When Duran Lantink first showed for Jean Paul Gaultier, the reaction was, let’s say, mixed. That is a polite way of putting it. Some people were bored. Others were annoyed. Now, with his second collection for the Puig-owned Parisian house, Lantink has achieved something far more difficult than creating a spectacle; he has designed clothes that make you think.
| 📌 Key Facts |
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| 🧵 Duran Lantink’s Fall 2026 show appears far more confident than his debated debut. 👔 Structured jackets, curved shoulders and cinched waists define the silhouettes. ⚧ The collection blends masculine tailoring with feminine shapes and lingerie references. 🧥 The idea emerged from Jean Paul Gaultier’s story about finding a tailored jacket at a flea market. 🧶 Knit bodysuits, color-blocked trousers and sculptural skirts bring humor and experimentation. 🧠 The pacing, proportions and technical construction show a clearer creative strategy. 🏛 The Gaultier atelier’s expertise remains central to the collection’s structure and finish. |
As Lantink explained before the show, the starting point was a conversation with Jean Paul Gaultier himself. The retired couturier told his successor about finding a tailored jacket at a flea market. This seemingly insignificant detail became the conceptual foundation of the entire collection. Call it “madame masculinity,” a phrase that sounds like a creative director’s buzzword but actually delivers in this case.
Lantink presented a series of looks pulling from classic tailoring, lingerie, ski wear, and Western references. Thankfully, he did not throw all of those elements together haphazardly. Instead, he moved through these territories with more discipline than before, letting each idea breathe before introducing the next.
The opening look clearly set the tone: a suit and overcoat with curved shoulders and a sharply pulled-in waist, creating a precise yet slightly exaggerated silhouette. Throughout the show, the shoulders floated well above the body. Hips were amplified. The overall outline bent into a graphic S-shape that appeared confident rather than theatrical.
Lantink did not completely suppress his more provocative instincts, nor should he have. One skirt, fashioned from a coat collar, swooped high enough to expose the upper thighs, but the front tail of a shirt handled what needed handling. It was the kind of move that could have tipped into the sophomoric, yet it did not.
The sportswear section featured smart trousers with geometric color blocking on the legs, bodycon dresses with a modern silhouette, and Fair Isle–inspired knit bodysuits that were both witty and wearable. The evening options escalated into something closer to science fiction, though the collection’s logic made that feel earned rather than arbitrary. A pump built on the conceit of a broken heel was odd enough to be genuinely interesting.
What distinguished this outing from the first were the pacing and proportion, not only of the individual garments, but also of the ambition itself. Last season, Lantink seemed to be trying to make a loud announcement. This time, he let the clothes carry the argument. The technical capabilities of the Gaultier atelier were on full display: stiff-peaked skirts, structured tailoring, and an unmistakable capacity for couture-level construction. The house has not gone soft.
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Lantink is essentially negotiating two sets of expectations simultaneously. First, there is what he wants to say as a designer with his own established sensibility. Then there’s what the Gaultier name demands: the provocateur history, the perfume empire, and the legacy of a couturier who broke every rule he could find. This second collection suggests that Lantink has begun to understand how to carry both without letting one collapse the other. That is not a small thing. Most designers who inherit such a legacy spend years – sometimes their entire tenure – trying to figure it out.
The naysayers from last season will need to reconsider. The collection does not chase approval, yet it has clearly earned some.
