Jean Paul Gaultier Introduces "Junior" For Spring Summer 2026 by Duran Lantink
March 26, 2026
Provocation, Gender Fluidity And Late 1980s Energy — Lantink's Gaultier Era Has Officially Begun
Duran Lantink's first ready-to-wear collection for Jean Paul Gaultier lands with a clear declaration. Fun, energetic, modern, urgent and alive. The Dutch Designer, appointed Creative Director of the Maison in April 2025, spent months in what he calls "Duranification," making pieces, fitting them, twisting them, playing with them, reinventing them until only the strongest survived. The result is a Spring Summer 2026 collection of 49 pieces carrying the Maison's DNA forward without flinching.
The iconic marinière is back, this time as the Striped Bodysuit and the Petit Grand Junior Shirt, both cut to move. The trompe-l'oeil tradition resurfaces in the Body Map series, three tops that print the body's own architecture onto fabric, creating an optical conversation between the garment and the body. And then the tattoo-effect tulle that made Gaultier iconic finds its contemporary counterpart in the sheer, skin-grazing looks running through the dresses and bodysuits. Gender dissolves throughout. The men's selection carries 24 pieces built on the same vocabulary, the same curved tailoring, the same irreverence.
The Short List
The Target series is where to start. The concentric circle print in electric blue and orange runs across tank tops, bras, mini skirts and the Long Blue Target Dress, a single look carrying an entire evening on its own. Wear it alone. The denim is curved, wide through the hip and cut low. The Curved Denim Jeans and the Curved Denim Mini Skirt, both in raw indigo, are the pieces that will be everywhere this summer. Wear either with the Striped Bodysuit, the trompe-l'oeil one that maps the body in concentric blue and white circles, and you have the collection's most referenced combination before the season has even started. For evening, the Long Asymmetrical Dress in black stretch jersey moves from a fitted bodice into a single sweeping diagonal hem. The Gingham Dress and matching Gingham Sweater are the most wearable entry point, classic check cut with Lantink's layering instinct. The Bomber Jacket leads the men's selection. The Suck T-Shirt is already sold out.
Junior, The Attitude
The visual world Lantink built around the collection is as considered as the clothes. Shot by Photographers Inez & Vinoodh, styled by Jodie Barnes with Art Direction by Studio Jop van Bennekom, the campaign draws its energy from the late 1980s without quoting it directly. Supermodel Leon Dame leads a cast that includes Marte Mei van Haaster, Signe Michaelsson and Emaan Zishan. Bodies in motion, humor intact, attitude dialed up. Exactly where Jean Paul Gaultier should be in 2026.
Shop The Jean Paul Gaultier "Junior" Spring Summer 2026 collection
Discover more: Luxury Events Calendar 2026 · Milan Design Week 2026 Events Guide
Subscribe to Babble-UP for full access to premium luxury lifestyle content.