DRIES VAN NOTEN SS26 : CATCHING THE WAVE IN PARIS

Camz
Oct 1
2 min read

Surfing without the surfboard

What Klausner wanted this season was joy, ease, optimism. His unlikely muse? Surfing. Never mind that he’s not actually a surfer, and probably couldn’t tell the difference between Malibu and Montauk.

For him, it’s about the vibe: the sunburnt camaraderie, the sand-stuck laughter, the fluorescent boards lined up like sculptures. “Being around surfers is always a good time,” he said, almost wistfully. The irony? His show took place miles away from any beach, yet somehow it managed to feel more surfy than the entire coast of California.

From mist to neon

The runway itself was a wave. It began in gentle foams of white and cloudy gray, sometimes punctuated with tonal beadwork so subtle it almost disappeared into the fabric.

Then, like a swell gaining force, the colors crept in: lime green that could blind a lifeguard, hot pink demanding attention, tomato red colliding with coral in a tropical cacophony. The silhouettes oscillated between second-skin scuba gear and breezy caftans, caught somewhere between wetsuit chic and poolside fantasy.

One standout? A striped knit robe layered over a contrasting wetsuit shortie. To anyone over thirty, it screamed Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Klausner, of course, stared blankly at the reference. He’s a decade too young. The audacity of youth.

Brighter, sharper, younger

There’s a reason this doesn’t feel like just another surf pastiche. Klausner is no moodboard scavenger. After six years at the side of Dries Van Noten, the aesthetic has seeped under his skin, lodged in his DNA. But instead of imitating, he’s remixing: colors are turned up to maximum saturation, prints are bolder, hems are shorter, fabrics are sheerer.

It’s younger, yes, but not alienating. Because just as you thought it was all neoprene and sunshine, out came a cropped black blazer embroidered in bullion, perfectly paired with a hibiscus-red beaded pencil skirt. Add a tank top, maybe a t-shirt, and suddenly it’s office-appropriate. Well, in a Klausner office.

Conclusion : joy with a wink

Julian Klausner’s spring 2026 collection proved one thing: you don’t need an ocean to surf. What you need is an eye for color, a sense of play, and the guts to send sarongs into skyscraper cafeterias. It was a show that started like a cloud and ended like a firework, balancing youthful optimism with touches of sophistication that kept the old guard smiling. Surfboards may not have rolled onto the runway, but the energy of the wave was there. Fashion, after all, is about catching the swell before anyone else notices it’s forming. And right now? Klausner is already riding it.

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