When Duran Lantink made his haute couture debut for Jean Paul Gaultier's Fall 2026 collection, he didn't look to space or the future. Instead, he turned to a queen who knew a thing or two about making an entrance. Marie Antoinette, the 18th-century monarch famous for her towering wigs and massive ballgowns, served as the unlikely muse for a show that reimagined royal excess for the modern runway.
Lantink's collection played with scale and silhouette, taking the queen's signature panniers - those wide, structured skirts - and translating them into exaggerated, almost architectural shapes. The result was a series of gowns that felt both historical and futuristic, as if Antoinette had time-traveled into a world of latex, corsetry, and sheer fabrics. The designer didn't just copy history; he twisted it, adding zippers, cutouts, and unexpected draping that gave each piece a rebellious edge.
For the Lingerie Museum, this collection offers a fascinating case study in how undergarments shape power. Antoinette's ballgowns relied on complex stays and hoops to create her commanding presence - the same engineering that Gaultier's show now updates with modern materials and a wink. Lantink's debut proves that the art of drawing a crowd hasn't changed much in 250 years: it still starts with what lies beneath.
Originally reported by WWD