The Tamesis
“I’m still getting used to the weather,” Rhuigi Villaseñor said with a shrug. “I’ve lived here for eight years and all I know is Vabene“. The tone of Empire of Time, Rhude’s fall 2026 collection, was a daily reflection on his long love affair with Italy. The whole process was a slow negotiation between California and the boot-shaped country, with integration at its core. “It was the evolution of spring,” Villasino said candidly of the strategic shift behind it. After years of high-impact shows, he scaled back the presentation format to focus on clients rather than calendars.
This realignment is both economic and philosophical: “Everything is sociological. When someone asks me what I do,” Villasino said, “I’m the narrator of the times. We record the zeitgeist. We record the data.” For him, this season is about leading rather than reacting, even if that means betting on pieces that don’t immediately appeal. His long-term project is to blur the lines between comfort and ritual without giving up either side, and the fabrication underlines this ambition. Italian wools from Florence were juxtaposed with Japanese indigo twills and herringbones, while French terry cloth became the basis for what he called a “traxedo”—a sweatpants designed like a tuxedo.
Carrot-cut trousers echo the relaxed style of sweatpants but are cut in tailored wool; varsity jackets and zip-up hoodies take a softer, more tailored approach. The brand’s beloved T-shirts are still around – “This is bread and butter, this is our heritage” – but they no longer dominate. The same applies to automotive and sports references, moving away from overt graphics towards a more controlled vocabulary.
While the custom clothes and high-end outerwear are made in Italy, Los Angeles remains home to Rude’s homespun American style. “This is La Familia in the ’50s,” the designer said. “This is Frank Sinatra, this is jazz. We don’t sing party songs anymore.” The denim is treated to a perfectly imperfect patina, the nappa leather is sanded and softened, and the wool is beaten to look like it was found at Goodwill.
Yet Villasino hasn’t given up on spectacle entirely. He hinted at a renewed focus on accessories and linked future runway moments to global partnerships. “I don’t want to be led by my clients,” he says, “I want to teach them.” It’s a risky stance in a consumer-dominated market, but one consistent with his larger ambition: to build something he admires that will last the life of the house. “If we want to look like Ralph Lauren or Giorgio Armani,” he said with a half-smile, “we still have a long way to go.”
