In past seasons, Mark Gong’s Gong Girls have often read like a stylised fanfiction of Sex and the City. Yet, the true design roots of the label have always been far more potent; it’s a celebration of rawness, fearlessness, and authenticity.
For Spring/Summer 2026, this spirit found its ultimate expression in a collection that was both a homecoming and a rebellion. Returning to the American West—a theme he first explored in 2019—Gong presented a wilder, more untamed vision. The sandy runway set the stage for a narrative steeped in cinematic adventure, dedicated entirely to the unbridled spirit of Thelma and Louise (a 1991 film by Ridley Scott). As models strode forth with gas pumps slung over their shoulders, they embodied the designer’s defiant message—which is also the name of the collection—“Catch us if you can.”
The Western motif was rendered with a tactile intensity. Leather, thigh-high boots, and heavy fringes that swept the floor took centre stage, anchored by cowboy belts stacked at the waist. But within these utilitarian uniforms, a resilient femininity persevered. It flickered in the brief, ditsy-printed shorts, in the swish of a leather or denim fishtail skirt, and in the revelation of sheer, body-hugging dresses. This tension culminated in the barely-there bandeau tops, reconstructed from unexpected artefacts—metal badges, rearview mirrors, and, in a final, brilliant declaration, a top mimicking the blaring flash of a police siren.
It was this closing siren that posed the collection’s most haunting question, drawn from the film itself: “When the world refuses to change, do you drive faster, or do you stop?” The Gong Girl, it seems, has chosen her answer.
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