Italian label Iceberg has reinterpreted Britpop style with a Milanese touch for its Milan Fashion Week show. Zip-up bomber jackets, linen trench coats, fitted knitwear, creased tailored trousers and boldly flowing skirts were just some of the items in Iceberg’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection designed by Creative Director James Long, who drew his inspiration from Italian sensibility with an added British twist.

“I love Iceberg’s freedom, the sportswear attitude characteristic of the label’s DNA, which is also part of my creative background. This is [Iceberg’s] seasonal mood: a sporty Italian state of mind blended with a British viewpoint. It’s sharp, it’s playful, it’s totally Iceberg,” said Long.

The collection’s knitwear was big on fitted cuts, in the long-sleeved polo shirts with contrasting collar, and the lightweight, body-cocooning knitted dresses with drop-stitch diagonals. A knitted dress was worn over draped layers of sheer chiffon. The miniskirts featured curled asymmetrical panels, and leather blazers were matched with back-slit pencil skirts.

Long’s new collection oozed character, for example the zip-up knitted top with yellow and green braided stripes over a jersey base. Long ribbed dresses featured woven V-necklines; striped shirts with sporty shoulder panels were layered over one another, while some trousers had double creases to create sharp volumes.

Long has been designing Iceberg’s collections for 10 years. “His British spirit blends well with our Italian taste. We always mix a little femininity with a sportswear touch. James is very good, he’s extremely consistent, collection after collection. It’s something you don’t often see, other than in labels with a very strong DNA. He’s so good because he puts himself at the label’s disposal,” said Paolo Gerani, CEO of Gilmar, Iceberg’s parent company, talking to FashionNetwork.com.

Gilmar reported revenue of €50 million for its last fiscal year, on par with the previous one, with Eastern Europe and the USA the main markets. “We have three new initiatives in the pipeline: one is a manufacturing unit for luxury labels. We’re working with Gucci, Burberry and Zegna. It’s a new business area we’re developing. Secondly, we’ve recently launched Iceberg Jeans, a more affordable line for a younger target group. And we’ve just started working with hospitality clients,” said Gerani.

“These are extremely tough times for the fashion industry as a whole, and for consumption in general. It’s like when an aircraft crashes, there are always multiple causes. This is what’s happening now: Wars, [weak] spending capacity, geopolitical uncertainty,” added Gerani. “They say ‘there’s an opportunity in every crisis’, but this crisis is major, it’s hard to see the opportunity. Rather than the markets, we need to understand how fashion might change once the ‘era of appearances’ is past,” he concluded.