Julie Kegels SS27 Collection Explores Gravity at Paris Fashion Week

Julie Kegels opened Paris Fashion Week for the Spring-Summer 2027 season with her first runway show since winning the LVMH Prize. The Belgian designer, recently crowned with the prestigious award, presented her SS27 collection titled 'Apple of the Day'.

Inspiration and thematic core

The collection draws from Newton’s gravitational epiphany, exploring heaviness and lightness as metaphors. Julie Kegels described the collection as being about 'falling in all its various forms'. She elaborated, listing "Falling short. Falling under pressure. Falling into place. Falling in love." The theme reflects on gravity, societal expectations, and letting go. It references both Isaac Newton's apple and the designer's personal daily apple ritual.

Material contrasts and design details

Heavier elements like denim capes and leather shift dresses are juxtaposed with lighter organza gowns and reworked bras. Garments play with inversion, transparency, and deconstruction. Bare shoulders peek through openwork knit. Shoulder pads are turned completely inside out and dangle along the arms. Sheer fabrics create optical illusions, making outfits seem to construct and deconstruct themselves.

The classic shirt is cropped into a tiny top with offset buttons, paired with a pencil skirt thrown on as if in a rush. Over-sized denim shorts have cuffs and a deliberately unfinished look. The inseam is reworked on pants and denim canvas to the point of almost disappearing. Half-skirt, half-trousers garments restrict movement. Models sometimes had to grab the fabric with both hands to advance on the catwalk.

The runway became a stretched canvas. Silhouettes seemed to bounce, creating a high-wire balancing act in stiletto heels. Tights were worn extremely low with an exaggeratedly sagging inseam, a nostalgic nod to childhood. Garments were worn backward, like a top crafted from a denim jacket with vertical back seams at the front. Dresses and strapless tops migrated to the hips to become skirts.

Remains of several bras were layered in the same spot. They lost their primary function of support and became adornments worn over clothing, recalling a childhood security blanket. The plastic dry-cleaning cover, a recurring motif for the brand, was reinvented with a handle and worn as a functional handbag. Glitter from her previous collection reappeared trapped beneath the transparent organza of a dress.

Symbolism and presentation

The show closed with 42 silhouettes. The number 42 is described as far from random and rich in mathematical and technological symbolism.

Designer’s reflection and broader context

Kegels reflected on the weight of opportunity and responsibility after her LVMH Prize win. She wrote in her show notes: "From last March onwards, my days became fuller. More people, more conversations, more opportunities, and with that, more responsibility." She stated that building a company while protecting the joy that made her start it became the heaviest and most loved part of the work. This Paris Fashion Week edition was described as decidedly more conscious of the world and its changing environment. The collection’s exploration of falling and gravity positions Julie Kegels as a designer translating personal and philosophical themes into wearable, symbolic fashion.