At G-STAR’s FW26 show in Amsterdam, womenswear took centre stage. We speak to design director Jennifer Zipp about shaping denim for women and building a new design language.
G-STAR recently presented its FW26 show at RAWFACTORY, the brand’s global headquarters in Amsterdam. Between 10and5 was there, and what stood out was the clear arrival of a new G-STAR woman on the runway. The newly launched women’s range signals the beginning of a new era for the brand, with a female-first approach to design.
On the runway, the collection leaned into hourglass shaping, with jackets featuring cinched waists, low-rise cigarette-leg jeans, ponchos, kilts and culotte pants. Fabrics appeared shinier and more overtly feminine, without abandoning G-STAR’s roots. Boxier, more boyish cuts remained part of the mix, grounding the collection in the brand’s denim DNA.
This season marks the first time the design team approached womenswear from a female-first perspective. Instead of adapting men’s styles, silhouettes were built around the female form, with an emphasis on empowerment, structure and shape.
Between 10and5 caught up with director of design Jennifer Zipp to talk about inspiration, motivation, and to unpack who the new ‘G-STAR woman’ is.
For directors of design Jennifer and director of women’s design Rebekka, the relaunch of the women’s range started with a fundamental question posed by chief creative officer Gwenda van Vliet: ‘Who is the G-STAR woman?’
Jennifer Zipp: “We always knew this tougher kind of boyish side but we never knew this girly more feminine side, so we asked ‘what is femininity in G-STAR’ and that was something we really worked to crack.”
10and5: Did you have a specific persona in mind that inspired the direction?
Jennifer Zipp: “The first woman we had on the board was someone who’s kinda doing something in a man’s world, she’s a DJ and she doesn’t play by the traditional rules but yet she’s still feminine.”
10and5: Did the design process change from how you’ve previously approached womenswear?
Jennifer Zipp: “Typically all of the styles start at men’s wear and get trickled down to women’s. And what we tried to do this season was to create from a female first body type, really focusing on the form and on what will make her feel empowered.”
10and5: Many of the pieces lean into a more feminine fit and silhouette. What inspired that?
Jennifer Zipp: “We designed this hourglass shape, which we’re quite obsessed with. Inspired by old Gaultier from back in the 80s. These beautiful shapes with these bold shoulders, we see this even from Givenchy and other brands, everyone is focusing on the female form. So, what we love is this shaping at the top and then shaping at the bottom again.”
10and5: Which pieces best capture this focus on shape and silhouette?
Jennifer Zipp: “Everything you see follows this arc and hourglass shape, the shape repetitiveness is something we focused on.
”Instead of doing a typical field jacket for women, we wanted to make it more sexy. It has this beautiful peplum and as you cinch it in you see again the female form. It has a slanted pocket and you’ll see that coming through in the main collection as well.”
10and5: Was it a complete overhaul?
Jennifer Zipp: “There are of course still some styles that come from the boys, the big jean for women’s as well as for men’s is the Arc, we use the same exact washes, that blue black selvedge and quite a dense fabric but the tailoring is completely fit for a woman, so it is quite different.
“We tried to mix up the women’s so there’s two sides as well, a boxy jacket and something a bit more sexy… But we’ve never taken this female first approach for women before so it is quite a bold approach for us.”
>> WATCH THE VIDEO OF G-STAR’S FW26 WOMEN’S RANGE:
10and5: Which denim trends are you seeing for women this season?
Jennifer Zipp: “We have a super low rise, like almost a cigarette fit. Because we felt there are no definitive trends, of course there are baggies but we feel the cigarette is coming back. We’re not quite ready for that spray-on skinny yet, but that cigarette fit is a great transition into skinnier fits.”
10and5: How do the fabrics differ between the women’s and men’s ranges?
Jennifer Zipp:“In Women’s wear you’ll see more fluid fabrics and fabrics with shine and in men’s it is more matte.”
10and5: Why did this feel like the right moment to relaunch the women’s range?
Jennifer Zipp: “We’ve never really had her. We have her a bit in jeans but we don’t have her in any other category. You go to some department stores and they literally have only 2 or 3 pairs of women’s jeans and a whole men’s collection, which is lovely but quite basic. But now if we push this new, very editorial, bold and daring look and can get her to love this, she might tell her boyfriend or her husband, ‘I think this is incredible’. So, it really is also about trying to get a new male consumer back. A lot of these silhouettes we’ve brought in for men’s this season are quite bold compared to what we’ve done in the past. We thought dual fold, we could win with her and get new male consumers in. So, it really is also about trying to get a new consumer back.”
10and5: Where do you see the women’s line evolving from here?
Jennifer Zipp: “I think we’ll learn a lot through the seasons as we continue to evolve who she is, but this is just the beginning of it.”
FW26 doesn’t attempt to pin down who the G-STAR woman is. It opens the door instead. With a new design language built on the female form, functionality and experimentation, the women’s range feels like the beginning of a longer conversation. One that puts women at the centre of the brand’s present and future. Here at Between 10and5, we’ll be keeping an eye on where it goes next.
