Jane Wade Makes It to the Top of The Summit

The designer gives a gorpcore element to office wear.

Photography by Hatnim Lee

Every season, we wonder how Jane Wade can outdo herself, yet she’s done it again in her Fall/Winter 2026 collection, The Summit. This season (and every season), each garment is a more elevated version of previous seasons. Wade is acclaimed for grandiose office wear; pin stripes, asymmetrical dresses and skirts, eloquent layers, pleats, exaggerated shoulders, hardware accessories, and incomparable denim.

The Summit brings Jane Wade to an even higher level (literally and figuratively) of office wear by fusing it with expedition wear. Wade lets go of the concept of control that is corporate wear and braces for the unexpected: the mountainous terrain. Fall/Winter 2026 shows just how functional high-performance utility wear can be. Wade continued her modular, contemporary silhouette with hourglass tailoring, boxy shoulders, multifunctional zippers and buttons, drapery, intricate knitwear, and convertible boots in collaboration with Sorel.

Photography by Hatnim Lee

The show began with a short film of an adventurer who attempts to trek up a mountain. In the midst of the expedition, she encounters an entity that resembles a traditional, indigenous mountain person, which ends up being one of the final looks in the runway show. The Summit was also in the works with Red Bull, HydroJug, and Gotham to marry the concepts of lifestyle, functionality, and leisure. The runway, lined with trees, dirt, and branches, immersed viewers into a world where The Summit is a dream-turned reality.

Each look tells a color story reminiscent of the outside elements, such as water, terrain, and the sky; natural hues of blue, tan, gray, black, brown, and white. Throughout the collection, elements of the avant-garde also take Jane Wade out of the office and into the world, including tent-shaped dresses made of the same durable nylon and tent stakes, crocheted dresses with hardware and beaded detailing, ballooned pockets, and multilayer fabrics and textures.

The Summit already makes us eager for what’s to come next season for Jane Wade. She’s already tackled themes such as capitalism, her upbringing roots, and the corporate world. Now that she has made it to the top of the mountain, it’s time to descend into untouched territory—what that entails can only be imagined through the creative lens that is Jane Wade.