After the scorching heat of Paris Men’s, editors have been frantically checking the weather forecast for the next week on the fashion run: couture. At least this time, if temperatures rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, we’ll be better equipped, sporting high-tech cooling devices and knowing how best to dress.
Weather aside, Fall/Winter 2026 Haute Couture Week, running from July 6 to 9, will feature shows from 30 houses, compared with FW25’s 27-strong line-up. All eyes will be on the first couture shows of Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga (July 8), Duran Lantink at Jean Paul Gaultier (July 8), Maria Grazia Chiuri at Fendi (July 9 in Rome), as well as the second couture shows of Jonathan Anderson at Dior (July 6), Matthieu Blazy at Chanel (July 7), and Silvana Armani at Giorgio Armani Privé (July 7).
On Sunday, the eve of couture, Olivier Theyskens presented his debut show for Boloria, a label launched last year with Weareone.world, the Antwerp-based entertainment company behind the Tomorrowland festival, marking Weareone.world’s foray into fashion. The Belgian designer, who has previously been at the creative helm of Rochas, Nina Ricci, and Theory, presented a co-ed ready-to-wear collection.
As for the official calendar, Indian couturier Manish Malhotra, who dressed Karan Johar at this year’s Met Gala, is among the guest houses showing in Paris this season. (His label is partly owned by Reliance Brands Limited, which also partners with Rahul Mishra on his ready-to-wear business.) The second guest house is Standing Ground, the UK-based brand by Irish designer Michael Stewart, who won the LVMH Savoir-Faire Prize in 2024.
Among those returning to the week is Dutch designer Iris van Herpen, who shows couture each July. The schedule also includes regular fixtures Schiaparelli, Julie de Libran, Elie Saab, Alexis Mabille, and Viktor&Rolf.
Last season, Alexis Mabille unveiled a virtual reality runway show in collaboration with AI specialists at French production company Gloria Pictures. While Tuesday’s show is due to mark a shift back to craftsmanship and intimacy, the designer is set to release another project later this year involving virtual reality.
Valentino is missing from the calendar this season, after creative director Alessandro Michele pivoted to show couture each January. Other absentees include Gaurav Gupta, Julien Fournié, Miss Sohee, and Phan Huy. Maison Margiela is also skipping the schedule, after last showing couture in July 2025, when creative director Glenn Martens presented his debut for the house.
Dutch fashion designer Peet Dullaert, who, in June, scooped the top prize of the first edition of the New Crafts Awards, launched by hospitality giant Accor and Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM), will show on Thursday at 11.30am.
Adeline André will close out the official calendar in Paris, on Thursday at 4pm, while a number of attendees will fly to Rome for the Fendi show that evening at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea.
“I am excited for all of them, but especially Iris van Herpen, who now shows once a year, so it’s an extra special treat to experience her boundless imagination,” theater producer and couture devotee Jordan Roth says. “Plus, Robert Wun, whose majestically dark and poetic storytelling is always magic to witness. And, of course, discovering the newest ways that Daniel Roseberry has woven art, sensuality, wit, and craft in his Schiaparelli is always the best way to kick off the week.”
The Martin Margiela Personal Archives exhibition, conceived under the artistic direction of Martin Margiela, is open to the public until July 8, ahead of the sale on July 9.
Photo: Niña Slavcheva
