Junya Watanabe absolutely stunned us all for fall winter 2026 with a collection unveiled bright and early on Saturday morning in a dark parking lot in Oberkampf. Titled The Art of Assemblage Couture the collection unfolded like a surreal tango on the Paris runway. Built from an unlikely vocabulary of everyday objects like motorcycle gear, gloves, stuffed toys, and fragments of signage, the garments embraced Watanabe’s instinctive approach to form, assembling raw materials into sculptural silhouettes that defied conventional dressmaking.
The show featured movement direction from Pat Boguslawski, whose work we also know from the Maison Margiela Artisanal 2024 show he famously directed. The clothes came alive in a dreamlike way; models pivoted, lunged, and dramatically discarded coats across the checkered floor to the soundtrack of Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango, creating a charged, almost theatrical rhythm that echoed the tension between chaos and control in the collection itself.
With hair by Eugene Souleiman and tear-streaked makeup by Isamaya Ffrench, the atmosphere felt heightened and emotional, reinforcing Watanabe’s assemblage of objects, gestures, and symbols, including a message reading “May peace prevail in the world” into a poetic reflection of the surrounding social climate.
Discover the collection below.
