Surf + Print + Nuanced Optimism

In SS26, Dries Van Noten under Julian Klausner offers something of a buoyant exhale. The collection is rooted in "ease and optimism," inspired by surf culture and the sunlit edges of seaside living. It's a Dries house voice heard in new registers - lighter, more playful, yet still deeply anchored in the brand's hallmark attention to texture, pattern, and layering.

The runway builds gently: starting with muted tones — whites, grays, soft beiges — then allowing color to rise like waves: lime greens, hot pinks, tomato reds, corals. The effect is atmospheric rather than jarring; each color moment feels earned, part of a journey from calm dawn toward a brighter midday.

Klausner's SS26 is distinguished by its meld of soft volume and structure. Sheer gowns drift alongside more anchored pieces: bomber jackets, sculpted outerwear, boldly printed robes, and knits that cling, sway, sometimes shine. He draws on wetsuit aesthetics - tight, form-hugging lines - yet balances that with beach caftan-like drape.

Prints are expressive and varied: florals, stripes, layered motifs, some sequined or richly textured. There's also a revitalization of signature Dries Van Noten print work, but with sharper contrast, more compression between casual beach motifs and elevated tailoring. The sarong-pareos reappear (under or over pants in some pieces) riffing on vacation wardrobe, signaling both sensuality and ease.

Texture is central: jersey, sheer fabrics, coated linens, gloss, and matte surfaces shift across the collection. Some pieces melt into skin like second layers; others stand out with weight or stiffness — a contrast that allows the whole to breathe and feel lively.

SS26 is not about spectacle but about mood - the line between rest and movement.

Klausner seems to want us to feel the sun, the shore breeze, the moment after surf: water on skin, salt on towels, sand between toes. He frames this in clothing by alternating ease (shirts undone, loose trousers) and moments of polish (embroidered pieces, sharply cut coats, statement beads).

The show arcs from restrained beginnings toward more fearless color and form. As layers build, prints more insistently present themselves, fabrics become more revealing, silhouettes more adventurous. It's a narrative of release: from garment as shelter to garment as declaration.

Klausner inherits the DNA of Dries Van Noten — sumptuous prints, layered textures — yet infuses them with youth, brightness, and a more relaxed attitude. The way color crescendos across the show is masterful. Also, the print combinations risk overstatement, but many land beautifully because of thoughtful pairings and contrast. Many pieces feel like they can live — in wardrobe, not just on runway. The mingling of statement pieces with softer, everyday-friendly garments gives the collection dimension.

The delicate balance between casual and elevated is ambitious — some looks flirt with imbalance (too much sheerness, too much structure), which could feel less cohesive in varied contexts. Because of the surge in color and daring toward the end, the transition from muted to bold could feel abrupt for some viewers; pacing matters. Some of the more showy or embellished pieces risk being less translatable to daily or street wear, hedged in theatricality.

Dries Van Noten SS26 under Klausner is a vivid turning point: it's as much about breath as it is about print; about fluidity and laughter beneath elevated craft. It doesn't abandon the house's legacy; instead, it makes it more visible — more adaptive, more willing to swim rather than stand shore-side.

This is a collection that celebrates surface and skin, pattern and silhouette, optimism and sophistication. For those who love Dries Van Noten for its poetry of fabric and pattern, this season feels like seeing that poetry reframed in light. If SS26 is "just a perfect day," it's one that you'd want hanging in your wardrobe and memory.