Paris Haute Couture Week once again proved why couture remains fashion's ultimate stage for craftsmanship and creativity. From landmark designer debuts to breathtaking displays of artistry, the fall/winter 2026 season delivered a week of unforgettable collections. Discover the standout shows and defining moments that shaped the latest couture calendar.
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Fendi
In an era of noisy, runway shows built to become viral, social media moments, a time when creative directors are pitted against each other like footballers at the World Cup, it takes confidence to step outside it all and let the clothes do the talking. For her first couture show at the helm of Fendi, Maria Grazia Chiuri staged her show at the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna in Rome, rather than on the glittering schedule in Paris, effectively closing out the season.
"I decided to show in Rome rather than Paris because I wanted people to focus on Fendi as a house, not just on the show itself. The story and history of this brand is important and it’s difficult to synthesise this into one runway moment. I wanted people to see the house," she said during a preview of the collection earlier that day.
Surrounded by 19th and 20th century works, the collection was a quiet meditation on the body, freedom and desire, amounting to a lineup of timeless clothes filled with the designer’s most recognisable hallmarks (the fluid dresses and tailoring, her flair for tulle and embroidery, and her trademark sense of ease and penchant for black and white) mixed in with a range of new, uniquely Fendi ideas.
After a history-making nine-year run at Dior, which followed a 17-year chapter at Valentino, it’s clear Chiuri knows her customer—who no doubt will follow her wherever she goes. But she also showed a deep understanding of the Fendi woman, having started her career as a designer there in 1989. "At Fendi, craft is not an element, it’s the centre of their work," she said.
Craftmanship and the ultimate luxury of the human hand has been a recurring theme in fashion lately, as the industry grapples with a war in the Middle East and the onslaught of AI. But while many designers have given the idea an historic slant, Chiuri’s interpretation is distinctly modern: Cool tailoring, languid tunics, robes and dresses, and a series of excellent patchwork capes. Couture made to be worn in real life, on a range of bodies, rather than on the screen. The biggest proof of this was how at ease her front row, which included Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Alba and Yara Shahidi, looked in her clothes. Quietly, and assuredly, Chiuri made her point. — Kenya Hunt
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Balenciaga
When Pierpaolo Piccioli was at Valentino, his couture shows each season were always a hotly anticipated showcase of creative mastery. Known for his experimentation with volume and colour, Piccioli made truly beautiful clothes—the kind poetic couture you can't help but fall in love with. Now at the helm of Balenciaga, the designer returned to the couture stage for the first time in over two years, and we were reminded of just how much we missed his vision on the haute couture schedule.
His Balenciaga debut was a conversation between heritage and modernity, putting a distinctly contemporary spin on Cristóbal Balenciaga's design ideology—most visibly through cuts and ultra-vibrant colours, but also through fabrics, using a bioengineered silk alternative in a bid to introduce new sustainable technologies to haute couture. Piccioli's front row was filled with Hollywood big hitters and A-list celebrities (Cynthia Erivo, Teyana Taylor, Demi Moore, Naomi Watts, Lily Collins)—here's hoping we'll be seeing some of his Balenciaga Couture gowns on the red carpet ASAP. — Tamison O'Connor
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Armani Privé
Many couture shows this season have transported us to extravagant worlds that fuse fantasy and nature. Silvana Armani, however, took us inside behind closed doors, exploring the intimacy of a private boudoir—a space where women can experience getting dressed as a deeply personal ritual.
Soft tailoring oozed a sensuality, relaxed suit trousers paired with bejewelled blazers and tactile fringed bolero jackets, while Oscars Red Carpet-worthy gowns brought sophisticated glamour, imagined in after-dark colour palette of midnight jewel tones looked sumptuous in velvets and iridescent silks. It was the designer's second solo show since taking over the reins of the empire that her late Uncle built—and confirmation that she has no plans for creative reinvention. Instead, she's building on the distinct design language Mr Armani was so beloved for. — Tamison O'Connor
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Chanel
On Tuesday Matthieu Blazy debuted the newest chapter of the couture fairytale he's crafting at Chanel. The pink willow trees and toadstools of last season were replaced with overgrown vines and gigantic flowers in a vibrant kaleidoscope of colours, setting the scene for another dreamlike collection that was fantastical celebration of Chanel's savoir faire. Fables that we all grew up with—Jack and the Beanstalk; The Ugly Duckling; Goldilocks and the Three Bears—were the starting point for Blazy, after he found a book of fairy tales in Gabrielle Chanel’s library. '[I] asked myself if, together with the Haute Couture ateliers, we could make garments that tell stories like a book,' he said.
But the fantasy of Blazy's couture collections really comes to life through the details, the fabrics, embroidery, layering and appliqués transforming the everyday into something extraordinary. The collection itself, grounded in signature Chanel silhouettes, was very wearable—not something that can often be said about haute couture. For Blazy, just like for Gabrielle Chanel, there's a function found in the fantasy; it's part of what makes his collections look so effortless — and feel so desirable. — Tamison O'Connor
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Christian Dior
Christian Dior creative director Jonathan Anderson was the designer on everyone's lips over the weekend, after it was revealed that he dressed Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce for their Maddison Square Garden wedding on July 3. No, we still haven't seen pictures, but that hasn't stopped excitement swirling around the fact the bride wore Dior! to what is essentially America's answer to a royal wedding.
You could call the frenzy a pep rally of sorts for the designer's sophomore couture outing in Paris on Monday. For the show, Anderson turned his attention to another American: artist and sculptor Lynda Benglis, who the designer reunited with to collaborate on bags for the collection (they had previously worked together while Anderson was still at Loewe). The artist's influence also shone through in the clothes, with metallic lamé pleats and gargantuan floral-adorned fans decorating slinky, silky floor-length dresses. The show closed with a beautiful white gown fit for a fairy-tale wedding, stoking anticipation for Swift's big outfit reveal even further. — Tamison O'Connor
This article was first seen on ELLE US.