Junya Watanabe showcased his fall 2026 ready-to-wear collection at Paris Fashion Week on March 7, drawing inspiration from refuse and raw materials to create innovative designs. The show, titled 'The Art of Assemblage Couture,' featured Irina Shayk opening and Maggie Maurer closing the runway. Watanabe emphasized creative instinct over conventional dressmaking, highlighting themes of circularity in fashion.
The Junya Watanabe fall 2026 collection, presented during Paris Fashion Week on March 7, 2026, transformed everyday discards into high-fashion statements. Titled “The Art of Assemblage Couture,” the designs were built from scraps like fur, picture frames, and shiny handbags to form gowns. Watanabe described the approach as “form born from pure creative instinct, free from conventional notions of dressmaking. Through the direct presentation of raw materials, this approach expresses the surrounding social environment.”
Key looks included a cape-like jacket with sleeves and back crafted from stiletto boots, and elbow patches made from leather gloves. Corset tops and peplums gained structure from hard, curved plastic sourced from motorcycle helmets, while thick black buckles and fragments of motoring gear adorned gowns fashioned from sack cloth, gold foil, or pleated garbage bags. One standout dress featured a long train of patterned curtains, paired with a ceremonial sash and a bodice assembled from broken-up license plates and a glittery image of Marilyn Monroe. A long black dress was accessorized with a furry stole strung from stuffed animals, and a white feathery tutu incorporated silvery evening bags.
Irina Shayk opened the show in a sculptural corset dress constructed from gloves and buckles. Maggie Maurer, a couture model, closed the runway. Models sported kiss curls and dark eye makeup, strolling slowly or striking poses reminiscent of silent film actresses. The soundtrack consisted of old-fashioned schmaltzy music composed by Hakushi Hasegawa and Tokutaro Hosoi for accordion, violin, and piano.
The collection commented on the waste-not, want-not ethos and the volume of materials used and discarded in fashion, while conveying a message of hope through beauty conjured from castoffs.
