Paris Fashion Week soon to kick off historic edition marked by unprecedented creative tsunami

The fashion week starting on Monday September 29 is undoubtedly looking to be one of the most exciting in Parisian fashion history. The French capital will be taking over the baton from New York, London and Milan, and promises to wow its audiences with an exceptional programme, characterised by the creative tsunami that has unfolded at many leading labels in recent months, leading to a major creative director reshuffle. Between new design narratives about to be revealed, fresh talents joining the calendar, and several exciting come-backs, the week dedicated to the Spring/Summer 2026 women’s ready-to-wear collections is set to be a thrilling one.

Paris Fashion Week is scheduled from Monday, September 29 to Tuesday, October 7, and will feature 74 runway shows (as opposed to 72 in March) and 37 presentations, for a total of 111 labels, with some changes to the habitual programme. Among leading labels, Saint Laurent will set the ball rolling on Monday, followed by Louis Vuitton on Tuesday, Dior on Wednesday, with Balmain celebrating its 80th anniversary on the same evening, then by Maison Margiela, Hermès and Balenciaga on Saturday, October 3, Celine and Valentino on Sunday, October 5, and Chanel on Monday, October 6.

No fewer than nine major designer debuts are planned in this crazy week. Top of the billing are Jonathan Anderson, who will showcase his first womenswear collection for Christian Dior on October 1, after his maiden outing with menswear in June, and Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, on Monday 6. Ten months after his remarkable appointment at the head of the legendary Parisian house, Bottega Veneta’s former creative director will attract planetary attention, and his work will be closely scrutinized, judging by the feverish anticipation for what promises to be the week’s highlight.

Also on the cards, the Mugler debut of Miguel Castro Freitas, who has worked among others at Sportmax, Dries Van Noten and Dior, scheduled on Thursday, October 2, and that of Mark Howard Thomas at Carven, four hours later. The British designer, creative director of Helmut Lang from 2017 to 2019, has been with the Parisian house since 2023, when he succeeded Louise Trotter – off to Bottega Veneta – having been her right-hand man.

A new chapter is also set to open at Loewe, where Proenza Schouler founders Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough will unveil their first collection on Friday, October 3. And this is not all! The following day, October 4, Pierpaolo Piccioli, formerly of Valentino, will stage his maiden show for Balenciaga, and Maison Margiela will present the first ready-to-wear collection designed by Glenn Martens, who gave a taste of the direction he intends to give the label in July, during Paris Haute Couture Week.

While Glenn Martens has the delicate mission of replacing the iconic John Galliano at Margiela, it will be up to Michael Rider to follow in the footsteps of another fashion genius, Hedi Slimane, at Celine. Rider too provided a glimpse of his work with a pre-collection shown in July, and the understated US designer, still unknown to the general public, will be taking his Parisian plunge on Sunday, October 5. A few hours later on the same day, it will be time for irreverent Dutch designer Duran Lantink, described by Jean-Paul Gaultier himself as “fashion’s new enfant terrible,” to take the helm at Jean Paul Gaultier.

The programme of this intense edition of Paris Fashion Week features 13 new names, some of them major come-backs, others emerging labels. Starting with the runway show by Julie Kegels, a young Belgian designer who studied at Antwerp’s Royal Academy, and has caught the eye in recent seasons. Kegels will open proceedings on September 29, the week’s first day, which will end with the Saint Laurent show and the big public event organised by L’Oréal Paris in front of the Hôtel de Ville.

On the next day, September 30, time for another rookie, the subversive fashion of Hannah Rose Dalton and Steven Raj Bhaskaran, whose Matières Fécales label is also joining the official calendar for the first time. Like Meryll Rogge, showing on October 7, the label by the eponymous Belgian designer who won the Andam Prize this year, and has just been appointed creative director of Marni.

Besides the previously mentioned comebacks by Carven, Celine, Mugler, Loewe, Maison Margiela and Jean Paul Gaultier, all with new creative directors, another notable return, on October 3, will be that of Vetements, which missed last winter’s edition, and those on October 6 of Thom Browne, which showed in New York last season, and of Agnès b., back on the Parisian runways after a few seasons’ absence. Lanvin, whose first collection under the aegis of Peter Copping was unveiled on the eve of Paris Haute Couture Week in January, has repositioned itself within the womenswear calendar, showing on September 30.

Eleven labels that showed last season will instead be missing from the programme. They are Kenzo, which presented the women’s collection with menswear in June; Off-White, which showed in New York; Duran Lantink, now at Jean Paul Gaultier; Véronique Leroy, which will present its new collection via a lookbook; as well as Marine Serre, Ludovic de Saint-Sernin, Atlein, Rokh, Undercover and Christian Wijnants, which have all opted for a presentation this season. Finally, the students of the French Fashion Institute, IFM, will stage their collective show next February.