With the Spring Summer 2026 collection, Jean Paul Gaultier entrusts its legacy to Duran Lantink, and the result is anything but nostalgic. Lantink does not quote, he intervenes, dismantling the house’s codes and recomposing them into a language that feels unstable and deeply contemporary.
Corsetry loses its rigidity and becomes mobile, almost transitional. Silhouettes shift and evolve, moving between structure and fluidity. It is a vision of fashion that does not define the body but moves with it, shifting the focus from provocation to reflection.
The archive remains present, through marinière stripes, sheer elements and fetish references, yet it is filtered through hybrid materials and an aesthetic of reuse that defines the designer’s practice. Luxury here becomes a process rather than perfection, a construction rather than a finished image.
On the runway, plural identities and real bodies complete the narrative, turning inclusivity into a concrete practice rather than a stated intention.
SS26 marks a turning point, Jean Paul Gaultier does not look back but allows itself to transform, finding new relevance precisely in this state of instability. The junior collection is available in boutiques and on michelefranzesemoda.com.
