The Cold Magazine sent its Music & Nightlife Editor, Phoebe Hennell, to report on the ground from Buenos Aires Fashion Week (BAFWEEK) Autumn/Winter 2026. The collection featured brands including Kosiuko, Bullbenny, Las Pepas, Mishka and Sadaels.
Argentines love to bitch about BAFWEEK. Back when it was a massive public event anyone could buy a ticket to, the fashion elite complained it wasn’t chic enough and yearned for gatekeeping. Now that it’s transitioned into a guest-listed, industry-focused event like the rest of the world, the people feel robbed.
“How can I get in if I’m just an ordinary person who likes fashion?” laments one social media comment. “I hope one day fashion shows will be for people genuinely interested in the world of fashion, not for influencers who get invited even if their content is pure comedy,” says another. I’m told that genuinely cute, experimental brands don’t make the cut, whereas storms of plain hoodies do.
Spurred on by the haters, I spam a bunch of brands two days before it kicks off and get bestowed with a holy press pass and a +1 for my trusty housemate/friend/twin Luna. Buenos Aires is a great delight of my life, my turbulent lover, a city that’s shaped my adult self. Discovering new layers to her is always sumptuous. I decide to settle the debate of whether BAFWEEK is just a glorified jeans-and-a-nice-top once and for all – then get too electrified by the balmy week as a whole to care that she’s only in ready-to-wear.
On Friday evening, I make it to a jazz restaurant and get hit on by a swinger couple in their forties (and decline). By the weekend, flu has swept the capital and even Luna’s cats are knocked out. I’m floored from days of free aperitivos and a late-night house party thrown by Martin Piroyansky – a comedy director with a hit series called Porn and Ice Cream.
On Saturday night, a friend invites me to a screening of Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut with an “Epstein island” dress code (not affiliated with BAFWEEK). I decline for more reasons than mere fatigue. I take a siesta to freshen up for an exclusive play party that I’m told Ca7riel y Paco Amoroso frequent when they’re in town, then sleep through it (why me).
Rewinding to before BAFWEEK ends in carnage, I attend the Edu de Crisci X Flortaira emerging streetwear show with Luna. It’s our favourite so far thanks to the sportscar, which we afterwards climb on, and alternative models. Sportscars and motorcycle jackets are a theme throughout BAFWEEK. We take a side glance at the invitees and nod at their outfits for knowing how to layer with both frivolity and intention.
I run into Veronique, the creative director of the trapstar Saramalacara, and Sasha, our favourite Russian who’s fled the draft. A handsome young model in a red leather jacket jumps into a car and drives away; he turns out to be Felipe Fort, the son of a chocolate magnate whose sweets line every kiosk.
Bullbenny has the sexiest (most gothic, tattooed and Demonias-clad) crowd. Valentina Spirito is DJing – a good sign. She’s the founder of the queer warehouse rave 999ciclo, probably the most well known on the circuit alongside Lacura. Bullbenny is celebrating its 15 year anniversary and reveals a jawdropping blue-grey rococo dress in a quinceañera style – a Latin American tradition marking a girl’s 15th birthday.
We enjoy the cheeky nudity at Valentina Schuchner, a wedding dress brand. Luna gets sat next to a famous Gran Hermano (Big Brother) contestant. I’m meant to be front row but a bunch of TikTokers steal the best seats. Afterwards, we have a well-meaning bitch about how everyone is wearing a white top and a black skirt. The crowd is rather cheto: an Argentine term for the upper-middle classes. Cheto is distinct from milipili: the cultural equivalent of blonde Clapham girlies with a rugby boyfriend (a tincho).
The faces of BAFWEEK are Felipe Fort, supermodel Imán Kaumann and YouTuber Mernuel. I saw Kaumann DJ once at her party Fiesta Plastic and like to think of her as a young Naomi Preizler, who was in her position 15 years ago before she became a Nü Metalcore musician.
