From Paris to Mumbai, The Darjeeling Dandy has his Day
Review of Louis Vuitton Spring 2026 Men’s Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Indian sartorialism, modern dandyism, nonchalant tailoring
The return of the dandy is set to become a major influence beyond 2025. Following a return to conservative dressing – which is ripe for disruption – and the fact that this year’s Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute’s exhibition ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ puts the Black Dandy front and centre. It should come as no surprise then, that Met Gala co-host and Louis Vuitton creative director Pharrell Williams chose now as the time to pivot his aesthetic focus for the Louis Vuitton man.
Having silenced his critics by continuing to build on and redefine the legacy of streetwear as a luxury endeavour, as well as a key cultural instigator whose ripple effects can be felt across the runways and in the showrooms of the worlds most renowned fashion house’s, Williams’ spring 2026 collection expands his vision for the house and homes, solely, in on a level of formality that was only just beginning to be teased in previous collections.
Always keeping the storied history of the house front of mind, travel via storytelling has been a connecting theme throughout his tenure so far, with a collection borne of the coming together with his long-time collaborator Nigo, Japan was the destination du jour for fall 2024. Today we hopped on the Darjeeling Express for what was set to influence the shows creative input i.e. “modern Indian sartorialism on the global contemporary wardrobe” according to today’s show notes. Using travel as a beacon for connectivity each season, Williams has managed to use the cultural markers of different locales, and not only pull on an these threads to project an authentic global influence, but reframe them within the Louis Vuitton house codes.
Structured sartorialism will surely be a welcome addition to his tenure at the house, and it gave the creative director the opportunity to demonstrate his ability to work across both the casual and formal categories required of any global luxury brand that hopes to appeal to the lifestyle needs of the modern man.
And by focussing outward on India and more specifically its sartorial contributions, he has jumpstarted his contribution to Louis Vuitton tailoring with an unexpected look outside the classic euro-centric sphere.
Set in courtyard of the Centre Pompidou, which is set to close later this year for major renovation work to take place, with a scheduled reopening date of 2030, tonight was a fitting send-off for one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks. As has become a custom with Louis Vuitton runway shows, this was a star-studded affair, and in town for her Cowboy Carter tour there were many whispers of whether Beyoncé – who had been spotted earlier at the Fondation Louis Vuitton – would make an appearance. And to the delight of the crowd in attendance, both her and husband Jay-Z arrived embodying both the theme of her current album, and the house’s fall 2024 collection. Such is the gravitational pull of the Louis Vuitton creative director, that he is able to bring together the great and good from the world’s of fashion, music, sport, and film.
As with previous seasons it is not simply about the clothes, as explained in the show notes Williams considers the many touchpoints that can spin out from a collection. Today it was everything from partnering with architecture firm Studio Mumbai who created the life-sized game of snakes and ladders (an ‘Indian board game – which originated in the second century as a mandala’) which became todays set to models Saurang Deepak, Deepak Gupta, and Jainil Nawariya scouted from, among others, Indian agency Anon Model Agency, and a palette (forgoing the vibrancy we have come to expect from his shows) based off the colour white in homage to Indias land-and-cityscapes. And as ever entertainment is never far from his mind, as explained in the notes ‘For the first time, the motif created by Louis Vuitton for The Darjeeling Limited is proposed as part of a collection’ and we saw ‘a tapestry of cross-continental flora and fauna including cheetahs, elephants, gazelles, giraffes, rhinoceros, zebras and palm trees’ paraded across eleven pieces of luggage, embroidered onto shirts, denim, tailoring, and knitwear.
The most important facet of the show was Williams setting out his fully realised vision for men’s tailoring for the house. Here, inspired as it was by dandyism and the ‘metropolitan environments of India’, each look held an air of nonchalance with a softness meant to convey the idea of a lived-in elegance embedded within its seams. There was also the mix of sport and the layering on of outdoor wear inspired by glamping and hiking, which was woven throughout as the ultimate wardrobe solution for everyday ‘enriched through the savoir-faire of Louis Vuitton’.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Today’s focus on dandy sartorialism with an Indian twist was a surprising departure for Williams, yet not out of keeping with the way the season is shaping up. This focus on the formalwear customer was one that was always going to have to have been tackled sooner or later, and as it turns out the sooner has proved to be the better, as sobriety and simplicity is surfacing, as if pre-empting the incoming luxury downturn, brands are getting ahead of the curve and forgoing fanfare for clothes that will live on outside of a single season. In other words, when one of fashions (and entertainments) greatest showmen decides to lean into sartorial structure, it’s a sign of the times.
