PARADIS SS26: TIME MELTS LIKE SUNSET... OR JUST MELTS

A desert reverie where time feels optional

Emeric Tchatchoua, that quiet philosopher-designer behind the Parisian label 3.Paradis, has clearly decided that reality can take a day off. His SS26 collection, theatrically dubbed Indulges in the Sands of Time, stages the “illusion of time” by staging the show on what seems like a literal beach in the middle of Paris.

The runway was dusted with sand, the windows tinted in surreal technicolor, you almost expected a mirage to walk by delivering your latte. It felt like stepping into a theatrical desert set designed for existential reflection, or perhaps just a very dramatic photo shoot gone existential.

From earthen dusk to electric dusk

The tonal journey of the collection was suspiciously poetic. It began in calm, desert-like palettes: beige, tan, rust, dark brown.

They established that yes, you are meant to feel you have wandered into the Sahara, or at least a sandlot version of it. Then like a dream, or a particularly cinematic Instagram filter, those muted neutrals gave way to deep, star-speckled blues evoking the cosmos of The Little Prince, as though the cosmos had made a cameo.

And if at that point you felt the mood mellowed out, think again. The finale of the collection burst out like a too-vivid sunset: electric orange and hot pink, so vivid that even your screen might need a nap afterward.

Playful menswear tilted with surrealist flair

Under the guise of classic tailoring: two-piece suits, leather blousons, crisp shirting, roomy trousers: Tchatchoua sneaks in details that charm rather than shock. Pant legs and jacket sleeves carry twisted wrinkles as though sculpted by desert winds. Waistbands are quadrupled just for the fun of it. Some button-up shirts undergo literal alchemy on one side, transforming into sheer organza with a wink of transparency. The collection refuses to be polite; it flirts, teases, then drifts off into your subconscious.

One particularly delightful shtick: a repeating watch motif blooms into a coat pinned with various timepieces, as if time itself decided to clothe itself. Meanwhile, camouflage shows up bedazzled with crystals, because the only things that should vanish into the desert are sense and sobriety.

Whimsical nods to the little prince and watches

In a gesture so charming it could make grown men cry, or at least smirk, Tchatchoua injects surreal whimsy. The Little Prince floats into the aesthetic not with airs of highbrow reverence but with frankly adorable elegance. Photographic echoes of that cherubic boy under desert skies thread through the collection as playful reminders that while time can desert you, childhood wonder does not take a vacation.

Conclusion: a sartorial sandstorm of dreams

Let’s be honest: nobody needed another desert-themed runway, yet this one managed to feel novel, like time itself took off its shoes and stretched under a hot sun. Tchatchoua’s 3.Paradis SS26 is not about dressing to impress; it is about dressing to drift, to dream, to momentarily forget that watches ever existed.

It is a collection that makes you feel the slow weight of sand and the absurd speed of color rushing in, and if you walked away thinking maybe time really is just a suggestion, mission accomplished.

Paradis, thank you for reminding us that clothes can be poetry, even if it rhymes with mirages and watches.

ALL THE LOOKS FROM THE COLLECTION:

FULL VIDEO OF THE SHOW :