Kidsuper’s new collection for Fall/Winter 2026 was introduced at the Pavillon Cambon in Paris. Even before the models came out in full display showing the new designs that Kidsuper designer Colm Dillane created, this collection was already kicking off its launch in a much different manner compared to other fashion houses. Dillane, not only looks at the debut of new collections from his brand but also as an opportunity to put a new spin on the fashion game. For him, any collection that he creates is a chance to utilise his creativity to convey a story; often one grounded on his character and origins.
Based on what has made Kidsuper become so renowned in the first place, Dillane’s flair for the peculiar and abstract art can usually take centre stage first at face value. With the premiere of the upcoming Fall/Winter 2026 collection, a new direction for Kidsuper was created. This new direction for the brand was where Dillane wanted his new pieces to have a more poignant and direct meaning.
The collection is entitled “Outside the Box”. While this collection might have an alternative spin to this compared to previous designs, Dillane made sure to not lose his innovative side for this show. Before the models walked the runway, the show began with a short film directed by Dillane and starring French actor Vincent Cassel. In this short film, Cassel plays a man who is caught in the dilemma of living in a simulation. Already, this was capturing the feeling of nostalgia that Dillane wanted to perpetuate, by having one of his all-time favourite actors star in one of his own works and in a film style that paid homage to past classics in recent decades like The Matrix. Moreover, one of Dillane’s favourite movies is the 1995 film La Haine, which also starred Vincent Cassel. In many ways, the mind of the designer was not the central figure of this show. Instead, the young Dillane was full of aspiration for what he deemed unrealistic ideals and curiosity about how his surroundings and origins in the world. These were at the forefront of his show.
The looks that the models wore on the runway had a similar style to the clothing Kidsuper has become known for: ready-to-wear with a mix of colourful abstraction and neutral contemporary garments. However, instead of having the name of the brand on each design, the Jameson brand was put in its place – a result of the recent collaboration between the two brands.
As Dillane wanted to keep in touch with his Irish roots and incorporate his ancestry into his work, the Bottled By practice that Jameson is known for was integrated into the new designs. The Bottled By is a reference to distillers who would have their products labelled with their own name. The Jameson name was branded across different Kidsuper pieces, such as bomber jackets and abstract-coloured suits. Kidsuper is not the first brand for Jameson to collaborate with. Previously, the whiskey brand has joined forces with other fashion houses such as Dickies and Awake NY. As well as that, they have maintained connections with the soccer industry through their associations with brands such as the English Football League (EFL) and Major League Soccer (MLS).
For Dillane, as he saw his show as a gateway to his persona and what moulds it, the Jameson collaboration indicated something rather bigger in fashion than brands collaborating with mutual benefits. Fashion acted as a medium for characters like Dillane. Rather than being a designer of a brand, the artist in Dillane craved his story to be expressed in a way poignant to a broader audience. Through the medium of fashion design, accessories of everyday use like clothing that are branded with such a cultural staple like Jameson, are to Irish culture, conveying not just for Dillane, but for everyone, just like how our clothing acts as a fibre of who we are, our culture is just as, if not even more, entrenched in our being.
With the release date of Dillane’s collection yet to be announced, what can be taken from this show is the new path that Dillane was carving out for Kidsuper. With Kidsuper being renowned in the fashion industry for its level of adaptability due to its roots being planted during the Covid 19 Pandemic and unconventional approach to fashion, the tide has turned for what Kidsuper will be recognised as in the long-term. While Dillane blends his love for film into the show to pay homage to his creative beginnings and cultural expression through the Jameson collaboration, a more direct connection with consumers has been established. Rather than just a zest for all things avant-garde and untraditional, the deeper approach to maturing one’s creative expression to convey one’s origins for Dillane shows the continued longing for all things adored in the past. Furthermore, this fashion show was an insight into how Dillane’s past-self longs for the excitement of all things new, while Dillane in the present stresses the importance of acknowledging all things historical and sentimental, which moulds all things animate and inanimate in our space now.
