On Tuesday, Etudes Studio returned to runway format to present its spring-summer 2026 collection. Inspired by the creators of the Land Art movement of the ’70s, “Surroundings” takes as its reference the gigantic creations of the couple Nancy Holt and Robert Smithson, whose playground was the desert spaces of Utah in the center of the United States.
In the summer heat of the Palais de Tokyo, the models embarked on a spiral path composed by the audience, reminiscent of the ephemeral work “Spiral Jetty” installed on the Great Salt Lake by Robert Smithson. In a forest of heterogeneous percussion instruments, opposite such luminaries of the French music scene as Orelsan, dressed in an Etudes top, Ed Banger and Woodkid, artist Amélie Grould, dressed in a white engineering smock, made strange cymbals whirr. It’s to this muffled sound, like distant thunder, that the young men of Etudes studio embarked.
Ready to traverse the great plains of Utah, equipped with his high leather boots, a peroxide-blond young man, his hair in disarray, advanced with his rebel boy scout outfit, dressed in a flowing, oversized chocolate overshirt open over a cream T-shirt and loose shorts falling above the knee. For this season, the French brand continues to experiment with tailoring, streetwear, and workwear, exploring a desert-like color palette of ochre, sand, and deep brown, as well as lots of black.
Imposing pieces such as heavy-weight cotton jeans, loose-fitting jackets, and gabardine were deeply dyed or given special treatments to evoke the variations of desert soil as seen from the sky. As on this ensemble, treated with a worn effect in purplish tones marked by almost marbled nuances.
The oversized jacket, with its ultra-long sleeves, widened hems, visible seams, and patch pockets, was paired with loose pants that fell over smooth brown leather boots by La Botte Gardiane. The ensemble was worn over a jersey second skin that rises like a balaclava, adding a futuristic touch to the workwear silhouette, enhanced by streamlined Oakley sunglasses.
Workwear codes are deepened, here with oversized zips running across wide pants, or diverted, when large patch pockets sit on an ochre sleeveless jacket in technical material, worn over a tone-on-tone knit sweater. Satin-finish bombers, denim with turned-up seams, and oversized trucker jackets completed the look.
Touches that could also be found on more urban, flowing pieces. With detailed work on the shirt: “We work by adjusting our proposal from one season to the next,” Jérémie Egry told FashionNetwork.com.
“We’re committed to the notion of French elegance. So we’ve worked on shirts, with shirts with patch pockets on the chest, hooded shirts, long shirts, wide shirts, Cuban collars, and blouses in very fluid and interesting materials. And we combine them with pants in the same mainly natural or recycled materials. This makes for very wearable pieces in summer, with a rather wide fall, which we appreciate”.
Like this brown hooded jumpsuit with cream stripes in satin cotton, paired with a pair of paraboot boots. A pair of leather gloves by Acaba Gantier intrigued in this silhouette, while a thin, extra-long, tonal leather belt loosely encircled the waist, more in a stylized gesture than a functional one.
The show signature was successfully repeated in several tailoring looks, with a palette ranging from cream to deep blue to mousey gray. Here, too, the cuts were ample and the details were nods to the outdoors, with the use of technical materials to interpret classic pieces, but also a street or alternative spirit, such as loose pockets on a classic shirt or Cristina Junquero’s silver jewelry that countered a more formal silhouette.
Among the 26 looks presented, Jérémie Egry and Aurélien Arbet also let loose a collaboration with U.S.-based South Korean artist, Maia Ruth Lee. “She’s an artist we’ve known for years,” explained the duo. “But the Land Art theme of the collection lent itself to a collaboration. Her works are created in three stages. She creates ‘Bondage Baggage’, textiles wrapped in wire, which she dabs with paint. Then she unfolds them, creating a kind of imaginary map. And these are the two pieces we chose to print on our clothes.”
Two colorful looks in red, black, and blue on white, reinterpreting one of the Colorado-based artist’s works, rounded off the show.
A major show for Etudes Studio. The brand had been carried for over 10 years by a trio. José Lamali left the adventure at the beginning of the year, after the team had redefined the brand platform in early 2024. For Etudes Studio, which has reorganized, this season’s show was also intended to affirm the label’s liveliness with international buyers and the market, and set it down in time.
“With Aurélien, we founded Etudes in 2012 with the desire to mix art and fashion. And it’s this vision that season after season we maintain and, above all, refine. Being two today, the circuit is a little shorter, the development work is more direct. Even if last season’s 2:30 performance was important for us, it was key to get back on track with a collection we’re very proud of.”
Confirming the company’s strong ambitions and the support of its investors, Egry, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan: “Alternatives are possible,” was greeted by applause. With 80 retailers worldwide, the independent French brand is determined to prove its worth.
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