Junya Watanabe always surprises us with his approach to abstract themes and concepts on the runway. Aided by a musical immersion, the collection presented at Men's Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026 takes us on a tug-of-war between classicism and radicalism, where, at some point, both converge into a new wave of grunge formality.

When the stage opened, ensembles featuring bold fleur-de-lis prints on jackets dominated the runway, styled with straight-cut denim pants in olive and orange tones. These soon gave way to patchwork-style decorations with remnants of previous pieces, each beautifully embroidered and adorned. Each of these looks represented the inevitable inherent connection between the collection's core concepts.

Bomber jackets attached to coats and layered oversize shirts were featured. Each of these pieces seemed to be missing a jacket, leaving its mark on the print of each garment or, alternatively, asserting its formal nature with three ties joined at the knot and draped pants, appearing both chaotic and, paradoxically, orderly.

Junya Watanabe extended the concept of classicism by allowing radicalism to be a part of it, even introducing prints of the anarchist Hans Jaeger, as well as minimalist architecture and aerial paintings of urban conglomerates. The central intention was to reproduce something that felt old, yet at the same time, fresh and current.

This is a surprising collection for Junya Watanabe's usual maximalism. The brand successfully contains its conceptualism within prints and a growing narrative on the runway. Each garment tells a story and, most importantly, as a spectator, it makes you want to strip the clothes off the models and wear them on your way home (or to jail for theft).