PARIS — It’s all change at Paris Fashion Week.
The spring 2026 season, scheduled to run from Sept. 29 to Oct. 7, will not only feature a slew of designer debuts, but a revamped schedule to match.
New creative directors will show their first women’s ready-to-wear collections at Dior, Chanel, Balenciaga, Loewe, Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, Maison Margiela and Carven, reflecting a period of unprecedented creative upheaval amid a global slowdown in luxury spending.
While the final day last season featured heavy-hitters Chanel, Miu Miu and Saint Laurent, no major brands will be showing on Oct. 7, according to the preliminary schedule published Thursday by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, French fashion’s governing body.
There are 76 runway shows and 36 presentations on the calendar.
Chanel is trading its morning slot on the Tuesday for an evening show on Oct. 6, the penultimate day of the shows. Matthieu Blazy will show his eagerly awaited first collection for the house at 8 p.m. at the Grand Palais.
Saint Laurent will close the first day with an 8 p.m. show and is expected to return to the Trocadéro near the Eiffel Tower, the scene of its most spectacular displays. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton has snagged a midday slot on Sept. 30 for its show at the Louvre, having previously shown toward the end of the week at sundown.
Jonathan Anderson on the runway at the Dior Homme show as part of Paris Men’s Fashion Week on June 27 in Paris.
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
Joining Chanel among the most closely watched shows of the season will be Dior, with Jonathan Anderson’s first women’s collection set to bow on Oct. 1 at 2:30 p.m.; Balenciaga, due to unveil Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut collection on Oct. 4 at 8 p.m., and Loewe, which will present the first line by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez on Oct. 3 at 11:30 a.m.
Miguel Castro Freitas is set to make his debut as creative director of Mugler on Oct. 2 at midday, while Duran Lantink will step into the hot seat at Gaultier on Oct. 5 at 4:30 p.m., marking the house’s return to the ready-to-wear schedule for the first time in more than a decade.
Having shown his first haute couture collection for Margiela earlier this month, Glenn Martens will present ready-to-wear on Oct. 4 at midday. Mark Thomas Howard, a longtime deputy of Louise Trotter, will step into the spotlight as director of design at Carven with a show on Oct. 2 at 4 p.m.
Brands returning to the calendar this season also include Celine, which will show its main collection on Oct. 5 at midday after unveiling Michael Rider’s first designs with a coed show earlier this month; Lanvin, following Peter Copping’s debut with a coed display during men’s week in January; Thom Browne, and Vetements.
The newcomers to the official show schedule are Matières Fécales, Julie Kegels and Meryll Rogge, fresh off her ANDAM Award win, who will close the season with a show at 6 p.m. on Oct. 7. Joining the presentation schedule are Ganni and upcycled clothing label Façon Jacmin.
Absentees this season include Kenzo, which presented a coed collection in June; Off-White, which is showing in New York this season; Marine Serre; Atlein; Duran Lantink; Ludovic de Saint-Sernin, and Rokh.
Pierpaolo Piccioli
Stephane Feugere/WWD
