With Savage Grace, Double A leans into snake print, washed suede, and beautifully conflicted leather pieces.
By the time SS26 began circulating through the fashion press, it was clear the season had broken loose. Where its predecessor celebrated clean minimalism and quiet luxury, Spring/Summer 2026 turned the volume up. The question was no longer simply how to dress well, but why to dress in a more explicit, visual and sensory language, one capable of oscillating between aesthetic power and the desire for everyday simplicity. Animal prints returned to the runways, while suede — washed, tactile, matte-finished suede — resurfaced everywhere from Miu Miu to Ferragamo, Isabel Marant and Tod’s.
Double A, the Cairo-based leather label founded by sisters Ayah Aboutera and Aliaa Aboutera and shaped by their family’s long history in leather manufacturing, arrives at this moment with a collection titled Savage Grace.
“Growing up around leather manufacturing gave me a deep understanding of quality, technique, and the value of craftsmanship,” says Ayah Aboutera. What makes Savage Grace interesting is the way that accumulated knowledge is deployed not toward refinement for its own sake, but toward a rougher, more emotionally unstable interpretation of suede and leather. This season, the collection insists that polished leather is beside the point. “The shift came from exploring new leather techniques and unique leather prints that transform even the simplest silhouettes into bolder, more expressive pieces,” Ayah explains. “That balance between strong craftsmanship and a freer, darker emotional direction shaped the collection’s mood this season.”
The visual language lands somewhere between desert rockstar and Chloé-gone-feral. Roberto Cavalli, who spent the 1970s effectively redefining animal print as luxury, would recognise parts of this DNA in the snake textures and earthy sensuality threaded throughout the collection.
Double A is also building from within a city that imposes its own creative logic. “Double A’s identity is deeply connected to Cairo, even in ways that happen unconsciously,” says Aliaa. “The city is intense, layered, chaotic, elegant, and constantly moving. That naturally influences the attitude behind the brand. You can feel it in the bold silhouettes, the strong textures, and the balance between rawness and sophistication.”
Duality runs through the entire collection. Washed suede in butter yellow, burgundy, olive and tobacco brown sits against snake print and studded leather. Fringe moves along hemlines; sharp tailoring appears alongside oversized silhouettes. The accessories, particularly the Ophelia Oversized Snakeprint Bag and the Ada Suede Bag, carry much of the collection’s strongest thinking. “Yes, duality was a strong element throughout the design process this season,” Ayah says. “I wanted the collection to feel balanced between structure and instinct. That contrast creates tension within the pieces and gives them a more emotional and expressive feel. The idea was to merge control with freedom.”
The piece Ayah identifies as the clearest distillation of the collection is the Jason laser-cut leather shorts. “The laser-cut technique gives the leather a more aggressive, almost raw energy, while the silhouette keeps it sharp and controlled,” she says.
The styling carries a character-driven quality, with the sense that each look belongs to a different woman at a different point in her own private story. “I often design with different personalities and emotions in mind rather than imagining just one type of woman,” Aliaa says. “Each look carries its own attitude and energy; some feel stronger and more structured, while others feel freer, softer, or more instinctive. That character-driven approach helps the collection feel more alive and real.”
SS26 femininity does not ask for permission, and neither does Double A. “I appreciate minimalism,” Ayah says, “however this collection was about embracing boldness, texture, and stronger visual expression.”
Building an independent fashion brand in Egypt comes with its own practical complications, particularly in leather manufacturing. “The thing that people do not realize,” says Ayah, “is that in leather especially, small variations in technique or finishing can completely change the outcome, so building reliable systems takes time.” There is also, she adds, a constant balancing act between “creative ambition and practical limitations; working within local manufacturing realities while still trying to push the language of the brand forward in a global, contemporary way.”
The Aboutera sisters remain uninterested in feeding the pace of trend-driven fashion culture. “We never build our direction around fast-moving social media trends,” Aliaa says. “We’ve always believed that staying rooted in a slower, more intentional approach to design is what protects the identity of the brand.”