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In one of the most emotionally resonant moments of Paris Fashion Week, Bode unveiled its Spring 2026 collection, titled “The Expressionist,” as a deeply personal tribute to American composer Morris “Moose” Charlap, best known for scoring Broadway’s Peter Pan. The presentation took place in a Parisian theatre, transformed into an intimate stage for storytelling through music, memory, and fashion.
Rather than a conventional runway, the collection was revealed on miniature puppets, each wearing scaled-down versions of the SS26 designs. Arranged in two lines, the dolls invited guests to step closer, blurring the boundary between costume, character, and clothing. The puppets acted as silent narrators in what designer Emily Adams Bode Aujla described as a “visual songbook of a life in music.”
The theatrical setup featured four miniature sets, each representing a chapter in Charlap’s life—from Central Park strolls with his wife to his childhood summer camp, where he earned the nickname “Moose.” Before the performance began, Bode Aujla addressed the audience with anecdotes of discovering Charlap’s music and her emotional conversations with his son, Grammy-nominated jazz pianist Bill Charlap, who later performed three pieces live in tribute.
Bill’s performance featured selections from his father’s body of work, including “Some Summer Day” (Alice Through the Looking Glass), “I Won’t Grow Up” (Peter Pan), and “Please Let Me Die in Paris”—a track from “The Expressionist,”Moose’s final, unfinished musical written with lyricist Eddie Lawrence. These songs framed the collection’s nostalgic palette and storytelling-driven silhouettes.
With this show, Bode goes far beyond fashion—crafting garments as vessels of remembrance, emotion, and cultural history. The Expressionist is more than a title; it’s a poetic reframing of fashion as performance, and a heartfelt eulogy to a life lived through music.
