The provisional calendar for the upcoming haute couture shows in Paris was published this week. The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM), the governing body of the French fashion industry, has announced the program for the fashion shows, which will take place from January 22nd to 26th. Haute Couture Week takes place directly after Paris Fashion Week for men, whose program was also recently published.
Many well-known names will be showcasing their couture for the new season, while other regulars appear to be skipping the semi-annual fashion event.
Returning Couture Week regulars this season include Valentino, Chanel, Giambattista Valli, Viktor & Rolf, Jean Paul Gaultier and Schiaparelli. The French fashion house Schiaparelli will open the event with his show on January 22nd.
The fashion week will conclude on the evening of January 26th with a show by the Belgian fashion house Maison Margiela, which will be showing a couture collection again after a two-year absence.
While many of the major fashion houses are back on the fashion week schedule, there are also some surprising absences.
Not only are Iris Van Herpen and Balenciaga missing from the event calendar, Thom Browne and Charles de Vilmorin, the former creative director of Rocha, who made their debut at the couture week just last year, are also skipping the event.
While Balenciaga’s absence is less surprising as the label is currently focusing on events outside of the official calendar and recently hosted one show in LA showed, comes the absence of Iris Van Herpen unexpectedly.
The Dutch designer has had a permanent place on the Haute Couture Week program for more than a decade and has become one of the most notable participants in recent years.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Pia Schulz