Dauphinette returned this season with its Spring Summer 2026 collection, intertwining personal reflection and sartorial craft. The designer frames the presentation as both couture and confession, revealing the ways inner conflict often shapes outward expression. Although the calendar places the show in spring and summer, the designer admits to feeling a winter lodged inside the body, a private frost that resists the shifting seasons outdoors.
The creative process for the show unfolded through cycles of hesitation and revision. Each attempt to write show notes began with heavy, bleak drafts that reflected the designer’s own unsettled emotions. Overnight reflection led to deletion and reshaping, with much of the text discarded before reaching an audience. This process, both vulnerable and disciplined, demonstrates the tightrope between personal honesty and professional presentation.
Despite these internal struggles, the designer acknowledges the daily practices that allow stability: a measured mix of diet, exercise, and prescribed medication. These habits anchor the work and maintain a level of outward resilience. Yet when the season approaches, the designer feels compelled to reveal the frost beneath the surface, questioning whether inspiration can ever be fully explained without honesty.
The clothes themselves represent three seasons of focused preparation outside of New York Fashion Week. The designer refers to the collection as couture, built through hand-sewn beads and details executed with precision. Every element carries the weight of careful attention, and the designer expresses pride in both the process and the team behind it. Dauphinette positions this work as an offering rather than a directive, asking the audience to form their own conclusions, share opinions, and engage with the results on their own terms.
Throughout the process, the question of personal exposure lingers. How much of the self should appear in the clothes? After much hesitation, the designer concludes that the garments inevitably comment on life as it is lived. A smile, even if tinged with sadness, still belongs to the expression of the collection. A sense of wit, even if decaying, remains part of the presentation.
