Paris: Fashion and creativity are revitalised with Matières Fécales and Zomer

Young labels are consolidating their creative standing in Paris, becoming unmissable appointments for the press and buyers alike. The second day of women’s ready-to-wear shows dedicated to Spring-Summer 2026 proved particularly uplifting, with invigorating presentations injecting fresh creative energy. Zomer and Matières Fécales, for instance, shook up the fashion scene on Tuesday.

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For its first show in the Paris calendar, Matières Fécales made a major statement with dangerously seductive fashion that oscillated between couture tailoring and a techno-gothic aesthetic. As if emerging from a lost kingdom, members of this mysterious tribe, represented by highly inclusive casting, took the capital by storm in imposing looks. Perched on vertiginous platform stilettos with curved needle heels, the models were made up like porcelain dolls, their gaze glassy, sometimes obscured by a half-mask.

Conformity hardly seemed a priority for the brand’s founders, Canadians Hannah Rose Dalton (29), who opened and closed the show, and Steven Raj Bhaskaran (31), of Guyanese and Sri Lankan heritage. The pair spent years proving themselves before imposing their vision. From Montreal, they stopped off in New York, where they made their mark as DJs, before finding success in Paris, first under the wing of Rick Owens and his wife Michèle Lamy, then with Adrian Joffe, the head of Dover Street Market, all while winning over Lady Gaga and Madonna.

The duo toyed masterfully with couture codes, subverting them without ever lapsing into gratuitous provocation. Case in point: a pale pink, Chanel-esque tweed suit, collarless and off the shoulders, its jacket and skirt edges artfully frayed.

Silhouettes swung from long and lean to sculptural, with pronounced shoulders and rounded hips. Corsetry takes centre stage, accentuating feminine curves, while chic hats and opera gloves add a touch of glamour.

Elegance peaked in impeccably cut pieces: masculine tailoring, satin ensembles, 1940s-style skirt suits, sensual jumpsuits, ruched tulle cocktail dresses, and trench-robe hybrids revealing suspender stockings. Not to mention the crinolines, frothing with tulle and adorned with roses, that closed the show.

A more street-inflected wardrobe rounded out the offer with faded jeans ripped just so, tracksuit tops emblazoned with the slogan “Never conform”, and a hole-riddled black T-shirt printed with a wilted rose and the slogan “La vie en rose”. To spice things up, a BDSM thread ran through the line-up via black leather pieces.

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A huge artist’s palette sat centre stage, on which the models rubbed their feet, leaving their colourful footprints on the white catwalk. At Zomer, there is always a playful streak, and it’s often about joy, lightness and witty details.

Exaggerate or pare back? This was the dilemma faced by the brand’s two designers this season, Tatar Danial Aitouganov and Dutch-Caribbean Imruh Asha.

The result was a collection intelligently constructed between neutral-hued basics and more elaborate multicoloured pieces, each lifted by a quirky or clever twist. Ties knotted like bow ties sat perched on shrunken blouson jackets or tiny short-sleeved shirts, while oversized belt buckles fastened the waists of draped dresses.

In this play with proportions, the designers consistently dropped the waist to thigh level, cinched low with a belt. Skirts and Bermuda shorts seemed to have slipped down the legs, leaving the top of an undergarment in a completely different fabric or colour on show. Everything layered into a cheerful mix-and-match. A short denim skirt came inset into a sequinned petticoat, while a crocodile-effect A-line skirt sat flush over a white poplin summer dress.

Variations on the umbrella shape provided the collection’s other original idea. Long dresses and handkerchief-hem skirts unfurled into pointed drapes. Tiers of pointed leather ruffles built volume at the shoulders. Elsewhere, a skirt fell straight to the knees before opening into arched panels below, like an umbrella.