Couture is in full bloom at Paris Haute Couture Week and here's everything we've loved (so far)

After a few shaky seasons marked by designer exits, uncertain transitions, and creative flux, couture feels thrillingly like it's back on its feet. With major creative directors finally having settled into their new roles, this season’s collections arrive with an electric sense of purpose—as if every house is out to remind the world exactly what it stands for. There’s urgency, imagination, and a whole lot of proving ground energy in the air. Here's what we're loving (so far). 

Day One

Schiaparelli turns the surreal dial to high

 

For his Fall 2025 couture showcase, Daniel Roseberry took Schiaparelli to its most futuristic edge yet. With whispers of industry-wide creative shake-ups on the horizon, Roseberry used this collection as both a provocation and a prelude to reinvention. The day opened with a dramatic statement—Cardi B arriving for the show, dressed in a black fringe-trimmed bustier gown, holding a live raven at the gates of the Petit Palais. She set the tone for what came next—the garments that were equally theatrical: rhinestone-encrusted thongs peeking from sculpted satin gowns, breastplates with protruding metallic nipples, and a heartbeat-shaped necklace that pulsed with mechanical precision. In the front row, Dua Lipa shimmered in a keyhole white gown while Hunter Schafer stunned in a mint-and-gold strapless column. This was couture that thrilled, shocked, and reminded us that Schiaparelli will never be boring.

Iris van Herpen creates living, breathing couture

 

Dutch designer Iris van Herpen took the concept of fashion as life force quite literally this season. Her show opened with a jaw-dropping “living look” infused with 125 million bioluminescent algae—living, breating creatures—which required controlled light and temperature conditions to survive. The rest of the collection felt like a delicate collision between science fiction and deep-sea wonder: jellyfish-like gowns made from “air” fabrics, sculptural forms that mimicked marine biology, and a kinetic dress in collaboration with artist Casey Curran that shimmered and shifted like a breathing organism. Each of her 18 looks formed a miniature ecosystem, elevated by a multisensory experience that included a bespoke scent by Francis Kurkdjian. Through it all, Van Herpen’s vision offered a poetic critique of humanity’s relationship with nature, making fashion literally come alive on stage.

Rahul Mishra transforms love into thread

 

In a collection titled Becoming Love, ace Indian couturier Rahul Mishra turned emotion into embroidery for his Fall/Winter 2025–26 offering. Inspired by the seven Sufi stages of love—attraction, infatuation, surrender, reverence, devotion, obsession, and death—Mishra’s creations fused craftsmanship with spirituality. Models glided down the runway in ethereal sheers, hand-cut florals, pearl-dusted organza corsetry, and experimental textures that felt like a romantic fever dream. Every piece carried whispers of devotion and grief, illustrated through painstakingly intricate handwork. The collection wasn’t short on drama either, with actor and supermodel Lisa Haydon closing the show in a white sequin gown that shimmered like a whisper. For Mishra, couture is a way to meditate on emotion, where every stitch is part of a larger romance.

Day Two

Chanel shows us the calm before Blazy

 

Chanel’s Fall/Winter 2025–26 Haute Couture show was the final chapter before a new era. As Matthieu Blazy prepares to step into the long-vacant role of creative director, the house’s in-house studio delivered a parting love letter to the brand’s legacy. Held within the iconic Cambon, the show was a study in softness and restraint. Details included featherlight silks floated like whispers, with a palette of ecru, ivory, deep brown, and soft black evoking a quietly romantic autumn. Fringe, plumage, and delicate layering hinted at natural textures—water, earth, wind—without veering into costume. Sculpted leather boots and trailing tassels added just enough edge to keep things interesting. If this was Chanel’s pause before reinvention at the hands of Blazy, it was a graceful one.

Armani Privé's seduction of shadow

Meanwhile, Giorgio Armani’s Noir Séduisant reminded us why he remains one of couture’s most celebrated and enduring maestros. A masterclass in mood, Armani explored black as a possibility rather than an absence. Across the fabulous looks, the designer played with shadow and softness, proving that restraint can be radical. Tailored velvet jackets with razor-sharp lapels, sheer gowns dusted in floral embroidery and sculpted tuxedos reimagined as eveningwear even as the silhouettes walked the line between masculine precision and feminine fluidity. And then came the glimmers—subtle metallics, inky sequins, and soft glows that flickered like candlelight on black velvet. Each look was a lesson in drama—less red carpet, more noir film still. And that’s perhaps the brilliance of Armani’s couture: beyond the dazzle, lingering in memory.

DAY 3:

Robert Wun presented Becoming

At Théâtre du Châtelet, Robert Wun’s Becoming explored the act of dressing as ritual and remembrance. Opening with a duvet-like ivory gown spattered in red sequinned handprints and a model with stained lips, the collection shifted through sculptural jackets embroidered with sequins, detachable bodices revealing structured undergarments, and surreal evening gowns carried aloft by prosthetic arms. The finale, a sand-hued bridal gown with a sculpted corset and a tiny mannequin perched on its veiled train, evoked a sense of loss and the act of becoming.

Demna’s swan song at Balenciaga

Inside Cristóbal Balenciaga’s restored salon, Demna’s final show at the house before moving to Gucci began with a spoken roll call of atelier artisans, grounding the spectacle in a collaborative homage. Silhouettes were restrained yet sculptural, featuring oversized Neapolitan coats, tulip-lapel tailoring that softened into sheer lace, and corsetry derived from stretch fabrics rather than steel. A charcoal, pewter, and muted silver palette enveloped it all in calm introspection. Kim Kardashian appeared mid-show in a satin slip echoing Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, draped in mink and Elizabeth Taylor’s diamonds. As Sade’s “No Ordinary Love” echoed, Demna emerged in a hoodie and combat trousers for his final goodbye at the house he helped build to its current status.

Elie Saab presented moonlit botanicals in motion

Elie Saab transformed the runway into a nocturnal garden with silk gowns in blush, mist, and deep amethyst floating between arches, their surfaces embroidered with botanical motifs—Tudor roses, foliage, glimmering vines. Capes and trailing skirts fluttered like moonlit petals, anchored by architectural tailoring in the shoulders and waist. Unexpectedly, Saab included tailored jumpsuits and denim corsets—modern accents amid timeless romance. The closing bridal gown—layer upon layer of tulle crowned with florals—felt like a painter’s last flourish.

Viktor & Rolf’s sculptural theatre

True to their reputation, Viktor & Rolf turned the runway into an absurdist stage, with oversized bows on shoulders, sleeves ballooning into sculptural forms, and rigid hats defying gravity. Rendered in bold registers of black, ivory, and crimson, the garments toyed with architecture and exaggeration while rooted in meticulous construction. In pushing the boundaries of form, they held an unspoken dialogue with structure, absurdity, and freedom.

Starlight etched in silk by Zuhair Murad

Zuhair Murad delivered cosmic calm with champagne, silver, and sapphire gowns shimmering with embroidered constellations, sequins, and metallic channels. The tailoring was refined: fitted bodices expanded into sweeping capes and flared hems. The result wasn’t spectacle but presence—romantic, elegant, and majestic. The collection held timeless allure without excess, reminding us that minimal drama on the surface can hide universe-sized craft and romance.

Maison Margiela Artisanal: Fragments Reassembled

Closing Day 3 with visceral defiance, Glenn Martens’s debut Artisanal at Maison Margiela celebrated imperfection. Models moved in layers of shredded silk, exposed seams, and looks that revelled in their rawness. The showstopper? A silver conical gown, draped in beads yet fragile in its construction. 

 

Words by Santya Ahuja, Eshaan Raj, Khushii Suranna

Lead Image: Getty Images

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