Titled “The Best Dressed,” Junya Watanabe MAN’s Fall-Winter 26 Collection opened in an immersive setting that harkened back to the classic Parisian street scenes of the mid-century. In a dimly lit runway space, guests circled in bistro chairs and small café tables, evoking an atmosphere that turned the clock back to 1958 and 1962, just before the rock’n’roll era took off. 

Models took to the runway in pitch-black sets, formal tuxedos, and polished dress shoes, topped with stovepipe-style hats tilted just so. The looks conjured the solemn figures of private detectives, journalists, and jazz musicians of a bygone era. Despite the arching formality of the collection, the show featured a series of collaborations with contemporary brands, including Levi’s, Stüssy, Mammut, New Balance, Tricker’s, Heinrich Dinkelacker, and others. 

The collection’s crossover with American manufacturer brands, such as Spiewak and Filson, highlighted Watanabe’s reimagining of heritage workwear and historical function through the lens of modern tailoring. 

In Look 39, the red Filson zip cardigan peeked out from beneath a thick layer of black Spiewak Aviation Parka. Under Watanabe’s direction, the iconic 1963 Titan Aviation Parka was refined with elevated construction and an added layer of luxurious cashmere. While preserving the original garment’s durable, worker-coded DNA, the piece felt newly adapted into modern outerwear, one designed for ease, wearability, and elegance.

In Look 40, the workwear-inspired Safety Jacket was translated into a sophisticated silhouette, draping effortlessly over the model’s shoulders at a perfect length. Its function as protective outerwear remained intact, underscored by purposeful details such as the shearling cape collar. 

Perhaps hats emerged as a unifying thread throughout the collection. Even across collaborations with high-performance and uniform-focused labels, sleek black top hats and bowler hats softened the ruggedness of worker gear with a sense of romanticized tailoring. In Watanabe’s world, elements of industrial durability and the codes of formal dress do not collide. Instead, they seem to blend effortlessly, allowing modern uniforms and performance to quietly disrupt the classical silhouette.