Paris Haute Couture: Ronald van der Kemp's Art of Reinvention in an Age of Excess

A highlight of RVDK's Paris AW26/27 haute couture show was this sleek jacket beautifully tailored and created from woven silk and metallic lurex, worn with a bejewelled belt. Cover picture and photograph (above) by Brittany Scott for DAM

At a time when fashion is being forced to confront its own excesses, Ronald van der Kemp continues to chart a singular course through the world of haute couture. Unbound by convention yet respectful of fine craftsmanship, the Dutch designer transforms forgotten luxury materials into creations that blur the boundaries between fashion, art and innovation. Presented during Paris Haute Couture Week, his new Autumn/Winter 2026-2027 collection was a reminder that some of fashion's most exciting frontiers lie not in endless newness, but in the creative reinvention of what already exists. Story by Jeanne-Marie Cilento. Photographs by Brittany Scott 

The look that opened the 

RVDK show in Paris.

RONALD Van der Kemp has built a couture house around a radically different definition of luxury since founding RVDK in 2014. For his new collection, Vive L'Art, those ideas are once more the foundation of work celebrating creativity, intuition and transformation. 

As the designer's notes declared, "Make. Break. Transform." It is an approach that embraces experimentation, allowing materials to evolve through craftsmanship, imagination and discovery rather than convention.

Rather than embracing fashion's relentless cycle of production, he creates limited-edition pieces from existing resources, working with luxury surplus, rescued textiles, forgotten treasures and innovative techniques to give discarded materials an extraordinary second life.

The philosophy was brought vividly to life with his new designs that are created like wearable works of art. The opening coat immediately established the collection's direction with a dramatic, sinuous silhouette of curving panels in brilliant hues of red, blue and green made from fragments of exotic skins, antique jacquards and metallic brocades. Finished with handcrafted three-dimensional embellishments, the richly textured design demonstrated how reclaimed luxury materials could be transformed into something entirely original.

In a fashion industry increasingly driven by speed and consumption, RVDK remains refreshingly committed to a slower, more thoughtful form of luxury

A vibrant blue wrap jacket 

 designed cleverly like a stole, 

shows the designer's skill. 

Tailoring is one of Van der Kemp's great strengths. An electric-blue wool bouclé wrap jacket had a striking avant-garde form, like a stole, and was combined with jeans and a crêpe de chine top (see at right). Another sharply tailored black satin jacket featured velvet lapels and an asymmetric peplum combined with a silk organza pencil skirt overlaid with lace, balancing sculptural precision with remarkable delicacy.

An engaging mini dress was created from tweed and left with deliberately raw edges that flowed into a dramatic silk taffeta-lined train. A floral lace gown concealed colourful lining fragments beneath its surface, while sculptural 3D-printed embellishments and an oversized floral corsage added unexpected depth and dimension. 

Softer moments arrived, where blush plissé drapery cascaded from sculptural shoulders in a blouse before meeting a fluid silver pleated skirt, offering an elegant counterpoint to the collection's more architectural looks.

Elsewhere, Van der Kemp continued to dissolve the boundaries between couture, art and innovation. A beautifully tailored jacket woven in silk and metallic lurex with an elegant peplum shape, complete by a jewelled belt and silver lambskin trousers (see main image). Futuristic glamour was encapsulated with a broad-shouldered jacket with appliqués over a black mini skirt while other designs had oversized silhouettes, mohair, exaggerated hardware and unexpected embellishments, elevating the designs into conceptual fashion statements. 

Ronald van der Kemp shows how couture's greatest power lies not only in creating beautiful clothes, but in transforming forgotten materials, preserving cultural memory and challenging our perceptions

The hand-embroidered textile

originally created for a 

Josephine Baker costume.

One of the collection's most poignant moments came with a look created with a hand-embroidered textile originally created for a costume intended for Josephine Baker's cancelled 1968 revue at the Olympia in Paris, designed by André Levasseur, Christian Dior's former assistant and Baker's longtime costume designer (see at left).

Conserved for decades before finding its way to RVDK, the historic embroidery was finally realised as couture, a tribute to Baker's enduring legacy as an artist, humanitarian and resistance hero. It embodies Van der Kemp's belief that fashion can preserve history while simultaneously creating something entirely new.

Art has always been central to Ronald Van der Kemp's work, and this collection expanded that vision beyond clothing. Jewellery, brooches, hair pieces, moving sculptures and wearable artworks, all fashioned from recycled materials, overstock components and found objects, became integral parts of the narrative. Rather than accessories, they reinforced the idea that couture can exist as a complete artistic expression, where every object contributes to the story.

This collection demonstrated that sustainability need not come at the expense of glamour or imagination. Instead, Van der Kemp proposes a future where responsibility enhances creativity, proving that innovation often begins with rediscovering what already exists.

In a fashion landscape increasingly driven by speed and consumption, RVDK remains refreshingly committed to a slower, more thoughtful form of luxury.  Ronald van der Kemp once again shows that haute couture's greatest power lies not simply in creating beautiful clothes, but in transforming forgotten materials, preserving cultural memory and challenging our perceptions.

    See the rest of the RVDK Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2026-2027 Collection in Paris