“Balenciaga by Demna” retrospective. – Courtesy of Balenciaga.

Informed couture fans will certainly profit from next week in Paris to see “Balenciaga by Demna,” a résumé exhibition curated by Demna of 101 selected hits from his decade at the house from 2015–2025 — staged at Kering’s headquarters inside the historic Laennec landmark on rue de Sèvres on the Left Bank. A highly impressive display of design codes, volumes, silhouettes and attitudes that have defined the Georgia-born designer’s unique oeuvre.

“Balenciaga by Demna” includes a catalog, designed like a glossy fashion magazine, and the complete collection of all his Balenciaga cool conceptual show invites. It is on view from June 26 through July 9 and is open to the public. His invitation to Balenciaga this season is a spool of golden wire thread, and his final Paris fête will be in Maxim’s. Maurice Chevalier would have approved.

Two ready-to-wear houses have jumped on the bandwagon to stage shows on Sunday, July 6: Patou in the evening and Celine at 2 p.m. In effect, the debut of Michael Rider at Celine may well turn out to be the biggest show of the week — though he has a very hard act to follow, seeing as his predecessor Hedi Slimane tripled annual sales to over €2 billion in his seven-year tenure.

The season also boasts shows by critically acclaimed couturiers, from avant-gardists like Iris Van Herpen and Viktor & Rolf to classicists such as Elie Saab and Giambattista Valli, and fresh talent like Julie de Libran, Ashi Studio and Yuima Nakazato.