Christian Wijnants draws on Kyoto’s zen gardens for autumn-winter 2026
For his autumn-winter 2026 collection, Christian Wijnants takes inspiration from Japanese zen gardens, known as karesansui. Titled “Lines of Serenity”, the collection translates the raked patterns, curved compositions and muted tones of these dry gardens into sculptural silhouettes. A restrained palette and carefully chosen materials tell a story of calm and precision.
Silhouettes inspired by the monk gardeners
The outerwear pieces make direct reference to the monks who tend zen gardens. Several key looks are designed without collars or lapels, creating silhouettes that evoke monk’s robes. This formal choice gives the collection an aesthetic that is at once understated and commanding.
Waists are defined, paired with oversized, enveloping shoulders and sleeves. The moss-green “Cumba” coat captures this approach well: it wraps around the body while asserting a clear structure. Outerwear pieces also incorporate forest-green faux fur from German manufacturer Steiff, renowned for its iconic plush fabrics.
The “Jirono” jacket stands out for its elongated front panels and cropped back. It ties at the waist into a sculptural knot, a striking detail that reappears on knitwear and accessories. This knot motif consequently becomes a visual thread running throughout the entire collection.
“The linear raked patterns, curved compositions and muted tones of these dry gardens translate into sculptural silhouettes and a restrained palette.”
Knitwear as a study in line
Knitwear remains central to Christian Wijnants‘s work this season. Twisted knits in extra-fine wool feature widened ribs that echo the raked patterns of karesansui gardens. Each row of knitting becomes a line, a furrow, a trace.
Construction also takes centre stage this season. There are short shirts and blazers, capes fastened over dresses, tops and trousers. Removable shirt fronts and plastrons further allow for varied, modular layering.
Prints born from a photographic collaboration
The collection’s prints were developed in collaboration with French photographer Quentin Chamard-Bois. They draw on his photographs of abandoned landscape artworks, reworked to create abstract wind-swept forests. Swirling leaves are also visible, evoking a zen garden in Kyoto that the designer visited.
These motifs bring a narrative dimension to the collection. Rather than faithfully reproducing nature, however, they abstract it, stylise it, reinterpret it. The result is a series of prints that are at once poetic and rooted in a precise reference point.
- Collarless, lapel-free silhouettes inspired by monk’s robes
- Moss-green “Cumba” coat with oversized shoulders and sleeves
- Forest-green faux fur from German manufacturer Steiff
- “Jirono” jacket with a sculptural knot at the waist
- Prints developed with photographer Quentin Chamard-Bois
Christian Wijnants‘s chosen palette accompanies this serene vision. It unfolds across sand, pale sea foam, light laurel, moss, chestnut, rust, powder blue and Klein blue. These shades evoke the natural materials and mineral pigments of Japanese dry gardens.
A palette that speaks of nature and silence
Every colour in this palette carries a reference to the natural world. Klein blue cuts slightly through the earthy tones, adding a note of depth. By contrast, sand and pale sea foam cast a soft, diffuse light across the silhouettes.
Rust and chestnut anchor the collection firmly in the autumn season. These warm tones converse with moss green and light laurel to create a botanical harmony. The palette thus becomes a composition in its own right, much like the zen gardens that inspired Christian Wijnants.
A collection that weaves zen and fashion together
With “Lines of Serenity”, the Belgian designer offers a coherent and masterfully controlled vision. Every detail, from the sculptural knot to the widened ribs of the knitwear, refers back to the philosophy of karesansui gardens. Collaborations with Steiff and Quentin Chamard-Bois further enrich the collection with precise external expertise.
The layering of pieces, removable plastrons and fastened capes offer genuine freedom of wear. Yet this freedom remains framed by a constant formal rigour. It is precisely this tension between fluidity and structure that defines Christian Wijnants‘s work for autumn-winter 2026.
Through this approach, the brand reaffirms its commitment to a fashion that thinks as much as it dresses. Zen gardens, with their economy of means and gestural precision, provide an ideal framework for this reflection. “Lines of Serenity” thus stands as a collection that is both contemplative and rigorously constructed.
