Pauline Dujancourt Fall 2026
For Fall 2026, Pauline Dujancourt presented a collection that felt both intimate and quietly powerful, woven with stories of craft, community, and womanhood. The Paris-based designer, known for her sculptural knits and soft romanticism, titled her final gown Eli after her lead knitter in Peru. It was a gesture of gratitude as much as design philosophy. The dress, a cascade of crocheted purple flowers stitched onto sheer mesh, embodied the slow, meticulous labor that defines Dujancourt’s practice. “It’s quite a beautiful process, although it’s laborious,” she said, smiling at the thought of the women behind every loop and thread.
The collection itself felt like a spell cast through fabric. Soft alpaca tops trailed with strips of tulle that rippled behind the models like smoke. Layers of hand-knit tulle crisscrossed across bodies, creating patterns that looked almost alive when in motion. Dujancourt drew inspiration from the notion of female communes once outlawed in history, imagining what might have become of women like her — creators, dreamers, conspirators — born into a time that did not allow their freedom. That haunting question ran quietly beneath the show’s surface beauty, transforming each garment into an act of defiance.
At its core, this was a collection about connection. Dujancourt’s studio, run entirely by women, is as much a sisterhood as a workspace. “It’s a way for them to get their independence,” she said of her team. “We just wanted to celebrate them, because they’re incredible.” The knotted threads, the interlaced tulles, the floral embroideries — all of it told a story of women holding space for one another, creating something enduring with their hands.
