Here we are, nearly at the end of the last leg of September's fashion month in Paris – and somehow, there's still plenty left in the tank to keep us on our toes.
Paris this season is drenched in debuts – from Pierpaolo's Balenciaga to Blazy's CHANEL to Glenn Martens at Margiela RTW – as well as some old faithfuls like Miu Miu (crowned the hottest brand in the world by The Lyst Index), Dries Van Noten, Valentino, The Row, McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Hermes, ALAIA and more.
For all the highlights, and the RUSSH Editors' notes on the shows we loved, read on...
LOEWE
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez's first collection unveiling for LOEWE took place at the Cité internationale universitaire de Paris, and reframed its identity with a jolt of colour, athleticism, and cheeky provocation. Models strode out in asymmetric skirts, towel-like dresses, bomber jackets with microscopic hot pants, and jumpers tied loosely around bare torsos. The trousers, famously sparse, ceded ground to sweeping dresses and sculptural leather miniatures that nodded to LOEWE’s artisanal core.
Celine
For only his sophomore show at the House, it seems Michael Rider is now fluent in the language of Celine. Tailoring was central to the collection, with double-breasted blazers cut with confident shoulders and styled with slim trousers – a subtle link to the house’s more recent past, with Hedi Slimane at the helm. Elsewhere, clean minimal shapes recalled Phoebe Philo's uncanny ability to create pieces that feel equal parts timeless and joyfully wearable.
Hermès
Channeling the equestrian heritage of the House of Hermès, creative director Nadège Vanhée took the codes of saddlery and horseback riding and let them run wild across a sandy runway scattered with seashells in Paris this week. Leather, of course, remained the star. But it was transformed into pieces that flirted with seduction: minidresses laced corset-style at the back, skimpy shorts with apron fronts, and halter tops strapped tight with harnesses.
Chloé
The 70 bohemian Chloé girl has evolved for SS26, donning 80s florals and 50s couture. Chemena Kamali redrew vintage florals on cotton poplin and silk jersey dresses, before the collection made way for strong shouldered duster coats and silk-and-lace negligee-inspired sets and dresses.
Thom Browne
The New York designer took his signature whimsical tailoring to the extraterrestrial in his SS26 show, which featured bobble-headed aliens and silver-suited models, and frozen spaceship workers greeting guests like Law Roach, Emma Chamberlain and Rachel Zegler upon arrival.
Valentino
At Valentino’s Spring Summer 26 show, fireflies were the unexpected muse of Alessandro Michele. Exemplifying this message was an ethereal array of soft, sheer fabrics that floated down the runway in shades of ash rose, ivory, moss, and candlelight yellow. Punctuating the palette were pops of Valentino pink, cornflower blue, rich red, and glistening silver.
Miu Miu
For SS26, Miuccia Prada turned her attention to something most of us probably overlook – the apron. The show kicked off with actress Sandra Hüller strolling out in a look that could have come straight from a factory floor. From there, it was a full-on celebration of working women: waitresses, welders, housekeepers. Even the venue felt like a workplace, with Formica tables and strip curtains giving the room cafeteria vibes.
Zimmermann
It was only six months ago that Zimmermann moved into their brand new Paris HQ – their their biggest atelier yet – on Rue Barbette in Le Marais. But for the label's first Paris Fashion Week since, the 1970s bohemian spirit of Sydney’s Lavender Bay remained a calling. Billowing floral prints, draped strapless gowns 70s denim dominated alongside strappy sandals, oversized gold jewellery and scarves tied under chins.
Coperni
Coperni can be known for their runway show stunts – from Kylie Jenner walking their Disneyland show, to Bella Hadid's spray-on dress – and to the naked eye, the vanguard label's SS26 show was relatively understated. However, it was the introduction to its C+ line, a collection of clothes with skincare-like properties developed over several years alongside scientists. As per usual, it was a star-studded event, with Devon Lee Carlson walking, and Emma Chamberlain and Phoebe Tonkin in the FROW.
Aje
The Australian label made its Paris Fashion Week debut this season, with co-founders Adrian Norris and Edwina Forest unveiling their Summer 26 Rebel Rebel collection. Channelling the "untamed spirit of the Australian nature" the collection leant into the brand's signature diaphanous gowns and sequinned mosaics, along with a series of denim sets that grounded the collection for the modern woman.
CHANEL
In his highly anticipated debut as Artistic Director for the storied House, Blazy took us quite literally into “The Universe of CHANEL.” The show opened with Blazy’s take on the classic CHANEL suit – and that friction between masculine and feminine, structure and softness rippled through the next looks, from crisp shirting paired with dramatic skirts, to sheer silks peering out beneath practical tweed.
Christopher Esber
The Sydney designer (who won the ANDAM Fashion Award last year) showed his 'Permanent Vacation' SS26 show in Paris this week, an ode to the corporate women daydreaming at their desks about their next vacation. Typical tailoring was inflected by the sensual: sheer and unbuttoned blouses, tropical prints and even wind chimes dangling from cut-out tops.
Rick Owens
Titled 'TEMPLE OF LOVE', Owens' SS26 show saw models in blacked-out contacts descend concrete stairs and wade through the shallow waters of a basin (in a sort of baptismal ritual) – a counterpart to his SS26 menswear show that also used the symbolic nature of water to tell a story of rebirth and processsion. The collection emphasised deconstructed, vegetable-tanned leathers from Tuscany and Japan and shimmery draped and sequinned garments alongside feather-light gauzy dresses in shades of taupe, black, white, gold and occasionally a fleshy pink.
Mugler
Miguel Castro Freitas’s debut was a more grown-up take on the Mugler party-girl glamour, and took place in a basement car park in Paris’s 11th arrondissement. Models like Kai Schreiber, Ivy Stewart, Sihana Shalaj and Xiru Yang walked, wearing a neutral palette of beiges, blacks and seafoam greens across latex outerwear, draped suiting, structured leather dresses and feathered tops. Conservative high-necked silhouettes and skirt suits were contrasted by some more risque looks like a dress held up by nipple piercings, and tops made entirely of cascading beads.
Christian Dior
One of the week's most hotly anticipated debuts was Jonathan Anderson's Dior womenswear presentation, which was a solid continuation of his raved-about June menswear presentation. There were still those classic codes present – peplumed bar jackets with matching mini skirts, bows affixed to pleated dresses and woven into the bottom of dresses, and sheer lace slips. Denim button-ups and cut-off miniskirts grounded the collection in a sense of casual ease. The FROW was a melting pot of talent – including ambassadors Greta Lee, Mikey Madison, Jenna Ortega and Rosalia.
Acne Studios
Presented inside the historic vaulted hall of the Collège des Bernardins in Paris – transformed into a moody cigar salon – the Acne Studios SS26 show broke down archetypes of men’s and women’s wear, with models in androgynous tailoring, sculptural lace, distressed denim, and bold accessories that questioned traditional notions of femininity. The event brought together striking creative collaborations, featuring imagery by lens-based collage artist Pacifico Silano and an exclusive soundtrack by musician Robyn, who debuted new material and a re-recorded version of Robotboy (2005) with Yung Lean.
GANNI
GANNI’s Spring Summer 26 presentation at the Bastille Design Center in Paris revisited the seaside summers of Creative Director Ditte Reffstrup’s childhood. Micro florals recall wallpaper from a Danish summer house, while twisting, draping and patchwork harken back to afternoons spent playing dress ups. The new Posy bag debuted with the functional charm of classic gardener bags and their oversized pockets, and the Mini Hobo was shown in new studded, embroidered and printed iterations.
Gabriella Hearst
Gabriela Hearst’s Spring 2026 Ready-to-Wear show in Paris transformed the runway into a tarot-inspired journey of the soul, with each major arcana card translated into a look – from Laura Dern’s opening gown adorned with 2,400 hand-cut leather flowers symbolising the Empress, to the closing suede-and-knit dress interlaced with braided leather rope representing the Hanged Man’s surrender. Beyond the symbolism, Hearst reinforced her commitment to sustainability by working almost entirely with her own deadstock fabrics, elevating them into luxuriously tactile pieces like a velvety ivory tank dress with a shaggy skirt and a knitted silk T-shirt dress, proof of her belief that creativity flourishes within limits.
Cecilie Bahnsen
Cecilie Bahnsen’s Spring 2026 collection, titled Heartfelt, was a poetic fusion of romance and technology, with pale pink LED hearts pulsing beneath garments in sync with the music, while voluminous silhouettes were crafted from unexpected fabrics like deconstructed The North Face gear and ripstop trapeze dresses.
Dries Van Noten
“My first idea for this collection was to convey a sense of ease and optimism. Watching the sunset on the beach, observing surfers in the waves, I was struck by how elegant the silhouette of a wetsuit is," says Creative Director Julian Klausner of the House's SS26 showing. Embellished outerwear and micro shorties soon led into a parade of colour and abstract geometry – gossamer gowns and polka-dot coats paired with simple sneakers or tassled heels.
Stella McCartney
Opening with a spoken rendition of The Beatles’ Come Together by Helen Mirren, Stella McCartney's Tuesday night showing was a musing on humanity, animals and Mother Earth. Unveiling a groundbreaking collection featuring Fevvers – the world’s first plant-based feather alternative – oversized tailoring, peplum oxfords and rigidly structured dresses alongside a set of flashing lights and pounding bass lines. Johnny Depp, Robin Wright and Dylan Penn all sat front row.
Saint Laurent
Anthony Vacarello's SS26 show opened Paris Fashion Week with a spectacle: models sauntering around a YSL-logo hedge maze of white hydrangeas beneath the twinkling Eiffel Tower. Bella Hadid made her runway return for the House, and in attendance were ambassadors and friends like Charli XCX, Role Model, Madonna, Hailey Bieber, and ROSÉ. The first half of the runway show channelled Yves' tailored sensibilities – strong-shouldered and oversized moto jackets paired with midi skirts, whimsical stiff bows, oversized sunglasses and dripping in gold jewellery. But the starched shirts relaxed into diaphanous gown in the latter half of the show – voluminous and ruffled, in a variety of jewel and metallic tones.
Hodakova
Swedish designer Ellen Hodakova Larsson showed a series of repurposed looks, featuring deconstructed tailoring and some fairly unexpected materials like mittens, leather belts, books and zippers. The show was a textural dream, objects Frankenstein-ed together, yet whittled down to their essence. I was particularly enamoured with a bubble dress made from basketry, frayed edges acting as frill details across the neck and sleeve. There were plenty of subversive belts present too – whether draped across the torso like a harness or threaded through the hemline of a dress.
Looking for more? Check out our round-up of the best street style from Paris Fashion Week SS26 too.
