Backstage at his Spring 2026 Haute Couture presentation, Kevin Germanier made an observation about the luxury industry that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. The Swiss designer noted that executive turnover at major fashion houses had created an unexpected benefit for him: he built his reputation by transforming discarded materials into glittering garments. The constant reshuffling of creative directors meant more surplus inventory. For Germanier, that meant more raw material.
| 📌 Key Facts |
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| 🏛️ Brand: Germanier 🐍 Creative Director: Kevin Germanier 🏷️ Season: Haute Couture Spring 2026 🏢 Partner: LVMH (7 maisons involved) 👗 Materials: Unsold luxury stock, Olympic uniforms, Berluti prototypes 🎭 Concept: Couture as critique of excess and sustainability 🌍 Message: Luxury openly confronting its overproduction 👁️ Notable attendee: Antoine Arnault (LVMH) |
This collection marked an expansion of Germanier’s collaboration with LVMH, the luxury conglomerate that controls brands such as Louis Vuitton and Berluti. Working with Alexandre Capelli, the group’s environmental deputy director, Germanier gained access to overstock from seven LVMH brands. The designer refused to name the contributing brands, maintaining what he called his Swiss neutrality. However, the partnership itself represented something bigger than a single runway show.
This wasn’t Germanier’s first venture with LVMH. In September 2024, he presented Prélude, an upcycled ready-to-wear capsule, at the company’s Avenue Montaigne headquarters. That earlier collection was overshadowed during Paris Fashion Week, but it demonstrated the commercial viability of his approach. The garments looked polished enough to walk straight out onto one of Paris’s most expensive streets.
For his couture outing, Germanier named the collection Les Chardonneuses, referencing the thistle rather than the expected Swiss edelweiss. The title suggested something prickly and untamed. He opened with Lisa Rinna, who wore a black tulle skirt positioned low on her hips, paired with a towering thistle headpiece. Germanier described the silhouette as inspired by the New Look but added a descriptor rarely heard in haute couture: “slutty.”
The designer said couture needed more humor. He sees his clients as people ready to take extreme creative risks. Rinna, making her couture debut, said she could envision wearing the outfit during awards season, though she might skip the headpiece.
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The technical execution revealed Germanier’s skill at surgical deconstruction. He took a Berluti jacket and reconstructed it backward, transforming its gradient lapel into a plunging back detail. The collection also featured Olympic uniforms designed by Berluti for the Paris 2024 Games. A men’s denim jacket lost all identifying marks – logos were unpicked and tags and zippers were removed – before being feminized with crystal embellishments and stamen-like embroidery. The back incorporated a never-produced jumpsuit prototype.
A particularly striking detail was the spiky thistle appliqué on a dark blue denim outfit with an exaggerated collar, which was made from sliced Coca-Cola cans. Colors exploded across an ostrich feather coat and a tinsel column dress. Germanier ventured into bridal wear with white lace gowns; however, pairing them with face masks seemed derivative.
Some looks pushed past practical wearability. This seems obvious, but misses the point. What matters is how Germanier contributes to the broader discussion of what luxury brands can achieve with substantial inventory and a designer who thinks outside the box. The collection incorporated materials from LVMH’s most renowned brands, as well as official Olympic team uniforms. Antoine Arnault, LVMH’s head of image and environment, attended to show support.
Germanier has spent years working with upcycled materials, having previously transformed Mylar balloons and plastic bags into haute couture. This season, he elevated his source material from trash to luxury goods that never sold. This shift is significant because it acknowledges a reality that the industry rarely discusses openly: even prestigious brands produce excess.
