Julie Kegels’ Spring/Summer 2026 collection being in transit
Among the finalists of the 2026 LVMH Prize, Belgian designer Julie Kegels is rapidly emerging as one of fashion’s most intriguing new voices. Her Spring/Summer 2026 collection, presented at Paris’ Passy metro station, felt less like a runway show and more like a portrait of contemporary life in perpetual motion.
What began as three words typed into a notes app — change change change — unfolded into a wardrobe built around transformation. A woman rushes from office to party, from one identity to the next, never quite arriving anywhere.
The clothes carry the evidence of that rush. Bra straps are tied in haste. Collars stretch out of shape. Makeup stains, wrinkles, and imperfect seams become part of the design language. Nothing feels fixed. Everything appears to be in the middle of becoming something else.
Kegels turns transformation into spectacle through a series of quick-change looks that shift on the runway within seconds. A pencil skirt becomes a slip dress. Draping unfolds into eveningwear. One woman becomes another before the audience has time to notice.
Yet beneath the momentum lies a desire for stillness. Lace disappears rather than appears. Satin nightgowns leave behind ghostly traces. Historical silhouettes and still-life references interrupt the pace, offering brief moments of pause.
The result is a collection about modern womanhood in motion: messy, elegant, overwhelmed, romantic. A wardrobe for someone living several lives at once, carrying tomorrow’s outfit before today’s day is even over.
Images by Luca Tombolini