Pauline Dujancourt has landed at Dover Street Market Paris. On the first floor, in Space 10X, the French, London‑based designer has staged a special installation: a single dress suspended in a nest of shredded black lace, the tulle unravelling down the walls like weather.
Her womenswear is built almost entirely by hand, with knit, crochet, and woven strips of tulle spun into fabrics of her own that are as light as breath and faintly gothic. She works in the poetry of opposites, letting delicacy meet the raw and the undone, and dedicates the whole practice to the women who taught it: the everyday hands that knit for the people they love.
“Paying tribute to everyday women hand‑knitting for their loved ones.”
“I am the seagull… No, that’s not it”
For her Spring Summer 26 collection, Pauline Dujancourt turns personal loss and poetry into a deeply moving fashion story. Her narrative draws from the character Nina in Anton Chekhov’s play The Seagull, a role she once played as a theater student in Paris. Nina’s resilience and belief in the healing power of creativity became a crucial anchor when the designer unexpectedly lost a close friend during the design process.
The motif of the bird weaves throughout the entire collection as a symbol of transformation. Softly draped silhouettes and rounded volumes evoke the protective shape of folded wings, seamlessly blending themes of grief and joy into a singular aesthetic vision.
Handcrafted textiles sit at the core of the work. Dujancourt reimagines classic knitwear traditions, such as Argyle patterns and traditional crochet motifs, by combining fine, airy yarns with delicate strips of tulle. The resulting fabrics are weightless, sheer, and distinctly feminine. To honor her late friend, she hand-crocheted 450 small bird brooches as gifts for her show guests, turning the runway experience into a collective gesture of remembrance and letting go.
“Walking on Eggshells”
For Autumn Winter 2026, Pauline Dujancourt draws inspiration from the history of witchcraft persecutions, using her craft to honor women whose stories were long overshadowed by fear and caricature. Rooted in images of early lace-makers working in the dark, the collection reclaims these historic traditions through complex hand-knitting, crochet, and delicate tulle macramé.
Intricate craft techniques form the structural foundation of the designs, turning meticulous manual work into a powerful statement of female unity. Lightweight alpaca outerwear, specialized woven details, and shimmering silk chiffons give the collection a mystical quality, creating a subtle illusion of movement and mystery around the body.
Throughout the work, subtle details pay homage to the close-knit network of artisans who bring each piece to life. Grounded in themes of strength, transformation, and defiance, the collection serves as a poetic tribute to female skill and a stand against historic expectations of womanhood.
The Designer
Paris-born and London-based, Pauline Dujancourt learned to knit as a child from her grandmother, returned to it during the pandemic, and took a knitwear MA at Central Saint Martins before founding her label in 2022, following stints with Simone Rocha and Rejina Pyo. Dover Street Market picked up her very first collection.
She now shows on the official London Fashion Week schedule, building a world that is at once craft‑driven, feminine and lightly gothic.
ANDAM Prize 2026 – Grand Prix finalist
LVMH Prize 2024 – one of eight finalists
ELLE UK Generation Next 2025 – inaugural winner
Supported by BFC NewGen & the Paul Smith’s Foundation
Stockists
Now at Dover Street Market Paris, Space 10X, First Floor.
Dover Street Market London
Dover Street Market Ginza, Tokyo
Dover Street Market Singapore
Dover Street Market Los Angeles
Dover Street Market New York
Net‑a‑Porter
Selfridges, London
Printemps Haussmann, Paris
10 Corso Como, Milan
Antonioli, Milan & Lugano
Alan Bilzerian, Boston
Isetan, Tokyo
Credits
Spring Summer 26
Styling – Raphael Hirsch Casting – Najia Li Saad @ Huxley
Make Up – Crystabel Efemena @ Julian Watson Agency Hair – Johanna Cree Brown
Nail – Sammy MacDonald Set – Georgia Currell @ One Represents
Production – Blonstein Public Relations – B the Agency
Movement – Rhys Davies Sound – Timothée Suillaud
Autumn Winter 26
Styling – Raphael Hirsch
Casting – Najia Li Saad @ Huxley
Make Up – Crystabel Efemena @ Julian Watson Agency using MADARA cosmetics
Hair – Anna Cofone using @oliviagarden_eu
Nails – Rebecca Orme
Set – Georgia Currell
Production – Blonstein
PR & Comms – b. The Agency @b.theagency
Movement – Rhys Davies
Sound – Timothée Suillaud
Shoes – support from Lili Curia
Stockings – Swedish Stockings