After an unprecedented spring 2026 season for designer debuts, the focus in Paris was on follow-ups and third-time showings. It made for an abundant and decisive fall season.
Before Chanel even showed its Fall/Winter 2026 collection, it was the talk of the town as editors and VIPs turned up to shop Matthieu Blazy’s debut drop, which landed in Chanel boutiques in Paris on March 5. “In my 20 years of attending the Paris shows, no other debut collection has so turned on fashion’s insiders,” wrote Vogue Runway and Vogue Business global director Nicole Phelps.
Monday night’s show, featuring Blazy’s sophomore ready-to-wear for the French house, solidified his vision. “Chanel was the best show of the season. Such joy. Fashion has the power to make us dream — but at Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel, you actually wear the dream,” Vogue Runway contributor Tiziana Cardini says.
Alix Morabito, chief merchandising officer at Galeries Lafayette, agrees: “Matthieu Blazy continues the fantastic path he has started for Chanel, with more knitwear and extreme low waists, in echo to the Gabrielle Chanel era.” Morabito also praises “the perfect silhouette and attitude at Celine”, as well as Jonathan Anderson’s second womenswear show for Dior. “He introduced Dior’s classic customers to a new, relaxed attitude and invited a new audience. The décor he built in Jardin des Tuileries helped usher in a new era with fresh air, emphasizing the basin, the ‘nature’, and the light,” she adds.
The celebrity scene contributed to the noise: Oprah Winfrey flew to Paris to see Stella McCartney be made Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, during a ceremony at the Élysée Palace, and while in town, took advantage by attending the Chloé and Chanel shows. Heated Rivalry-mania continued, with François Arnaud attending the Saint Laurent show and Hudson Williams sitting front row at Balenciaga, a moment that — along with word spreading about Balenciaga’s confirmed collaboration with Euphoria’s Sam Levinson — set fans into a frenzy that blocked the Champs-Élysées. Love Story star Paul Anthony Kelly stole the spotlight at Dior and Tom Ford, while co-star Sarah Pidgeon lit up Loewe. The Culkin brothers were also in town: Kieran attended the Lacoste show, and Macaulay was seen at Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier.
“There are so many stars today, because there are more brand ambassadors than ever. It’s a fierce competition, showing how brands vie relentlessly for media attention,” says PR guru Lucien Pagès. Before fashion week, Balenciaga announced 11 faces to front the brand, including Williams. Three days before its show, Chanel announced Bhavitha Mandava, the model from Hyderabad, India, as its next house ambassador.
Read on for the key takeaways from Paris Fashion Week FW26.
Addressing what’s happening in the world
Paris Fashion Week (PFW) unfolded against the backdrop of conflict in Iran and the wider Middle East. It made for a sharp and perhaps uncomfortable contrast to the collections going down the runways.
Osama Chabbi, a French Tunisian stylist and fashion commentator based in Dubai, says: “Being at fashion week feels like a complete dissonance, but at the same time, I tell myself that maybe people want to see lighter things. That’s what I hold on to.” Flights to Dubai on certain airlines have resumed gradually, but Chabbi is uncertain whether he will return home after the last show. “I have the privilege of being a freelancer.”
Fashion is no stranger to persevering in the face of political turmoil. “9/11 happened during fashion week, Covid happened during fashion week, and now the Middle East conflict is happening during fashion week. It either means there are too many conflicts or too many fashion weeks,” Moda Operandi co-founder Lauren Santo Domingo says.
