From Saint Laurent’s star-studded show beneath the Eiffel Tower to Stella McCartney’s surprise opening act, Paris Fashion Week SS26 is a season where the city reaffirms its power to honour heritage while boldly scripting what comes next.
Paris has long stood as fashion month’s grand crescendo, but Spring/Summer 2026 arrives with a rare, almost operatic intensity. Across nine days from September 29 to October 7, the city becomes a stage for creative handovers, historic debuts and a palpable sense that the industry is in the midst of profound transition.
Paris Fashion Week SS26 is punctuated by generational shifts: Matthieu Blazy unveiling his inaugural Chanel collection, Jonathan Anderson imprinting Dior Women’s with his sculptural intelligence, and Pierpaolo Piccioli reimagining Balenciaga with his romantic precision. Glenn Martens at Maison Margiela, Duran Lantink for Jean Paul Gaultier’s ready-to-wear, Miguel Castro Freitas at Mugler and Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez at Loewe complete a constellation of exciting debuts.
Even the calendar itself signals change. Saint Laurent opens at the Trocadéro in a display of monumental theatre, Louis Vuitton abandons its nocturnal tradition for a daylight Louvre presentation, and Jean Paul Gaultier returns to prêt-à-porter after more than a decade away. Alongside these icons, the schedule welcomes Ganni’s Paris debut and the fresh perspectives of Julie Kegels and Façon Jacmin, emerging voices whose inclusion underscores a city willing to expand its vocabulary.
Seventy-six runway shows, thirty-six presentations, seven landmark debuts: this is not merely the conclusion of fashion month but a moment in which Paris asserts its power to both honour heritage and script what comes next.
Below, we have rounded up our favourite shows from Paris Fashion Week SS26
Saint Laurent
For Saint Laurent’s Spring 2026 runway – staged beneath banks of white hydrangeas spelling “YSL” with the Eiffel Tower as a nocturnal witness – Anthony Vaccarello leaned into the House’s codes. Think: exaggerated shoulders, crisp pussy-bow blouses, and leather corsetry. However, in this latest collection, the signatures of the maison felt looser, courtesy of sheer nylons and flowing dresses that whispered of intimacy and risk. The collection shifted from sharp, structured tailoring into romantic neo-baroque gowns, each silhouette gradually softening but never losing its edge in a stunning unravelling.
Louis Vuitton
Nicolas Ghesquière’s latest collection for Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer served as a celebration of the boundless freedom of the private sphere and a championing of the art of living. There was a sense of rebellion against the rules of what “indoor” clothing should be, yet it never lost Vuitton’s sharp tailoring and refined finish.
Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney’s Spring/Summer 2026 show channelled a spirited duality—masculine energy meeting feline sensuality—within an ethos of uncompromising sustainability. Denim played a starring role: stitched with PURETECH fibers that cleanse the air, they appeared in wide-leg interpretations and asymmetrically knotted back panels. For the finale, McCartney debuted Fevvers, a plant-based alternative to feathers used to adorn a strapless purple column dress that fluttered like couture plumage without harm.
GANNI
GANNI’s Spring/Summer 2026 show at the Bastille Design Center in Paris was a nostalgic love letter to seaside summers and the freedom of self-expression. Inspired by Creative Director Ditte Reffstrup’s childhood in the Danish fishing town of Hirtshals, the collection captured the innocence of long, endless days by the water while reimagining them for the self-assured GANNI Woman. Patchwork styling, hand-crochet textures, and draped silhouettes brought a sense of play and adaptability, while tulip-shaped coats, smocked dresses, and blurred floral prints evoked memories softened by time.
This article was originally published by Maddison Hockey on the Marie Claire Australia website.
