Couture week is fashion at its most fantastical; a celebration of maximalist design, where each show is a reminder of the extraordinary craftsmanship behind every house. This season marks a bumper moment of firsts and transitions, with Matthieu Blazy and Jonathan Anderson presenting their inaugural couture collections for Chanel and Dior respectively.

Elsewhere, the recent deaths of Valemtino Garavani and Giorgio Armani mean the two legendary names loom large over the week as their namesake houses enter significant new chapters. All eyes are on these pivotal collections.

Here, ELLE brings you the highlights from spring/summer 2026 couture shows.

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Valentino Couture SS26

Just 10 days after the death of Valentino Garavani, Alessandro Michele presented his latest couture collection for the house—and he invited his guests to embark upon a voyeuristic journey. Twelve kaiserpanoramas (large devices with letterbox-sized peep holes, dating back to the 19th century) were erected in the show space, with guests watching the show through small peep-hole windows. They were transported back to another time, where flapper costumes of the 20s intersected with nostalgic silhouettes from the 70s. Halo headpieces, feathers and embellished capes; opera gloves, puddling gowns, and a dramatic gold wedding dress that filled the space and marked the final act.

The very first look was an ode to the late Garavani: a batwing dress with a plunging neckline, rendered in the scarlet shade that is synonymous with the brand—and the man behind it. Prefacing the show with a release, Michele paid tribute, writing: "A radiant presence guides us, one that has shaped a space where creative vision could flourish and become, for all of us working in fashion, both touchstone and horizon."

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Armani Privé SS26

Staged at the Palazzo Armani, this was the first Privé show since the late founder’s passing five months prior; the reins now held by Silvana Armani, Mr Armani’s niece, who worked alongside her uncle for 40 years. The collection, entitled ‘Jade’, comprised of 64 looks, spanning delicate tones of green, pink and white, set against the stark contrast of a black runway.

Impeccably crafted soft tailoring was rendered in silk and paired with sheer, printed shirting and matching ties. Column dresses and evening gowns were embroidered with thousands of sequins, while jewel-encrusted fringing transformed a cardigan and tailored trousers into a red carpet-worthy look.

The prerequisite closing bridal look was designed by Mr Armani for his final Privé collection, but was not shown on the runway before his passing. Its inclusion in the show was a poignant note to end on, closing with a moment that felt true to Armani’s timeless canon.

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Chanel Haute Couture SS26

On Tuesday in Paris, all eyes were on Chanel, as Matthieu Blazy made his grand haute couture debut. For the occasion, he transported show attendees to a fairytale world, transforming the Grand Palais with towering pink willow trees, a Snow White soundtrack playing as a diverse cast of models weaved elegantly through giant toadstools.

It set the scene perfectly for the collection, which was just as dreamlike; at once soft and striking, the clothes were beautifully infused with lightness and vibrancy throughout — from the classic Chanel suits, stripped right back and reimagined in a delicate silk mousseline, to the plume-adorned gowns and suit sets, where the designer's clever knack for trompe l'oeil designs created the look of feathers through embroidery, pleating and weaving. It was "a masterclass in savoir faire which managed to look effortless and easy,” said Avril Mair, ELLE's fashion, watches and jewellery director. "Blazy’s great talent is to work magic with the ateliers and here he achieved something incredible."

Blazy said he went back to the essence of the house, describing haute couture as “the very soul of Chanel” in his show notes. “These are clothes that are as much about the wearer as the designer. It’s the clothes worn that give them a true story; their own story and an emotional resonance, giving women a canvas to tell their own story.”

“Three shows in and Matthieu Blazy has it nailed,” Mair concluded. “His Chanel is a quiet revolution, bringing lightness and joy to the most storied of houses.”

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Dior Haute Couture SS26

This season marked Jonathan Anderson’s first foray into couture, as he unveiled his vision for Dior at Musée Rodin. The show unfolded beneath a ceiling decorated with moss and cyclamens—a tribute to John Galliano, who was sat on the front row, and brought Anderson flowers while he was working on the collection.

A longtime admirer of ceramics, Anderson opened the show with a video prologue featuring ceramicist Magdalene Odundo, who spoke about her practice and the body’s central role within it. The art form was later reflected in the collection’s more sculptural silhouettes, including the very first looks, which comprised gowns rendered in black, white and orange, that ballooned dramatically through to the hem.

The collection was truly in full bloom. Flowers and plants appeared in every look—worn as earrings or brooches, clutched in the hand, or even used as parasols. The show closed on a positive note, with Mona Tougaard as the bride, wearing a voluminous white gown paired with matching floral earrings.

"Couture is the most daunting of JW Anderson’s challenges but this was a garden of delights: though he referenced the Dior of both Galliano and Raf Simons (the floral ceiling also a tribute to the latter’s couture debut), the end result was entirely his own," says Avril Mair, ELLE's fashion, watches and jewellery director. "The designer views this most rarified of crafts as a laboratory for experimentation and his collection was brave and bold—while also undeniably beautiful. Jessie Buckley’s Golden Globes dress reappeared as a delicately detailed gown while the Bar jacket of his SS26 show became a floor-sweeping white dress. It’s not going to be for everyone, and he’s yet to nail the bags, but this was dazzling showmanship."

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Schiaparelli Haute Couture SS26

Set inside Paris's Petit Palais, Daniel Roseberry opened couture week with Schiaparelli’s SS26 collection, entitled "The Agony And The Ecstasy". Spanning 30 looks, the collection celebrated the virtuosity of the house’s ateliers through fantastical silhouettes inspired by birds of paradise and the natural world.

Tops and dresses evolved into scorpion tails, stingers, and reptilian forms—Roseberry’s self-described ‘infantas terribles’—woven alongside nods to Elsa Schiaparelli’s iconic keyhole motif. Standout pieces ranged from a spiked, crystal-encrusted skirt suit to feathered jackets erupting in a spectrum of iridescent hues. For Roseberry, couture remains a space of fantasy and emotional freedom, echoing his belief, drawn from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, that great art doesn’t explain itself, but teaches us how to feel.

This article was first seen on ELLE UK.