–Katya Moorman
Image © Massiel Ogando
I’ve followed Yamil Arbaje since his student days, and it’s been inspiring to watch how his collaboration with Angelo Beato has grown into the singular voice of LEBLANCSTUDIOS. Together, they have built a brand that continues to deepen its narrative power. Their Spring/Summer 2026 collection, shown at The Museum of Common Oddities, was nothing short of extraordinary. The atmosphere transported us straight to the Dominican Republic — warm, layered, alive with memory and history — while remaining unmistakably rooted in contemporary New York.
Image © Massiel Ogando
From the moment you entered, it felt like stepping into a film. Characters seemed to drift in and out of scenes; garments told fragments of lives shaped by exile, resilience, and identity. The storytelling was so immersive and emotionally charged that you wanted to know more about each figure crossing the room. It was poignant, cinematic, and deeply human.
Top row: images © Krischan Singh; Bottom row: images © Massiel Ogando
The clothes themselves carried this narrative with grace and subversion: sharp wool blazers with leather collars against easy cotton tailoring; reimagined Dominican chacabanas; archival images resurfacing on shirting; denim unraveled and rebuilt with poetic tension. Each look held quiet rebellion — an insistence on memory and cultural lineage over trend.
It was a masterclass in how fashion can speak in paragraphs rather than sound bites. The presentation was both intimate and expansive, a love letter to heritage and a meditation on belonging. Storytelling at its finest.
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