Junya Watanabe SS26 Will Make Your Jaw Drop
From forks and glasses to boxing gloves and a Stüssy collaboration, the Japanese designer turned Paris Fashion Week into an art class.
Japanese designer Junya Watanabe never shies away from a challenge, especially the ones he sets for himself. For Spring/Summer 2026, the avant-garde visionary reimagined everyday tools as extraordinary art forms, continuing to captivate audiences with his ability to stage shows that make jaws drop.
Watanabe kicked off the sixth day of Paris Fashion Week bright and early with an exploration that blurred the lines between the ordinary and the exceptional. “Extraordinary art born from the everyday,” Watanabe explains in a statement. “By treating readymade items—objects originally intended for specific purposes—as one of the materials, I recontextualized them and explored forms that could never be achieved through conventional methods.”
The opening look kept his words at the forefront: a slim black gown paired with clinging red pumps. Look two followed with a tan trench coat suspended from wooden hangers, while wide-brimmed, sun-ready hats concealed the upper half of a lace dress in the third. Elsewhere, a white summer dress transformed into a sculpture of open umbrellas, and metallic pieces sprouted sleeves built from spoons. From forks and glasses to boxing gloves and a Stüssy collaboration, Junya Watanabe turned Paris Fashion Week into an art class.
Take a closer look at Junya Watanabe SS26 in the gallery above.
