At Paris Men’s Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2027, Julian Klausner, the head of menswear at Dries Van Noten, presented a mesmerizing dreamscape: pastel shades of peach and caramel transitioned into the colors of a sunset and woodland greenery, while fabrics—chiffon, viscose, washed silk, and nearly sheer knits—fluttered like living things at the slightest breeze.
This marks the designer's third menswear collection for the house, and his strategy is now clear: he is not merely replicating Dries Van Noten’s legacy, but evolving it toward greater fantasy and lightness. Under Klausner’s creative lead, Dries Van Noten is at the forefront of a trend that turns away from the heavy silhouettes and dense materials of recent years in favor of more ephemeral forms.
Klausner explicitly cited Stéphane Mallarmé’s 1876 poem "The Afternoon of a Faun" as his inspiration, translating the motif of a mystical creature waking in a forest haze into the very fabric of the collection. This resulted in blurred, almost botanical gradient prints. Tonal layers of varying weights and transparencies create a sense of constant motion, as if the clothes were moving under their own power. Even the daring references to lingerie feel natural and convincing in this context.
The collection sits at a specific point on the arc of a global trend: lightness and femininity in menswear are no longer marginal, yet they have not yet reached their peak. It responds to a growing fatigue with the protective, brutalist silhouettes of recent seasons, offering a sense of freedom and vulnerability in their place. This aligns closely with the rising interest in a dreamy, hazy aesthetic—seen everywhere from TikTok algorithms to interior design and music—where pastels and fluid boundaries dominate.
Klausner’s work is intended for those who want to look both sophisticated and effortless, and who find strength in the courage to appear soft. It is a design philosophy for those who wish to be perceived as individuals living to their own rhythm and by their own rules, rather than following someone else's script.
