After what has felt like a moment of stasis in fashion as its heavyweight players reorient themselves after a stream of creative director departures and arrivals, this September will largely see things settle into place as new tenures begin. Most notably, Matthieu Blazy will make his debut at Chanel – a runway show which has had months of expectation and anticipation – and Jonathan Anderson will reveal his first womenswear collection for Dior after an acclaimed menswear debut in June. A slew of other designers will also make their opening gambits across the various fashion cities – among them Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga, Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta, Dario Vitale at Versace and Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez at Loewe.
But there is plenty more to look out for in what promises to be a packed month of runway shows, presentations and off-schedule events – both New York and London feel like they have a new wave of energy (the latter down to the appointment of new British Fashion Council CEO Laura Weir who is promising a new chapter for London fashion), while Milan and Paris will have their usual line-up of blockbuster shows from fashion’s defining names. Here, ahead of its September start date, Wallpaper* presents a definitive cheat sheet for the S/S 2026 runway shows.
New York Fashion Week (11–16 September 2025)
After a somewhat sleepy February edition, New York Fashion Week returns this September with a busy – and slightly rejigged – schedule. Opening proceedings on Thursday is Michael Kors, seeing the perennial designer shift from his usual slot on the week’s closing day, while other banner shows include Veronica Leoni’s sophomore collection for Calvin Klein after a largely well-reviewed opening act this past February, Stuart Vevers’ latest Coach outing (the British designer was awarded an OBE last month), and Tory Burch, the latter seeking to continue a creative renaissance which has reinvigorated 2004-founded label in recent seasons.
Elsewhere, notable moments will include Nicholas Aburn’s debut as creative director of buzzy New York-based label Area (previously, he was a senior designer at Balenciaga Couture), the return of COS to New York Fashion Week (the brand showed in Brooklyn last September), and an on-schedule debut from LII (helmed by FIT graduate Zane Li, we recently spotlighted the label – which marries 1990s minimalism with moments of colour and play – as part of our Uprising column). Shows from Khaite, Eckhaus Latta, Collina Strada, Off-White, Fforme, Toteme, Luar and Diotima round out the week’s schedule.
Looks from Veronica Leoni’s A/W 2025 Calvin Klein Collection debut. The designer will present her sophomore show for the brand this September in New York
(Image credit: Photo by Kelly Taub via Getty Images)
London Fashion Week (18–22 September 2025)
London Fashion Week is in the midst of a renovation: at a recent summer party, new British Fashion Council CEO Laura Weir began to outline her vision for the institution, promising to ‘put designers at the heart, to make mentoring and business skills central to our offer and to ensure our funding models result in long-term impact for the British creative economy’. Initial policies include waiving London Fashion Week fees for designers showing this September, investing in getting international press to the event, and confirming new three-year funding for the BFC’s Newgen incubation programme – schemes which seek to bring back the jolt of creative energy for which London has long been known, and has felt missing in recent seasons.
September might be too early to judge Weir’s efforts, though a buzzy schedule of names – including a headline act from Burberry on the Monday evening – looks to be a strong starting point. Names to look out for include on-the-rise labels Chopova Lowena, Aaron Esh, Johanna Parv, Talia Byre, Ahluwalia and the latest class of Lulu Kennedy’s Fashion East, while more established names – including Roksanda, Erdem and Simone Rocha – complete the line-up, which unfolds over four days. Off the runway, Jonathan Anderson will host a special dinner to celebrate his newly invigorated vision for eponymous London-based label JW Anderson, which he previewed earlier this month as part of haute couture week in Paris.
‘Fashion is not just about shows and clothes, fashion gives us a preview of society’s next chapter,’ said Weir earlier this month. ‘It’s time to write a new story together.’
Chopova Lowena S/S 2025. Designers Emma Chopova and Laura Lowena will return to London Fashion Week after a season’s break this September
(Image credit: Courtesy of Chopova Lowena)
Milan Fashion Week (23-29 September 2025)
While organising body Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana is yet to release this season’s schedule, Milan Fashion Week will be notable for two major debuts: Dario Vitale at Versace and Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta. The former was the design and image director of Miu Miu before replacing Donatella Versace as creative director (she will remain as chief brand ambassador), while Trotter takes over from Matthieu Blazy, who will also make his debut this season at Chanel in Paris. Both will be much-anticipated.
Elsewhere, Silvia Venturini Fendi will oversee a co-ed Fendi collection after a lauded 100-year anniversary show earlier this year (she takes the role in the wake of the exit of Kim Jones), and Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Giorgio Armani and Max Mara will all host no-doubt blockbuster shows. Former Balenciaga creative director Demna is also expected to tease his vision for Gucci before hosting his debut runway show for the Italian megabrand next February.
Dario Vitale, Versace’s new creative director, who will make his debut this September
(Image credit: Photography by Stef Mitchell, courtesy of Versace)
Paris Fashion Week (29 September-7 October 2025)
Paris Fashion Week continues to dominate the month with a nine-day schedule which features a slew of debuts, many of which are at the city’s heavyweight houses. These include Matthieu Blazy at Chanel (the former Bottega Veneta creative director will show at 8pm on Monday evening in a shift from the brand’s usual Tuesday slot), Jonathan Anderson at Dior (he hosted his menswear debut in June; this will mark his first womenswear collection) and Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez at Loewe (the founders of Proenza Schouler replace Anderson at the Spanish house). There will also be debuts from Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga, Miguel Castro at Mugler and Glenn Martens at Maison Margiela (this will mark his first ready-to-wear collection for the brand after an Artisanal show in July), while Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford, Sarah Burton at Givenchy and Michael Rider at Celine will all host their sophomore shows after debuts earlier this year.
Elsewhere, the Japanese contingent – among them Comme des Garçons, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe and Noir Kei Ninomiya – will show throughout the week (expect typically convention-defying designs from their respective designers), alongside a raft of emerging talent, from LVMH Prize winner Hodakova to Niccolò Pasqualetti, Vaquera and Meryll Rogge, who was recently announced as the creative director of Marni. Other high-profile shows will include Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Rick Owens, Miu Miu and Valentino, among many (many) more.
Jonathan Anderson’s debut menswear collection for Dior. He will show his first womenswear collection for this house this September
(Image credit: Courtesy of Dior)
