Maria McManus Pre-Fall 2026 Collection

For pre-fall, Maria McManus looked to the Scottish artist Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, who was a member of the influential Penwith Society of Arts and made abstract paintings inspired by nature. McManus was attracted to a quote attributed to the artist who rose to prominence after World War II: “I am concerned with the inner structure of things rather than their outer appearance.”

“I read that and I thought, oh that’s a really nice thought,” McManus said in her Tribeca home, where she often holds appointments. “It really resonated with me, especially with how we try to consider all the things, not just manufacturing and quality.” Indeed, it speaks to McManus’s modus operandi, although Barns-Graham’s work itself also influenced the collection, most obviously through the subtle palette of greens and browns from her “Small Energy” drawings.

McManus continued experimenting with the soft romanticism that has informed her last few collections, with clingy knit dresses, lace-trimmed lingerie-ish dresses, and slinky capri pants also with lingerie-inspired stitching. (Though it’s important to note that she uses a heavy fabric that gives her slips a lingerie-like look without the feeling of literally letting it all hang out.) Elsewhere, a cheeky secretary vibe emerged in pencil skirts worn with striped blouses and accessorized with matching scarves, and a chubby faux fur bolero was an unexpectedly playful addition to her vision.