It is the last appearance of Demna Gvasalia for Balenciaga and Dior. The Haute-Couture week begins in Paris on Monday and is again shaped by changes among the creative directors: inside.
Schiaparelli traditionally opens the views. On the same day, the fashion shows of the houses Iris van Herpen – back after a year away – Georges Hobeika, Imane Ayissi, Rahul Mishra, Julie de Libran and Giambattista Valli.
The highlight of this autumn/winter season 2025/26 is the farewell to Demna Gvasalia near Balenciaga. The 44-year-old Georgian designer presents his last collection for the French fashion house on Wednesday afternoon. After ten years at the top, the designer changes to the Italian luxury brand Gucci. Their weak performance is burdened by Kering’s business, which both brands belong to.
It is replaced by the Italian Pierpaolo Piccioli, who will present his first collection in October during the Paris Fashion Week. A farewell to a large tamam: In addition to an exhibition entitled “Balenciaga of Demna” in the Kering headquarters, the fashion house has been releasing the best looks on its Instagram account for a few days that the designer has designed in the past decade.
On Wednesday evening, Glenn Martens also made his debut with Maison Margiela. In January he was appointed the successor to the British John Galliano. With this first fashion show, the Belgian designer marks the return of the French house to the skin-couture calendar. The last show under the Pont Alexandre III bridge in January 2024 was viewed by many as one of the most spectacular in recent years.
The fashion houses Patou and Celine already showed their collections outside of the official calendar on Sunday. This served as an unofficial prelude to the haute couture week.
Dior and Gaultier are missing
On Tuesday, Chanel will be presenting a collection for the last time that was designed by the internal design studio. It has been the fifth collection since Virginie Viard’s sudden departure in June 2024.
The successor, the reserved and highly respected French-Belgian designer Matthieu Blazy, will present his first collection in October. By Thursday, 27 fashion houses will present their creations, including Elie Saab, Armani Privé, Aelis, Viktor & Rolf, Adeline André and the Syrian Couturier Rami Al Ali, who has been added to the official calendar.
Due to the change of creative directors: there are also some remarkable absences here this week. Dior is not there. After a much-noticed first fashion show during the Men’s Fashion Week on June 27, Jonathan Anderson rises his first haute couture collection for January 2026. The 40-year-old Nordire was called to the head of the women’s and skin couture collections from Dior in early June and replaced Maria Grazia Chiuri. Just a few weeks earlier, he had taken responsibility for the men’s collection. He has been the first since Christian Dior to lead all three lines of the LVMH flagship fashion house.
Jean Paul Gaultier is also missing. The Dutchman, Dutch Duran Lantink, who was appointed in April in April, will make his debut during the Fashion Week in October. Since retirement in 2020, designer Jean Paul Gaultier has left guest designers’ management of his Haute-Couture collections: inside like Olivier Rousteins, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, Haider Ackermann and Irin Simone Rocha.
The event ends with the fashion show by the Swiss Kevin Germanier. Not to be confused with the Paris Fashion Week, the Haute-Couture week takes place in January for summer and July for winter. It takes place exclusively in Paris because it is a French peculiarity in which unique, handmade pieces are presented. These creations are mainly intended for red carpets, large jet set events and galas.
This article was used with digital tools translated.
Fashionunited uses artificial intelligence to accelerate the translation of articles and improve the end result. They help us make the international reporting of fashionunited a German -speaking readership quickly and comprehensively accessible. Articles that have been translated using AI-based tools are read and carefully edited by our editor: Correcting inside before they are published. If you have any questions or comments, please contact me by email to [email protected]