Jean Paul Gaultier Unveils Controversial Bodysuit in Paris Fashion Week

Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring/Summer 2026 "Junior" collection, the first under new creative director Duran Lantink, made a bold and controversial return to ready-to-wear with sculpted silhouettes and surreal prints that drew strong reactions. Lantink's designs included bodysuits depicting lifelike naked male bodies and prints of body hair and tattoos, blending humor with high fashion and challenging traditional forms with exaggerated, bulbous shapes. The collection paid homage to Gaultier's rebellious history and his cult 1988-1994 "Junior" line while infusing Lantink's chaotic imagination, featuring classic motifs like Marinière stripes reimagined as optical illusions and dragon motifs on corsets. Reactions were polarized, with some praising the show's audacity and continuation of Gaultier's DNA, while others criticized it as disrespectful and confusing, reflecting a debate about the creative direction of the house. Lantink notably avoided relying heavily on the Gaultier archives, instead drawing from his own work to reinvent the brand's codes and push boundaries with form and parody. The presentation, set in Paris, underscored the tension between honoring Gaultier's legacy and pushing fashion into new, provocative realms.