Julie Kegels SS27 Ready-to-Wear Collection

“Apple of the Day” is an ode to the gravitational forces that pull us up and down

Earlier this September, Julie Kegels was awarded the 2026 LVMH Prize. With it came a €400,000 cash grant for her brand, a €20,000 fabric allowance from the upcycling platform Nona Source, plus one year of mentorship from LVMH’s stable of top design talent.

Coming off of six months of competition, the weight of expectation was something that was on her mind. “From last March onwards, my days became fuller. More people, more conversations, more opportunities, and with that, more responsibility,” she wrote in her SS27 show notes. “Building a company while protecting the joy that made me start it in the first place became the heaviest and most loved part of the work.”

Kegels is a graduate of Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, and created her eponymous brand in 2024. She debuted her first collection at Women’s FW24-25 Paris Fashion Week. Now, the Belgian designer is presenting her new collection at Paris Fashion Week for the sixth consecutive season.

“Apple of the Day”

Kegels eats an apple every night before bed, a Jonagold to be precise. But more relevant is the apple that (allegedly) fell on Isaac Newton’s head and inspired his definitions on gravity. “Apple of the Day” is a collection about gravity, pressure and everything that is carried in our bodies. The Belgian designer chooses to find the beauty in the weight of things. In her own words, if something has weight, it also has value. Fittingly, Jonagold apples served as invitations for the runway show.

Julie Kegels presented her SS27 collection during this Paris Fashion Week, at Cité de la Musique. The soundscape and venue complemented the ethereal designs beautifully. The designer suspended a stretched section of fabric in mid-air, creating a break in the runway that played with the perception of gravity.

Colliding forces: The Designs

Most elements of the collection are either pulled downwards or upwards, playing with the gravitational leitmotif. Drop-crotch tights and trousers, jeans hanging around the mid-thigh, dresses slipped down into skirts, sleeves dropped low, and suspended fragments of bras and shirts organized into sculptural and architectural silhouettes.

Subtle hints of red and blue punctuate the predominantly neutral palette. These details, paired with the choice of fresh neutral tones, brought brightness and energy to the garments. The organza fabrics contrast with the weighty materials such as denim capes and leather shift dresses. The silhouettes are orderly and structured, despite the anarchic and hectic elements such as sequin bras split open with their cups partially removed.

The undergarments create the illusion of a second skin, adding an extra layer of heaviness to the body. Although heavy, the garments are ready-to-wear. Kegels holds a mirror to day-to-day life, reflecting it in her garments through this functional heaviness.

Balancing wearability with avant-garde design is difficult to achieve, yet Julie manages to accomplish it every time. In fact, although her skirts are popular, Kegels’ bestsellers are complete looks, as presented on the runway. Alongside her SS27 collection, the Belgian designer is debuting a bag collection that includes the “Gravity Bag”.

Ultimately, “Apple of the Day” is about falling. “Falling short, falling under pressure, falling into place, falling in love”, as Julie put it herself. After all, without gravity there would be nothing to climb against.

Kegels always draws inspiration from life and modernity to construct her vision. In each collection, she takes a leitmotif and deconstructs it playfully by challenging conventions. In this latest collection, she tailors to the life of the modern woman, its heaviness, its complexity and its beauty.

Featured image: Julie Kegels SS27 at Paris Fashion Week. © Julie Kegels Press.

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