GQ’s Will Welch on the Spring 2026 Menswear Shows

0:05This is The Run Through. I'm Nicole Phelps. Today, I have GQ's global editorial director, Will Welch, with me in the studio. We're heading into the men's spring 2026 shows in Milan and Paris, and I asked Will to talk about the trends he's anticipating, the shows he's most excited about, and of course, the big debuts of the season. Here's my conversation with Will Welch. Welcome, Will. Thank you, Nicole. I'm very happy to be here. Thank you for being here. We are going to talk about the men's shows this season. It is time. Yes. Is there anything in particular that you are looking forward to? Oh, my gosh.

0:45Well, in general, I've been going to the shows for a long time, but I'm always excited to go back. Like, always, always, always without fail. And, yeah, every season always has some unique things going on, but this one feels particularly big. I think Jonathan Anderson's Dior menswear debut is a huge one. And then there's always, like, big shows. like, yeah, Jonathan Anderson Dior, Pharrell, Louis Vuitton, but also just the little appointments and all the smaller stuff that we really love being a part of as well. Well, I count on GQ for keeping me up to date about menswear. I hope it's not just you.

1:23We have a joke that Evan Kinori owes his career to GQ. Evan Kinori owes his career to being really good at what he does. And we have just helped tell some people about it. Yes. Well, you've done a good job. I certainly learned a lot about him via your coverage. So let's start with Jonathan Anderson. It is a huge moment. He was announced first off as the men's designer at Dior and more recently the women's too. So I think he has something like 18 collections a year combined with his own brand, JW Anderson. When you're talking to the team at GQ, what do you expect from him? Well, I think it's really interesting because it also shows a strategic departure for LVMH.

2:11So I think LVMH has always kept for the two biggest houses, Dior and Louis Vuitton, the men's and women's separate. separate. And so you don't have just like one creative vision driving the whole house forward. And that has also allowed them to do really interesting things with like all of the many elements that come just from the house. So if you think about Louis Vuitton, right, there's Nicola and there's Pharrell, but then there's all this other stuff that just comes from Louis Vuitton. And Dior has historically been set up that way as well, post Christian Dior. So now for the first time since Christian Dior himself, there is one designer over it all.

2:52So I think it's interesting to think about that strategic shift for LVMH. And then there's the creative pressure that Jonathan is under to deliver in this new way. But for me, it's exciting. And I also think about this in tandem with Dimna at Gucci, where somebody who has really like blown us all away with their creativity has to find like a totally new gear and a totally new expression. And one of the things that I always found so inspiring about J.W. Anderson shows, which lucky for the menswear universe, they happen in Milan during menswear. So intimately familiar with what he does on the runway at J.W.

3:35And then also at Lueve, there's this like stark simplicity. Jonathan would often show like, I don't know, 60, 70, 80 looks. but there would be so few pieces on each look. So rather than these like layered up looks with a ton going on, it's like strip it down, strip it down, strip it down. I think his creative partner in both is Benjamin Bruno, right? So I just thought the styling, the minimalism and starkness of the styling of J.W. Anderson and Lueve shows was incredible. But I wonder like, do you have to do it totally differently at Dior Or is that the way he says what he has to say? And I think Jonathan's a very conceptual designer and he was able to get some really like specific honed concepts across through the way that he presented on the runway.

4:24So I'm just so excited and fascinated to see how that is or maybe is not going to change when he's working at Dior, which is just a different – a whole different enterprise. Such a different enterprise. Exactly. He was able to take Loewe from a very unknown brand into— Spanish bag maker. Right. And one of the fashion's hottest labels. And Dior obviously has a lot more global cachet, I guess, than Loewe did when he started there. And so a new challenge for him and exciting. Yeah. And really cool because he is like an intellectual designer and a conceptual designer. and he alongside Pharrell, who is more of this like, you know, whipping the cultural winds of energy, very much a creative director versus a fashion designer.

5:16So I think there's an interesting like point counterpoint between the two of them that we'll see in Paris as well. Let's talk about Pharrell. I have never been to one of his shows, but have watched from a distance and they are massive productions, often with music accompaniment. Even he sang. Did he sing at one of his at his debut show? Yeah. Yeah. There was the choir and then he and Jay-Z did like a whole set. Yeah. So. With Rihanna and LeBron and. What's what's the vibe at his shows? The vibe is big. It's like fashion under the big top. It's like the big circus of fashion. And yeah, they are packed with celebrities, packed with some of the biggest athletes in the world.

5:56And then, yeah, there's always new original Pharrell produced music that's debuted. And it's just like it just shows how fashion has become so much more than like a presentation of clothes on the runway. And I have to say it's been really exciting. And it feels like a continuation of when Virgil became the menswear designer at Louis Vuitton. It just brought this whole other energy and all these new people like physically to Paris for Men's Fashion Week. And I remember talking to you and the other Vogue editors at the time about – they were like all the energy is in June and menswear. And tons of celebrities started coming, all the professional athletes, NBA players, NFL players, the occasional other sport as well, started showing up at all the shows.

6:48And the GQ party that I throw got like really crazy and out of control in the best possible way. and yeah when Virgil passed away it was um it felt sort of like existential it's like is is the June Paris show is still going to be the like Coachella Art Basel like south by southwest of fashion and with Pharrell um at the helm at Louis Vuitton the answer has definitely been like it's just continued maybe even gotten bigger we have Robin Gavon coming on the podcast in a couple weeks, and she, of course, has written a book about Virgil, which I'm very excited to discuss with her. Yeah. Virgil's estate has some really exciting things happening later in the year that GQ is going to be a part of.

7:31So, very excited to share more about that over time. All right. Well, we will be paying close attention. Let's talk about Julian Klausner. He had his debut for women's wear at Dries Van Noten. He worked alongside Dries before Dries retired. Are you expecting anything in particular from Julian? Did you look at the women's? What did you think of it? Yeah, I looked at the women's and liked it and I'm very excited. I mean, I love going into a show just with an as open of a mind as possible. And I think it's always interesting when somebody has sort of come out of the atelier and is now taking over as the designer because You never know, like, to what extent were they really successful at, like, serving the vision of the existing designer and then what is their own voice and how close to the name designer to Dries, in this case, is Julian's vision or how different is it?

8:28And you're often, like, totally surprised by the way the Venn diagram ends up being mapped. And I don't know. Honestly, I started working at GQ under Jim Nelson, my predecessor's editor-in-chief, and I was serving his vision and then got the chance to express my own vision, which was related but also different. It's really fun to see that. I'm excited to see what Julian is going to present on the men's side. Then there's also the Michael Ryder at Selene who worked for Phoebe Philo at Selene and then worked at Ralph Lauren here in New York. And we know that Michael was very successful at Phoebe's Celine and Ralph's Ralph.

9:09But what will his vision be? Right, right. Yeah, let's go back to Julian for one second because I think the job that he has to do is really hard. People love Dree so much. There's a real cult. There's a real cult. People wear it on a daily basis and felt a real affinity to him. And it's different than taking a job at one of these other heritage brands where a Chanel, for example, or a Dior, where the originator, the founder, has been dead for decades. Yeah, distant past. We have a deep personal connection with Dries. And so I think— Dries is still here. Yes. He has a unique challenge, Julian. Walking through his garden.

9:48We are definitely rooting for him. And Michael Ryder, too. Did you get to know him at Polo, Ralph Lauren? Um, only after his, uh, appointment at Saline was announced, we met and we've gotten together a few times for coffee and just to talk and I've really enjoyed the conversation, but I have no idea what is going to come out on the runway. Me neither. I'm very eager, but he is not showing during men's though. So he's attached his debut to the couture calendar, which I suppose means he'll be showing both men's and women to give us the full picture. So somebody else who is sort of an on-again, off-again presence at the men's shows is Anthony Vaccarello because he had for a while been doing these off-the-beaten-path shows.

10:37Did you get to see any of those menswear shows? Did you see the one that was in Morocco in the desert? Sam Hine from GQ was there. I think Miles Pope from GQ was there. I was not there myself, but I followed the like desert orb, desert fire orb. Yes, and then the one in Malibu too, right? On the beach. Malibu, I was there. Yeah, that was fun. Yeah, it was kind of like a gloaming day over the Pacific Ocean. Yeah, that was good. But I'm always happy. Destination shows can be exciting and fun and obviously like allow a designer to express a very different vision. But there's something about the momentum created by Fashion Week.

11:16And I think sometimes people assume that like, oh, if you just like one show slotted into an hour during a day of shows, maybe you get lost. I actually think what happens is Fashion Week creates this incredible momentum and this like bigger conversation. And it's actually really hard to successfully pull off a destination show. Like everything has to go right. Whereas during Fashion Week, you can sort of plug into that momentum and the energy. so I actually think the destination thing got like over they became too popular of a trend and led to some pretty uh I was gonna say significant failures but maybe that's that's too vicious it just led to some like shows that I think left a little to be desired because you create so much pressure when you try to like take this whole industry of people like off calendar to someplace.

12:12And I'm not talking about Antony in particular on that. I just mean in general, that big trend. And it's cooled off a little bit. And more people are like sort of filtering back into showing during the weeks. Yeah. We talk about it at Vogue Runway, like the glow or the aura of fashion week. People know it's happening. And so Vogue Runway, for one, is a destination. And that, you know, it helps brands be in the consciousness, the public consciousness a little You can like whip the winds and create that from zero, but it is extremely difficult. One of the most successful ones ever, and it was just executed at such a high level, was Alessandro on Hollywood Boulevard.

12:50Ah, yes. When he shut down Hollywood Boulevard and like the choreography. For the Gucci show. For Gucci, yes. The choreography of that was so spectacular. and then there were, of course, this incredible casting of models, but all these notable people and celebrities mixed into the show, and that one really worked. I was like, that's when it's done at the highest level. Yeah. Well, speaking about Alessandro, what do you think of his Valentino? I think it has been exciting. It definitely took – there was a lot of controversy and talk about how there were similarities between his vision at Gucci and his vision at Valentino, But now that it's like we're accustomed to the world that he's expressing, I think all the differences between what he was doing at Gucci and what he's now doing at Valentino are like coming into relief.

13:40And just from a like GQ photoshoot perspective, we've been shooting a lot of it. And it has been looking great in the pages. It looks great on the red carpet too. Also – Coleman Domingo. Yeah, exactly. A lot of red carpet. So it seems like it's finding its footing. Back to Saint Laurent. What did you make of Alexander Skarsgård in those incredible over-the-knee boots at Cannes? You know. Do you see other men wearing those? Could they ever become a trend? The Brad Pitt on our current cover wearing them. Well, I want to congratulate you on that cover. I'm like, who's Alexander Skarsgård? Let's talk about Brad Pitt wearing them.

14:19You know, there's definitely something very editorial about the boots, and I have no doubt that I'll be seeing them in Paris. in about two weeks on the street, which will be really fun. But yeah, it's like, this is what's so great about fashion is you find these, sometimes there's just like this one idea that cuts through. And sure, it's like celebrities trying to get you and I talking on the red carpet or GQ trying to get other people talking with Brad Pitt wearing them. Yeah, I want to know, did Brad resist that? George Cortina styled that. did George give you any juicy stories I mean does Brad does he take convincing to put on something like that or is he really goes for it?

15:01Brad is an incredible collaborator when it comes to the fashion and we've worked with him a bunch over the years and a lot of those shoots have been with George Cortina so GQ, George and Brad like have a thing going and he's just really open but he's also he won't do anything and everything he's like not there to be you know a pinup doll. And when he doesn't want to do something, he just laughs and says, nah, like, forget it. When he's up for it, he's like, yeah, let's try it. Have you seen his new movie yet? I'm going to the premiere on Monday. Ooh, I can't wait to hear about it. Yeah.

15:37More with Will Welch after the break.

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16:23So Rick Owens, one of my favorite designers, he's also an upcoming star on the podcast in a couple of weeks. He has a retrospective at the Pele Galliera, and he gave us a little preview and said that the runway models will spill out onto the street outside of the Pele de Tokyo and head over to the Pele Galliera. Talk about Rick's impact on menswear. He's another person who makes crazy boots. He does make some crazy boots. Rick is one of one, has pulled off the most incredible trick, which he has such a vicious and severe vision as a designer, but he has found a way to translate it a million different ways that ultimately can be understandable.

17:10So to me, a crazy pair of Rick Owens boots or one of these coats that is really more of a sculpture than it is a piece of clothing is like contains all the essential Rickness, like the Rick Owens vision. But so does a Rick Owens t-shirt or a pair of shorts or a pair of sneakers. Like his sneaker business is just a phenomenon unto itself. And it is so rare for a designer who has that radical of an aesthetic to find ways to make it accessible to so many people. I mean, it is like, I always think of that like usual suspects line, like the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was like, I don't know, Rick Owens making t-shirts that, you know, my dad could wear.

17:56And it has just allowed the cult of Rick Owens to touch, to reach so far and to touch so many people. I also think he is a designer whose vision is as, it's as radical and as clear for men as it is for women. And it's as experimental for men as it is for women. Often, I think menswear is really based in utility. Like everything, all of the hallmarks of menswear, and ultimately I think what works on the runway and what doesn't comes down to like, is it somehow rooted in utility? When you think about the men's suit or just men's fashion in general, it goes back to like the Royal Air Force, the military, to workwear, to it's just utility, utility, utility, Whereas women's wear has always had this long history.

18:44It's about expressiveness and like reshaping the body and the art of fashion. Rick is the rare designer who on the men's side has been able to like break that. Like he is able to do things that aren't ultimately rooted in utility. They're rooted in his own imagination. And that is incredibly hard. It's like phenomenally hard. And what a showman too. I bow to Rick. Right? Yeah. He puts on a really great show. I can't wait for the episode of the podcast because he's also just absolutely hilarious to talk to. And also there is this like gulf between what people imagine Rick Owens to be. And he totally is those things of like, you know, whatever the dark lord of fashion or whatever people call him.

19:23But he's also just this like Cali boy. And when you interview him that or when you talk to him, that really comes through. I'm very excited to see the exhibition. He is only the third designer at that museum in Paris, a living designer who is getting an exhibition. And the previous ones were Azzavine and Laya before he passed away and Martin Margiela. So he's in very illustrious company. What he makes is art, is wearable art, again, whether it's sculptural or a pair of shorts. Another American in Paris is Willy Chavarria. Yes. I have to say we're very sad in New York for him not to be on the schedule here anymore and to be on the men's schedule in Paris.

20:04But think back to last season. What did it feel like to be there and see him? Do you think he can compete with the level of designers in Paris? Yeah, I absolutely think he can. And, yeah, you know, it's been interesting. Like when I started going to the fashion shows like as a youngster working at GQ, all of the energy and power was in Milan. This was like the menswear era and everything was about suits and all the money and power of men's fashion was rooted in Milan. And over time, that really changed and the energy moved to Paris. And I think there's been a generation of American designers who felt that they had always aspired to show in Paris and they needed to show in Paris almost to be taken seriously.

20:51and I think as we've seen with Tom Brown and many others, Emily Bodie, often it's like you go, you show in Paris, you prove that you can play at that level and then you can make your own decisions. Like do you continue to show in Paris? Do you go back to New York? Do you do what Tom and Emily do, which is a mix and kind of move between the two? So we'll see what it's like for Willie, or Mike Amiri is another one who like, he was like, I want to show that I can compete. And yeah, I think already Willie is holding his own. And I think there's also a appreciation for American fashion. And it's not like all of the international editors and buyers and press and so on don't care about the Americans showing in Paris.

21:38I think American fashion is a strong enough movement right now that Willie can go there and stake his claim. And then I also think, you know, showing on the runway is something that you, like, develop and you get better at. And we've seen that with Willie. His show's in New York, the show last season in Paris. So watching somebody's vision expand and them sort of, like, figuring out. It's such a complicated feat to pull off in terms of production and casting. There's so many components to it. And so watching a designer like him develop that expression, which is a whole other thing than just creating the collection, right?

22:15Like creating a collection is one thing. Figuring out how to show that collection is another. But, yeah, I absolutely think he can hold his own. And I bet we haven't seen the last of him in New York either, which would be great. I hope so. Well, you mentioned Milan. So what are some of your favorites in Milan? I think that Giorgio Armani is on the eve of his 50th anniversary in business, which is hard to believe. Yeah, you know, a little bit like going to a Ralph Lauren show, like every show with Mr. Armani is incredibly precious, you know. I think Ralph and Mr. Armani, they basically created menswear as we know it, mens fashion as we know it.

22:56so to have had all these years of getting to go see armani shows where mr armani comes out and bows at the end it just like every time i think i've i've filmed his bow at like you know 42 shows now that i've been to uh every time i'm like i have to capture it because i can't can't believe i get to be here um and it still has that feeling and he usually shows both emporio and Giorgio Armani. Dolce & Gabbana showing Prada, always a huge dynamic moment, always like celebrity packed, so much energy in Milan around what Raph and Mrs. Prada are doing. A recent addition that has been really exciting for us at GQ is Simon Holloway at Dunhill, who was just showing this like incredibly refined vision of English tailoring.

23:46And so that is a show that myself and my colleagues have come to really look forward to on the calendar in Milan. And then there's all the things that we do in between the shows. So I always go see Massimo Alba, who is – I just love – it's like – The colors, right? The colors, the fabrics, clothes for wearing, as I sometimes say. And he is also just like an incredible sort of soulful philosopher designer. And I just really value my personal time with him catching up. And then another GQ favorite, Umit Benin. Umit, it's like he has not been the most consistent when it comes to showing collections or having presentations or appointments, but he is always making clothes and we are often shooting them on people.

24:34And he's also just so stylish himself. Yes, the attitude of those clothes is so good, right? Yeah, and the attitude of the man himself. So very excited that Umit is doing appointments in Milan. And, you know, also just being in Milan and seeing all my friends there and eating and drinking. And, well, I don't drink alcohol, but, you know, drinking Diet Coke and eating pasta and pizza. Yes, yes, you're making me hungry. My stomach is growling.

25:05We'll be back with Will Welch in a moment.

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25:54So I want to talk about trends. We, as women's wear focused, as we are at Vogue Runway, we do talk about men's trends. And lately, one thing we've noticed is men's shorts getting even shorter. But, you know, we don't necessarily have to talk about that. Is there anything that you guys are observing at GQ that feels like it's sort of transcending our little world of fashion and it's, you know, dispersing into the wider world of dudes? Yeah, I think one that I'm just like personally excited about and that we have been trying to lead is just like men getting dressed again. You know, I think the pandemic feels a little bit distant at this point, thank God.

26:39But yeah, post-pandemic, it was like sort of hard, I think, in general, globally for men to get excited to get dressed again. And there was this like ease and casualness. And I think people got tired of that. And so there's this idea of like really getting dressed. I started wearing a tie again early on and people were like, you're out of your mind. And now those same people are like wearing ties again, just as an example. They've become really big in women's wear too. Yeah, I know. All the tailoring and ties. Yeah, I think that's been really cool to see. But, yeah, just in general, like wanting to get dressed in a sense of occasion and a sense of formality feels exciting.

27:22I mean, I think we talked about Anthony Baccarello and Saint Laurent and what he's been doing both for men and women with this like really elegant men's tailoring. Even men's tailoring for women has been incredible and inspiring. It's a good segue. We should talk about Superfine, the exhibition at the Costume Institute. What was your reaction? I mean, I was blown away by the exhibition. Yeah, it was fashion, but it was also history and American history. And I think it was just also cool. I thought there was an incredible range of Black designers and Black tailors that were shown, including some like young upstarts and some of the OGs like Dapper Dan and some of the dearly departed like Virgil.