Sarah Staudinger’s spring 2026 collection was a full-fledged love letter to California. Earlier this year, Staudinger lost her childhood home during the wildfires. As a California born and bred brand, she wanted her spring 2026 collection to be a celebration of everything she loves about the Golden State. “It was very much an homage to California through the aftermath of the fire,” she said. “I grew up on the Pacific coastline, and even though it was devastating that we lost all these houses and I lost my home and everything, there was this amazing sense of energy that embodies the California lifestyle. In retrospect there was so much joy and this collection was so easy to create because it was so personal to all of us at Staud and allowed us to honor our home.”
Some of the joys include surfing, Staudinger being a huge surfer and beach lover herself. There were surf-inspired pieces including long board shorts, except Staudinger’s were fashionable and trimmed with lace or came in some fun stripes. Crop tops looked like rash guards and were adorned with a cute shark embellishment, and new bags include leather surfboard clutches. A key point, the designer pointed out, is that the bag has real surf fins on the back: she wasn’t playing around on the details.
However, the most valuable aspect of this collection was that the pieces felt both nostalgic and fresh. Many pieces you could envision on a Marissa Cooper or Summer Roberts if The O.C. were set in today’s world, including the yellow terry cloth après-beach coverup, and the sultry beaded gold shirt that would look great with a pair of Staud’s new jeans.
Some standouts of the collection included a silk palm tree printed dress and coat. Against an orange and green backdrop that faded into a dark navy was a picturesque palm tree skyline, an indicator that even after the fires, California’s beauty will always remain.