What Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet Taught Lueder’s SS26 Collection

"The designer’s runway was a sunburnt spectacle of erotic charge and simmering tension, translating the film’s feverish energy into a wardrobe for a new generation."

Hooded tops and washed-out shorts set the show's medieval sportswear tone

A deconstructed hoodie with sun-bleached fabric captured the collection's dystopian mood

A medieval hood and graphic print channelled the collection's rebellious, carnival spirit

Draped jersey and drawstrings created a fluid silhouette, hinting at tender masculinity

"Washed-out hues and hooded silhouettes merged sportswear with a raw, medieval feeling."

For her SS26 collection, “Convivium,” Marie Lueder invited London Fashion Week to a feast. It was a chaotic, theatrical banquet where models walked a dining table runway, ringed by guests and littered with smashed wine glasses. The title gestures towards community, but Lueder’s interpretation was charged with the friction of a medieval carnival and the simmering class tension of her ironic mantra, “Eat the Rich!”. This was a wardrobe designed for the convergence of devotion and desire, dystopia and the dance floor.

The collection proposed a uniform for this world, built from Lueder’s signature medieval-inflected sportswear. Recycled T-shirts and vintage football kits were reworked with intricate shirring, while protective outerwear was reshaped by drawstrings. The palette of “muted doomsday Venice Beach” featured shades of sunburnt asphalt, wine-stain red, and washed-out neutrals, suggesting both ruin and renewal. Monastic hoods and draped layers hinted at historical dress, but the feeling was grounded in a raw, contemporary reality.

Layered graphic tees with primal wolf imagery told a story of instinct and decay

Mythical graphics of castles and horses grounded the collection's fantasy in streetwear

High collars and wrapped layers continued the designer's theme of "mind armour" as protection

A technical bomber and futuristic glasses showed the influence of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet

"Layered graphics of myth and nature met technical outerwear for a modern, dystopian feel"

The collection’s cinematic ancestor is undoubtedly Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. The connection is not literal but methodological; both Lueder and Luhrmann thrive on the anachronistic clashing of the sacred and the profane, the historical and the immediate. The film’s feverish heat and its blend of Catholic devotion with teenage abandon find their echo in Lueder's work. Sheer fabrics suggested a raw sensuality, oversized silhouettes carried a hint of drag exuberance, and the clash of historical hoods with technical sportswear spoke to a similar collapse of high and low, ritual and chaos.

Slogan tops made the collection's themes explicit, like this "UNRAVELING" knit

A "BEATS ARE BACK" tank top, worn with headphones, directly referenced the rave and dance floor

Lueder’s tailoring was subverted, with sharp blazers worn over asymmetric briefs

A stained, lived-in tank top captured the collection's "sunburnt," dystopian aesthetic

"Slogan tops made the subtext literal, while subverted tailoring and distressed basics reinforced the collection's raw, dystopian energy."

As a BFC NEWGEN recipient, Lueder’s growing buzz is amplified by savvy, well-aligned collaborations. This season’s unisex capsule for Pull&Bear translates her conceptual world for a wider audience, launching across Europe and online. The show itself was a testament to her community-building, featuring a set by Afra Zamara and a hand-sculpted chrome coin by artist Seòras Rae for selected guests, deepening the collection’s ritualistic feel.

The brand’s signature layering was on full display with deconstructed denim wrap skirts

The medieval cowl, a recurring motif, brought a monastic feel to a striped poplin shirt

Complex, pieced-together knitwear with structured collars showcased the designer's technical skill

Sheer lace and striped arm warmers created a look that felt both fragile and protective

"Signature layering, historical cowls, and intricate knitwear demonstrated the collection's technical and conceptual depth"

With “Convivium,” Lueder solidifies her position as one of London’s most thoughtful designers. Her work is a compelling exploration of tender masculinity, queer sensuality, and the complexities of community. By staging a feast on the brink of chaos, she uses the runway to ask who is performing, who is consuming, and who is resisting. It is a question that feels more urgent than ever.