RVDK Ronald van der Kemp Couture Fall 2026: Street Smarts

by · WWD
RVDK Ronald van der Kemp Fall 2026 Couture Collection at Paris Couture WeekCourtesy of RVDK Ronald van der Kemp

Ronald van der Kemp’s latest collection was presented between two art galleries in Paris’ Marais, less as a traditional runway than a moving exhibition. Models walked the pavement between the two spaces, taking couture out of its usual protected environment and into the street, where passersby stopped, watched and snapped photos.

That was precisely the point.

“Couture used to inspire people — even people who cannot buy it. You want to inspire people,” he said.

As the industry increasingly focuses on scale, speed and AI, van der Kemp’s approach is purposely analogue. There is no ready-to-wear line, or any handbags or a beauty business as a bottom line backup. The couture is the product.

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Inspired by Andy Warhol’s Factory, the Amsterdam-based designer approached the collection as an experiment, while using various artistic disciplines to transform deadstock fabrics, leftover beads, and other repurposed materials through both traditional craftsmanship and the latest technology.

Looks ranged from sparkly, almost 1940s-inspired suiting to punkish painted denim, and a stretchy evening gown hand-stitched from tiny scraps of found materials. A sculptural patchwork tweed garment arched out from the hips and into a train, like the mullet of dresses. Nothing quite matched, yet everything gelled.

“It starts very intuitively,” he said. “We have fabrics, and you see what we can do with things that either don’t look good, or that we have leftovers. We just start making try-out swatches, and then one thing leads to another.”

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That process resulted in several hand-painted 3D-printed embellishments, sculptural plastic tailoring and experimental layered printing techniques that created unexpected textures, from skirts shimmering like mermaid scales to surfaces that appeared almost pierced with needles.

He’s a bit of a mad sartorial scientist.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen until the end. I like that feeling because it keeps you on your toes,” he said.

That uncertainty is increasingly rare in the world, according to the Dutch designer. “Everything is so programmed, and AI-driven,” he said. “I want it to be real.”

The collection also revisited his own archive, transforming a dress previously worn by Kylie Jenner into an entirely new gown. Rather than making more objects for consumption, van der Kemp is interested in extending the lives — and story arcs — of things that already exist.

Whether anyone watching in the street will ever buy a van der Kemp couture gown was almost beside the point. The collection argued that couture’s value isn’t exclusivity, but its ability to encourage others to create things for themselves.