Bold claim: Karl Lagerfeld Fall 2026 hinges on a single, elevated detail—the shoulder. And this is exactly the move Hun Kim uses to make a white shirt feel bold again. His latest white shirt for Karl Lagerfeld, extra long and cut like a tailcoat, remains true to the house’s DNA: on-brand, surprising, and a refined option for evening wear when paired with glossy black trousers or a crocodile-textured mini skirt.
Seeking a compelling story for the collection, Kim channels an alpine escape. He drew inspiration from ’80s magazines that reminded him how formal elegance once ruled mountain resorts and après-ski celebrations. “I think somehow we lost that sensibility—the way people dressed up. Everything became very casual,” Kim notes.
Lagerfeld’s signature love for tailoring, white shirts, and neat little black dresses persists, though Kim updates them with intricate seaming and deliberate bursts of volume. “I love Karl’s drawings. He always focused on the shoulder,” Kim explains, embracing pagoda-shouldered jackets, rounded sleeves, and off-the-shoulder necklines for both tailoring and dresses.
The collection favors transformable pieces. A black sequin minidress can be worn with or without its black silk overskirt, which remains open at the front to reveal a hint of leg. A faux-fur bolero paired with a long double-faced wool vest can be worn separately or together, functioning like a textural trench.
In recent seasons, Kim has toned down the brand’s more cartoonish emblems—such as the Choupette motif. Logos have become subtler, like the KL coin peeking out from penny loafers. This detail is part of an upcoming collaboration with American heritage brand G.H. Bass, which, like Karl Lagerfeld, is under G-III Apparel Group."
