While it can be criticized as just a marketing concept, brand storytelling has emerged as a powerful tool to connect consumers to brands to build loyalty that, in turn, drives sales. It takes many forms, whether in a seasonal campaign or via social media. Mainly, it originates with a seasonal presentation, whether on a runway or a static showing on mannequins. For her Spring 2026 collection, which offers equally men’s and women’s styles, Emily Adams Bode Aujla took her ideas to the stage, where distant relative the late American composer and musical theater figure Morris "Moose" Charlip, made a name for himself for his "Peter Pan" score on Broadway and used his life and work as inspiration for the collection.

Entitled "The Expressionist," which was a half-completed musical written with lyricist Eddie Lawrence about the life story of a painter, set against the post-Impressionist landscape of Paris, and channeled the American composer's life, work, and the characters in his shows into the clothes. To the delight of guests, Bode Aujla recruited Charlap's son, Bill Charlap, a classical pianist himself, to perform some of his late father's work, recall early childhood memories of his Dad who died at age 45 from complications due to childhood diabetes and draw the connection to craft that runs through Bode Aujla's work akin to other art forms such as music, painting and sculpture. Thus, in a salon at the Théâtre national de l'Opéra-Comique, guests enjoyed a live piano and singing from the younger Charlap.

Pre-performance, Bode Aujla addressed the audience. "We are doing it backwards this season. You are about to see the reference material to make a year's worth of work. This collection is about Moose Charlap, a prolific musical theater composer. You will see four vignettes from his life about the room, and the whole collection was done in miniature," she said. Indeed, on dollhouse-esque Mise en Scene and a table in the hallway of the opera house, were roughly 12-inch dolls bedecked in the collection, a la the famous post-war "Théâtre de la Mode" collection that bolstered French fashion.

Some of the clothing, which in many cases with Bode is one-of-a-kind, drew inspiration from "Peter Pan" and "Alice Through the Looking Glass", another musical project, the concept of The Expressionist, and Charlap's style and life. After the show, Bode Aujla confirmed that the clothes exist on the human side at the brand's sales showroom. "It was challenging to create these miniatures, which are made from the same fabrics, especially the knitwear, which in full size are too chunky to do mini versions of, so we stripped away the yarns to make it smaller," she explained.

It was charming and fits in with the brand ethos of vintage designs, and even a detail in their Paris store, a dollhouse in the window. The miniatures will make for some fun store décor, though based on their charm, it urged seeing them in real size.

It was a profoundly personal collection for Bode Aujla, too. "I don't know where I was when I first heard the song 'I won't grow up,' but I know I know all the words, she added. Exploring childhood fantasy right now is also apt, as the designer just had her second child in March, and another who is 2. Thus, childhood musings and themes a la "Peter Pan" will be a part of her vocabulary for the foreseeable future. And add another layer of storytelling.