How trends, travel, and everyday moments shaped our most joyful season yet.
Why Everything Looks the Same (and How We Stay Different)
Designing Spring 2026 started nearly two years ago. Most brands are working from the same global forecasts, which is why butter yellow and mesh flats suddenly show up everywhere at once.
At Poppy Barley, deep trend research and colour forecasting are only the starting point. What matters most is how women live. We design by imagining her life: her commute, her travels, her weekends, her workdays. That real life is what shapes every pair. Our goal is to design for 80% of life: the beautiful, reliable pieces your closet is built around. Other influences on our design: travel, customer feedback, art, food and nature.
For Spring 2026, our vision boards were flooded with scenes of vineyards, cobblestone streets, breezy beachside days, coffee outside with friends, books, bike rides and bright, fun clothes (a real shift after years of neutral-led dressing). Three words emerged to guide the collection: classic, playful and effortless.
The Art (and Heartbreak) of Editing a Collection
Next we sketch design ideas and select which ones to sample. Some samples are beautiful; others are disasters. Most require multiple iterations as we perfect design and comfort. Then we edit the collection. We consider the best concepts, gaps in our product assortment and take a smart guess at future bestsellers. We debate. We mourn styles that didn’t make the cut. Then wear tests and lab tests, and eventually, adding in colour palettes. More samples. More edits (translation: heartbreaks!), and eventually: the collection!
Without further ado, here’s how we made Spring 2026 trends more timeless. Relevant now, loved for years to come.
Rich Heritage Tones
Everything has a nostalgia tint this year: faux newspapers, film cameras, paper journals, Ralph Lauren, vinyl, pottery. In colour this is being expressed in heritage tones like crimson reds, chalk beige, primal greens, deep chocolates, amber yellows and preppy blues.
For us, this translated into wearable hues of limoncello, bluebell, resort red, oat milk, clay, tonal browns and matcha.
Fashion as a Feeling
It’s fun. It’s optimistic. It’s bold colours. Lots of texture. It’s playful. We take this mood, make it wearable, and add our love of craft. We move ahead of mesh to perforated leathers; they breathe and wear beautifully while holding up to life. Our take on the season’s canary yellow? Limoncello. A colour to be worn this season and next.
Backless Flats
You’ll see backless shoes everywhere. We took our iconic Modern-Day Mary Jane, and re-imagined it as a mule. The easy slip-on polish you’ll wear every day.
Animal Print as Neutrals
Animal prints have dominated the last few seasons, from python to zebra to leopard and everything in between. We love how they’re evolving for spring, now acting like a neutral: paired with joyful colour, layered with florals, and styled with intention. For spring, we introduced desert snake and micro-leopard print (coming in March!). Our goal was to create prints you’ll reach for without overthinking. Like the cooler, more grown-up sister to last season’s animal-print.
Literary Chic
Last season’s modern prep look pushes into spring. The loafer, whether dressed up or down, continues to rule the runways and streets, while lace-ups embrace the playful paradox of masculine tailoring for women.
Decorative Dressing
Years of minimalist dressing and quiet luxury are giving way to richer texture, embellishment, and craft-driven details. For us, that meant leaning into textured leather grains and leather construction details like woven finishes and braiding, and visible stitching. You’ll see this most clearly in our upcoming April collection.
Shoulder Bags
Shoulder bags remain strong this spring. Our High Line structured shoulder bag embodies the trend with its medium rectangular silhouette, premium leather, and minimal hardware. Our newest style, The Annex Bag, converts effortlessly from shoulder to crossbody, with a supple, softly structured form that strikes the perfect balance between hard and soft.
Pretty Little Heels
High-vamp pumps, square toes, and refined slingbacks define the season, with ’90s-inspired kitten heels leading the way. Ours proved the point last year—selling out fast thanks to its effortless wearability.
East West Totes
East–west totes are emerging as the go-to 9–5 bag. Designed to fit laptops, notebooks, and daily essentials, they’re true workhorses for modern life. Our Lisboa Tote brings a sculptural, modern take to everyday utility.
