While big names like Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors dominated New York Fashion Week headlines, it was Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic-born LeBlancStudios that left showgoers buzzing with its intellectual storytelling and community-driven ethos. Established in 2014 by design duo Angelo Beato and Yamil Arbaje, the Caribbean brand is known for turning political and social narratives into fashion statements. For their SS26 collection, “Museum of Common Oddities,” the designers looked to “exiled thinkers, forgotten ones, tycoons, and Caribbean and Latin American militants” for inspiration, according to a company release. Hosted at community center The Bench, guests were invited to walk around and experience the lineup of structured wool blazers with leather collars, misplaced pockets, lightweight cotton blazers, and asymmetrical shirts with slashes. “With all the collections, we approach it as if they were like a film or a novel because we want to build characters,” Arbaje told Retail Brew. “This time, the narrative is inspired by our lives between New York and the Dominican Republic, but also the history of exile, or exiled thinkers in the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s from the Dominican Republic or Latin America, because it’s a story that we felt [was] relevant with what’s happening today.” Keep reading here.—JS | 
