By Louise Daniel
For his second appearance on the Paris Haute Couture calendar, Kevin Germanier brought a sense of childlike wonder to the runway—quite literally. Couture can take on many shapes and sizes, but for this couturier, it can also manifest in three inflatable balloon gowns that looked as though they could pop at any moment. Showing on the final day of Couture Week—when most guests are running on fumes—Germanier’s collection sparked the kind of joy that resets a room.
The setting was the basement of IRCAM, a modern French institution dedicated to avant-garde sound. At its heart stood an iridescent balloon sculpture that cast a soft, dreamy glow across the industrial space—an atmosphere that felt at once playful and subversively elegant. Before the lights dimmed, there was a moment of surreal delight: Hello Kitty and Kuromi entered the venue, clad in custom Germanier couture. That is not something you see every day. Aptly titled Les Joueuses ("The Players"), the Fall 2025 collection was a glittering manifesto on joy. The opening look—a fully silver ensemble that mimicked the reflections of a disco ball—set the tone for a show that gleefully broke all expectations. Germanier pushed beyond the traditional codes of couture, embracing prints like polka dots, snake, painted leopard, and stripes.
Each look combined maximalist energy with high-level craftsmanship. The medium of clothing stretched to new potentialities. And then came the balloon gowns—sculptural, colorful, and whimsical. One of the standout pieces was created in collaboration with Brazilian artist Gustavo Silvestre using hand-woven raffia, a material more often seen in artisanal contexts than couture runways.
The red balloon dress with a spiked silhouette marked a shift in tone: still vibrant, but included a new wave of intensity. The third balloon gown, a joyful collaboration with Hello Kitty, opened the door to the show's most whimsical moment—an intersection of fantasy and high fashion that somehow did not feel out of place.
That Unmistakable Feeling of Joy
In a time defined by global uncertainty—politically, socially, economically—Germanier’s couture felt like a joyful act of disruption. The set design, the musical direction curated by Raphaël Parpex, the prismatic colors and the exaggerated silhouettes—all worked in harmony to deliver a message: joy is an act of resistance, and fashion, a poignant vessel for optimism.
Upcycled leather looks, originally worn for Eurovision, were transformed through crystal embellishments and elevated to couture standards. For the finale, a sculptural gown crafted entirely from recycled Japanese paper was worn by the iconic Gigi Goode. The piece stood as a vision in white—delicate, pure, and quietly radical.
Germanier's Global Vision
As always, sustainability remains central to Germanier’s ethos. The balloons used in the collection were rejects, dismissed for paint or quality test failures—and yet here, reborn into spectacular runway moments. Feathers from past designs were revived into new statement pieces. Even the set—built specifically for this show—will be upcycled next season into sequins.
But Germanier’s vision is also global. Though rooted in Paris and Switzerland, Les Joueuses was built through a constellation of international collaborators: raffia from Brazil, embroidery from India, contributions from artisans in Vietnam and the Philippines. As a result, Germanier has developed a couture language that transcends geography and tradition—where reinvention is not an afterthought, but the soul of the work.
Because if there is anything this collection teaches us, it’s that couture can still be magical. It can still make us feel something. And sometimes, the most profound gesture is to simply let go and play.
Germanier Couture Fall 2025: Looks 5, 9, 12, 14, 15, 27 (Imagery courtesy of Germanier)
