Dries Van Noten Women Spring/Summer 2026 at Paris Fashion Week

Dries Van Noten Women Spring/Summer 2026 / SS26 at Paris Fashion Week entitled Wavelength

A straightforward exploration of vibrancy, ease and joy, keeping in mind the Dries Van Noten wardrobe.

For Dries Van Noten Women SS26 / Spring/Summer 2026, The elegance of a wetsuit is found in small, rounded raglan shoulders and in narrow Bermudas. Tailoring is linear, close to the body but not tight. Cuts and darts become decoration. The regal attitude of surfers on the board is translated into a hint of historical grandeur, offset by the organic everydayness of grey jersey. A movement from light to bright saturation, from small scale to large scale, overlaying, shifting, playing with geometric forms such as lines, circles and curves. Black embroideries on colour, like a drawing.

A dialogue of opposites: bold but easy; stiff and floaty. Likewise, colour moves from subtle to decisive combinations, from shades of white to graphic assertiveness, while fabrics alternate between firm (neoprene scuba, double duchesse satin, moiré) and fluid (washed silk mousseline, washed cotton voile, silk satin). Slouchy stripy knits. A touch of 1960s optimism. Jewels are clustered in impromptu ways, like shells collected at the beach. Flat sneakers reinforce the sense of ease, along with new bags which are soft and capacious.

On the soundtrack, the delicate yet grand sounds of Philip Glass are interspersed with hints of surf rock.

LETTER FROM JULIAN

My first idea for this collection, which we are presenting at the Palais de Tokyo, was to convey a sense of ease and optimism.

Watching the sunset on the beach, observing surfers in the waves, I was struck by how elegant the silhouette of a wetsuit is.

A moment both simple and grand: the sky filled with colour, shapes that appear, contrasts of a stiff board against the delicate ruffles of foaming waters, and the shimmer of sun on them.

The freedom of cruising on the waves, feeling the breeze and winds of the sea: a dance with nature.

The energy, while working, was playful, as we experimented with scale, colour and shapes, balancing hard and soft, stiff and fluid, casual and refined, simple and complex; bringing things together into a joyful mix with unfiltered intuitiveness.

A celebration of summer and the primal energy of a ray of sun. The tranquility of the simple things.

Words by Julian