Duran Lantink spent two precious days in the lead-up to his fall show at the LVMH Prize, presenting his work to the jury and hundreds of other people across the industry. He was a finalist in 2019 as well, but after a breakthrough spring 2024 collection he came back for another go at the competition. His spring collection was noteworthy for its exploration of shape. Lantink built up shoulders and hips with padding, and extended the appearance of the torso with stretchy body stockings. Stylists went a bit crazy for it. The extreme proportions of the garments make for great photos.
Lantink’s fall collection is a follow-up, only here, instead of delving into such summery essentials as bathing suits and lifesavers, he trained his attention on wintery gear like ski sweaters, long johns, and cozy wool socks, complemented by some power tailoring. “We’re really trying to figure out new ways of presenting clothes, creating new shapes and forming a new identity,” he said. Using padding, he exaggerated the shoulders on both a sweater dress and a single-breasted jacket by bringing them forward, and thickened the chest and back on cropped jackets in leather or upcycled puffer nylons to Mr. Incredible dimensions.
The shapes aren’t easy to achieve. “They’re very labor intensive,” he allowed, “but I’m kind of a romantic thinker in that way. From my perspective, I don’t think that it’s something only conceptual.” Still, he has to think about commerciality, so on smaller pieces like sweater vests and button-downs he inserted a good inch or inch-and-a-half of foam between two layers of fabric, sometimes slicing them horizontally or diagonally to show off their unusual thickness.
There’s strength and humor in these pieces, not to mention ingenuity. But what about less romantic thinkers? Or customers not as inclined to bulk up? The Prize jury will have wanted to know how he can grow his niche audience. A navy peacoat spliced with undyed shearling sleeves (made from cast-offs deemed unusable due to small imperfections) looked like a cool jumping-off point for next time.
