By Jesse Scott
It’s all about cozy chic for Julian Klausner heading into Autumn/Winter 2026, as the Belgian designer turned in a new direction for his second menswear collection as creative director of Dries Van Noten. Opening the show to the soothing song “Yo Go Aketara” by Japanese jazz singer Maki Akawasa, Klausner enveloped the crowd in a nostalgic rhythm just as he enveloped the models in layers of patterned sweaters, slightly oversized coats, and a series of kilts. The one key word was “knits,” in enough variety and color to fulfill your every Nordic Fair Isle fantasy. We saw argyles and paisleys… vintage florals and vivid stripes… on everything from cardigans to capes. Tank tops took center stage, typically worn over sleeved shirts in keeping with the spirit of the Autumn-Winter collection, but so did vibrant patterned ties that remind me of those buried in my father’s closet from the early 90s. I vividly remember my dad lamenting that “no one makes ties which pop with clean colors anymore.” He can be assured, in Klausner’s capable hands, that this paradigm no longer exists.
Backstage details of Dries Van Noten AW26 (Images courtesy of Dries Van Noten/Leon Prost)
Klausner Weaves A Coming-of-Age Story
It was no accident that the show evoked nostalgic feelings. For Klausner, Autumn-Winter 2026 was an opportunity to relate to both long-time Dries supporters and new clients through a coming-of-age tale. “An exploration of self-expression in the making,” as we were told in the show notes. The collection spoke to all of the optimism, exuberance, and imperfections of youth.
Entitled “Break of Dawn,” the collection envisioned young men leaving home for the first time into the strange and intoxicating twilight zone of adolescence. Perhaps he brought a Fair Isle sweater found deep in a family closet, a vintage but most ill-fitting coat passed down from his father, a tank top that he outgrew shortly after he started lifting, a loud scarf gifted by a grandparent, and a beloved beanie that carried him through the hallways of high school. Then perhaps, on a snowy college campus, he throws them all on together while rushing out of his dorm room to class. Many of the pieces are mismatched to be sure; so too were the salmon and aquamarine madras pants that I would wear with a variety of bright polos when I was eighteen. But this was entirely intentional; the collection is not meant for the red-carpet events from which we frame photos but instead for the beloved mundane moments at home with family and friends which, ultimately, become far more important to us. “I was thinking of the emotion attached to a particular garment and the spontaneous ways to wear it… comforters, souvenirs, roots,” Klausner told guests.
Backstage with Dries Van Noten AW26 (Images courtesy of Dries Van Noten/Leon Prost)
Particular garments that stood out for me were an opening jacket with a vibrant oversized collar recalling Peruvian patterns in Look 1, a billowing herringbone coat worn over an asymmetrical-collared Fair Isle sweater in Look 16, and oversized blazers, some with hems resembling skirts, in clean shades of heather green, burnt orange, and lilac purple in Looks 21, 24, 26. Cottagecore met urban edge (and worked!) on richly textured leather jackets with floral pattern collars in Looks 28, 30. However, this collection was not defined by any specific piece but rather by a universally beloved mood, that of home. On a particular rainy Paris Fashion Week day, leaving the show venue to curl up fireside in one of these looks sounded perfect.
Dries Van Noten AW26: Looks 1, 16, 21, 24, 26, 28, 30 (Images courtesy of Dries Van Noten/GoRunway)