of war—the Dionysian versus the Apollonian, toy soldiers with their cardboard tanks, and the art movement known as the Viennese Secession. Each season, the ERD archetypes evolve, nurtured by new and unexpected influences—whether from a torn page of a vintage magazine or a long-forgotten film. One thing remains certain: Henri Levy is a sculptor, literally and figuratively. His sculptures even loomed over the runway space. He recognizes his unique position in fashion, standing at the crossroad between subversion and assimilation. His taste, the primal core of ERD, remains authentic to its source. Levy creates simply because he must.
The New ERD Archetypes
Now, let us talk about the clothes. ERD has always carried an element of uniform. For Spring/Summer 2026, Levy fused preppy and punk, forging a new generation of ERD archetypes. 1980s military suiting was given a grunge twist, walking the tightrope between modernity and classicism. These archetypes embodied a spirit of rebellion—intoxicating to outsiders peering into the ERD universe, and natural to those who live within it. Even punk legend Richard Hell appeared on the runway in a Bordeaux-colored suit—cool, calm, and effortlessly collected. It was world-building done right. It was deliberate, instinctual, and deeply felt.
ERD Spring/Summer 2026 (Images courtesy of Louise Daniel)
Craft, as always, took precedence. Chain belts bearing the ERD insignia were draped around tailored suits and dresses. Iconography, an essential pillar of an ERD runway, appeared across accessories and garments, such as printed portraits of children, each image confronting the audience with the idea of innocence. A new collaboration with Jacques Marie Mage introduced wave-like silk neckties, paired with precision tailoring. Victorian references ran throughout the collection—18th-century collars, corseted silhouettes, and the romance of past eras reinterpreted through the ERD lens.
ERD Spring/Summer 2026 (Images courtesy of Louise Daniel)
Contrasts are never forced in the world of Enfants Riches Déprimés. They simply exist. The venue, the former abode of Karl Lagerfeld, carried an opulent air which was a sharp contradiction to the show’s brutal materials of leather, metal, and engraved horn. However, within this hardness, delicate Chantilly and Florentine lace emerged, softening the collection. It felt almost romantic, an unexpected tenderness within ERD’s chaos. Could this be a new spring/summer tradition for the brand? Perhaps. Much like their SS25 collection, held at Christie’s Auction House, this too felt like a deliberate choice to ritualize defiance with more than one perspective. True Punk, if there is such a thing, is limitless in nature.
The Aftermath: Cool Is A State Of Being
After the show, a soirée unfolded within the same venue, a gathering that perfectly encapsulated the ERD spirit. It was not about numbers or spectacle, but simply about authenticity. Of course, the crowd only consisted of “cool kids” who were not trying to be cool—they simply were. They moved with quiet confidence, each person embodying Henri’s ethos without the need for performance. Enfants Riches Déprimés remains a sanctuary for the few who understand that true subversion is about the lived experience beyond the aesthetics and through the ritualization of a philosophy.
ERD Spring/Summer 2026 (Images courtesy of Louise Daniel)
