In a quiet showroom during Paris Fashion Week, Jan-Jan Van Essche presents a collection that feels closer to an environment than a conventional runway display. The Belgian designer shows around one hundred garments, all rendered in muted earth tones and constructed from natural fabrics. The space itself reinforces the atmosphere, with bamboo structures holding wide, flowing silhouettes that emphasize ease and tactility.
The Fall/Winter 2026 collection, titled “Soil,” continues Van Essche’s long-standing approach to clothing as an evolving system rather than seasonal disruption. His work avoids abrupt change, instead refining a set of foundational silhouettes over time. These recurring forms act as a framework, reinterpreted through different materials, weaving techniques, and finishing processes.
Within this collection, garments range from padded wool coats to garment-dyed denim and raw-edged silk pieces. Each item carries a sense of material openness, where texture and fabric behavior define the final expression more than decorative intervention. The result is a wardrobe built through continuity, where evolution replaces novelty as the guiding principle.
Van Essche’s practice extends beyond design into close collaboration with artisans and long-time collaborators. The presentation reflects this network, with friends and craftspeople involved in both production and staging. This approach reinforces the idea that clothing can exist within a broader ecosystem of relationships rather than a purely industrial process.
A significant development in “Soil” is the introduction of a Japan-based production and distribution line. This sub-collection revisits existing silhouettes through partnerships with Japanese craftspeople, resulting in garments shaped by localized techniques. The line functions as a parallel system within the main collection, distinguished by its own labeling and handmade detailing.
The pieces are constructed using natural fiber blends such as hemp, cotton, bamboo, and wool. Two distinct dyeing processes define the palette. One uses mud dyeing techniques to achieve deep earthy tones, while the other relies on persimmon-based dyeing combined with iron treatment to produce muted, slightly pinkish greys. These processes introduce variation across garments, ensuring that each piece carries subtle differences in tone and surface.
Van Essche’s ongoing relationship with Japan plays a central role in this evolution. Regular collaboration and travel inform both design and production, reinforcing a sense of continuity between creative development and place. The “Soil” project reflects this connection, positioning clothing as something shaped by geography, craft, and long-term exchange rather than seasonal cycles.
Through this collection, Van Essche further develops a vision of fashion grounded in patience and material awareness, where garments are understood as living objects shaped over time rather than static seasonal statements.