Duran Lantink appointed creative director of Jean Paul Gaultier

Duran Lantink, a 37-year-old Dutch designer born in The Hague, has been named the first true successor to Jean Paul Gaultier as creative director of the eponymous brand. Gaultier had previously chosen inactivity over selecting a replacement, but now sees in Lantink "the energy, audacity, and playful spirit through fashion that I had at the beginning of my journey," calling him "the new enfant terrible of the system." Lantink, who learned the craft by working hands-on with fabrics and observing his grandmother sewing, has gained attention for his alien talent, particularly his runway silhouettes that blur gender boundaries by having models wear male prosthetics on women and female prosthetics on men, fully integrated as garments. He won the Andam Prize in 2023, was one of three winners of the 2024 LVMH Prize, and triumphed at the International Woolmark Prize 2025 in Milan. Lantink considers Gaultier "a genius" who "broke down doors so that people like us could walk through them freely and be who we are without apology." His debut in ready-to-wear for Jean Paul Gaultier is scheduled for September during Paris Fashion Week, marking the brand's return to the category after over a decade, while his haute couture debut is expected in January 2026.