Guests arriving at the KidSuper show found a children’s book titled “The Boy Who Jumped the Moon” on their seats.
Designer Colm Dillane penned the tome that served as both the basis for his spring 2026 collection and the set for the show, staged in the soaring central nave of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Models – including Colombian rapper Ryan Castro and Italian footballer Mario Balotelli – emerged from lifesize pages as actor and TV host Craig Ferguson read the story on the soundtrack.
Blown-up illustrations and storyboard motifs were printed on outfits including a suit, a white shirt and shorts, and a dark coat that depicted a rocketship heading to the moon.
The cover illustration of a blonde boy, reminiscent of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince,” was rendered in intarsia on a leather bomber jacket. Calligraphy patterns were etched and stitched on shirts and pants for a more wearable take on the idea.
Dillane has always been a big dreamer, and the polished display certainly represented an impressive leap from his debut on the Paris calendar five years ago with a DIY stop-motion film. “It’s hilarious when I’m texting my friends the address, and I’m like, ‘Just type in: the Louvre,’” the indefatigable designer said.
At the entrance of the museum stood his customized version of the new Mercedes-Benz CLA, which he imagined as a “superhero car” with turbine wings. It was suspended from balloons – much like the one his kid hero uses to fly off into space. “I love ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,’” Dillane explained.
The show included items from his upcoming Mercedes-Benz capsule collection, among them a racing jacket that was snapped up by style-conscious French soccer player Jules Koundé, part of a battalion of celebrity guests including rappers 2Chainz and French Montana.
It also featured a pair of his new Ultra 5 Ultimate soccer cleats for Puma. Dillane, a former soccer player, has designed kits for seven of the teams competing in the FIFA Club World Cup in the U.S., including Brazilian club Palmeiras.
Its young star Estêvão, preparing to transfer to Chelsea, earlier in the week traded jerseys with Argentine legend Lionel Messi. “So there’s a world where Messi has my jersey hanged up in his house,” Dillane marveled. Another wild dream come true.