Paris Men’s Fashion Week SS26: Bigger Wasn’t Always Better

Paris Men’s Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2026 closed on a note of mixed ambition, where grand theatrical gestures frequently overshadowed the clothes themselves. Two bookend spectacles — Louis Vuitton’s sprawling Centre Pompidou takeover and Jacquemus’ lavish Versailles Orangerie presentation — prioritised scale over substance, leaving critics questioning whether spectacle had become fashion’s greatest distraction.

Jonathan Anderson Makes a Measured Dior Debut

The season’s most anticipated moment arrived with Jonathan Anderson’s first menswear collection for Dior. Opting for restraint over grandeur, Anderson conjured a cast of young aristocrats dressed in a studied mismatch of tailcoats, chinos, capes and decadent cravats. The result was undeniably fresh, though critics noted a certain risk-averse quality — promising as an opening statement, but calling for greater daring in seasons ahead.

Japanese Designers Offered the Season’s Intellectual Highlights

Amid the corporate spectacle, Japanese labels provided some of the sharpest thinking. IM Men expanded on Issey Miyake’s foundational single-cloth construction principle, delivering a lyrical collection inspired by ceramist Shoji Kamoda. Meanwhile, Rei Kawakubo at Comme des Garçons dismantled masculine dress codes with characteristic fearlessness, and Yohji Yamamoto continued his masterful deconstruction work.

The season’s unexpected winner, however, was Julian Klausner at Dries Van Noten. His debut menswear collection — imagining a man wandering a beach the morning after a party, blending tuxedos with sarongs and dense embroidery with pyjama stripes — offered genuine emotional warmth. In a season that too often demanded more, Klausner made a compelling case for less.