Pauline Dujancourt AW26

Womanhood has always been a source of inspiration to me. When I began designing for AW26, I was particularly drawn to the history of witchcraft persecutions and the women who were accused of this in the name of fear, superstition and fantasy.

Mona Chollet reminds us that there are almost no monuments dedicated to the women we lost in the Witch hunts. These women have largely been erased from history, and their legacy remains in the form of a caricature: the witch as an ugly,

ridiculous figure, one we laugh at and dress up as.

I saw images of ‘witches’, at home in their beds in the dark, making lace with wooden bobbins. I wanted to mirror this technique

through crochet, handknitting and tulle macramé to reclaim the memory of the women who came before us. The tulle macrame

is made from over 80 strips of fabric wrapped around and woven together giving a structural framework to the garments.

For AW26 I wanted to commemorate the women within the Pauline Dujancourt team who are united in their unique, special

crafting skills. My own act of defiance against those who may have previously feared us. The team works in unison each

season, weaving the intricate fabrics that become the collection. It is easy to forget how complicated each piece is to make as the

process becomes second nature to us, leaving anyone new to knitwear, or our studio, in awe.

This season we worked together on handknitted, alpaca outerwear pieces, which feature woven hoods and pockets reminiscent

of tulle.

When the team are working together in sync, it feels magical. Women working hand in hand and creating something that has

more to offer than what might first meet the eye. A specially sourced chiffon silk changeant is used for a shirt, a dress and skirts,

and the addition of pleating positions this on the body to give a smoky, mystical, illusion when it moves.

The Eli dress closes the show, an homage to someone who has been with me since I first decided to Design. The dusty purple

dress is covered in tiny, little crochet flowers that appear across the body and up the arms, as if they are part of the skin.

This is a nod to the innate skill that Elizabeth, our main knitter in Peru, has within her.

The bird remains a constant theme and this season makes an appearance by taking reference from their birth, eggshells. I wanted

a sculpture to frame the runway and its fragments scattered under model’s feet. This brings ‘Walking on eggshells’ to life.

It is a proclamation against the historical preconceptions of what a woman should be.