On September 4, 2026, the Belgian designer Julie Kegels was announced as the winner of the LVMH Prize. Awarded by Jennifer Lawrence in a swanky ceremony in Paris, Kegels was the recipient of 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. At Paris Fashion Week SS27, Kegels returned for her third catwalk on the official schedule, and first since winning the LVMH Prize. The weight of expectation was clearly 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,” wrote Kegels in her SS27 show notes. Though not explicitly stated, the designer alludes to the time the prize nominations were announced and the pressure that it brought. “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.”

So, with the concepts of heaviness and lightness as guiding forces for the collection, Kegels thought about clothes that are both “pulled earthwards” and float upwards. Heavier materials bent to Kegels’ gravitational will, like denim capes and leather shift dresses. Elsewhere, organza gowns floated over the body in wispy streams, and sequin bras were split open with their cups partially removed. The collection, called Apple of the Day after Newton’s gravitational epiphany, was about falling in all its various forms, or as Kegel put it: “Falling short. Falling under pressure. Falling into place. Falling in love.”

Scroll through the gallery above for images from the show