Vivienne Westwood – Spring/Summer 2026 – menswear – Italy- Milan – ©Launchmetrics/spotlight

Feillard observed that the French capital remains the world’s key fashion hub, the main venue for runway shows and showrooms by both established and emerging labels. “The latest Paris Fashion Week was a declaration of love for fashion, an ode to optimism and creativity with a very high standard of execution,” she said, underlining that this applied both to major labels and independent designers.

“While the market situation is tough, labels have decided to push the envelope of creativity, which was what the industry needed: renewed desirability, emotional appeal and perceived value as a way of restoring customer confidence,” she added. 

It was a decision to invest that, according to Feillard, was apparent in the setting of many of the shows. She cited “Louis Vuitton’s grandiose setting on the Beaubourg forecourt,” as well as Rick Owens’s spectacular performance in the fountain of the Palais de Tokyo, at once punk, poetic and primitive; the very Parisian, filmic setting created by Ami in place des Victoires; Y-3’s choice of a dance performance; and manga aficionado Louis Gabriel Nouchi, who screened an animation film during his discreet presentation at the Silencio club.” 

Feillard reckons that the season’s main events took place in Paris, including Jonathan Anderson’s highly anticipated debut at Dior Homme. “Dior is writing an exciting new chapter in its history, spearheaded by one of the most talented designers of his generation. Adopting his well-known conceptual approach, Jonathan Anderson cleverly tapped into Dior’s heritage and archives to propel the house into the future, presenting a decidedly avant-garde, rather intellectual collection,” she said.