In a season when couture has sometimes taken a dystopian turn, leave it to Kevin Germanier to restore a sense of childlike wonder.

Guests arriving at his show in a basement bunker at IRCAM, a French institute dedicated to the research of music and sound, were greeted by an installation of inflatables glowing iridescent in colored light: calming vibes, check.

Front row guests included two Hello Kitty and Kuromi mascots dressed in custom Germanier: cute factor, guaranteed. 

Germanier titled his sophomore haute couture collection “The Players,” to reflect his joyous experimentation with pattern, volume and color that combined the energy of a carnival parade with the ingenuity of an R&D lab. 

Who else could turn balloons into ballgowns, or convert melted plastic bottles into sculpted panels that shot from the shoulders like flames? 

Germanier works with a global network of sustainably minded designers who, like him, specialize in turning landfill into wearable art. Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Truyen molds and embroiders the plastic bottles, while Gustavo Silvestre in Brazil makes raffia from old plastic bags.

Germanier turned the strands into spectacular color gradient pom-pom dresses, but he also pushed into new territory with items like Gigi Goode’s finale look, a wedding gown made of recycled Japanese paper.

Having designed the costumes for the 2024 Paris Olympics closing ceremony, he was recently tapped to make costumes for the Eurovision Song Contest. Some of the biker jackets he sourced on Vinted reappeared in this show, now fully bedazzled with rainbow Swarovski crystals, and paired with plumed helmets. 

“Without taking away from everyone’s hard work, I thought it was quite a somber, heavy couture week,” the designer said backstage. “I wanted energy, optimism.”

It was hard not to smile along with him.