The month-long marathon of runway shows came to a fabulous conclusion with Paris Fashion Week. While other cities certainly brought their A-game, there was an undeniable and palpable excitement surrounding the Paris shows, given that a flurry of brands were debuting their newly crowned creative directors after an endless game of fashion musical chairs.
There was, of course, Matthieu Blazy and Pier Paolo Piccioli, who wowed at Chanel and Balenciaga, respectively. Dior’s Jonathan Anderson and Margiela’s Glenn Martens pushed boundaries with their provocative womenswear offerings, while Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez made a strong case for American talent helming European fashion houses with their sporty pieces for Loewe. Adhering to iconic design codes while still making one’s own mark is an especially challenging task, but it’s clear that this batch of creatives is more than happy to take it on.
The clothes themselves this season didn’t just move the sartorial needle—they pushed the industry into the future. From fanciful ball gowns made of endless yards of fabric and tailored suits fit for femme fatales to warped outerwear that defied gravity and explanation, the most memorable looks from the week inspired us not only to rethink our wardrobes but also to consider how fashion fits into the cultural zeitgeist.
Ahead are the best designer looks from Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2026.
01 of 30
Chanel
One of the most anticipated shows of the season saw Matthieu Blazy take the reins at the storied house of Chanel. With the Grand Palais transformed into his own planetarium, Blazy presented a whole new world of Chanel, where house codes were reimagined with a modern and relaxed ethos.
Traditional tweeds were low-slung at the waist and even sheer in some cases; silk gowns were fluid in motion, and embellishments looked light as a feather rather than heavy. Blazy’s debut was buzzy and forward-thinking while still showing reverence for what has made Chanel one of the most iconic houses of our time.
02 of 30
Dior
Jonathan Anderson’s womenswear debut at Dior was a spellbinding and haunting reminder of the house’s legacy. With a bounty of bows, rippling capes, shrunken bar jackets, and romantic caps, house design codes got thrilling updates.
Anderson infused the collection with his signature surrealist touch, transforming Dior’s “New Look” into something that combined past, present, and future. And it’s Anderson’s future at Dior that we’re most looking forward to.
03 of 30
Louis Vuitton
Nicolas Ghesquière wanted his spring collection for Louis Vuitton to symbolize the “ultimate luxury of dressing for oneself and revealing one’s true personality.” This came to fruition with clothes that threw conformity out the window in favor of perplexing proportions, topsy-turvy pairings, and declarative decorations that were as much works of art as individualistic fashion statements.
04 of 30
Saint Laurent
For spring, Anthony Vaccarello infused a French femme fatale aesthetic into his Saint Laurent collection, creating a seductively stylish look. Models walked underneath the glittering lights of the Eiffel Tower in bold silhouettes that combined the over-the-top glamour of ’80s Dynasty with the relaxed Rive Gauche style. The finale gowns were exquisitely grand in scale, featuring ruffled necklines, puffed sleeves, and trailing trains.
05 of 30
Thom Browne
Thom Browne’s spring collection explored the thin line between the ordinary and extraordinary. Models wore Browne’s terrific tailored suits, preppy callbacks, and shimmering stripes, which were blown up into nearly unrecognizable, otherworldly proportions, further exaggerated with crystallized alien helmets. With the surreal collection, Browne suggests that perhaps there can be a uniform, and a rather chic one at that, for every being…both alien and human.
06 of 30
Miu Miu
Aprons are typically associated with the domestic realm. However, at the Miu Miu spring show, the humble apron was modified into a stylish statement piece worthy of the spotlight. They were made from sleek leathers and durable, utilitarian cottons, and were covered with large, colorful palettes. Worn over frilly dresses and tomboyish separates, the aprons were as subversive as they were chic.
07 of 30
McQueen
Feral romance ran rampant throughout Seán McGirr’s McQueen collection. Pastoral floral printed pieces were tattered and left unzipped, while streamlined shirting and uniform-esque tailoring seemed vacuum-sealed to the body. In contrast, ruffles and fringe had a frenetic energy. It was a thrilling yet feminine collection that harkened back to the brand founder’s daring roots while still feeling squarely made with modernity in mind.
08 of 30
Dries Van Noten
Julian Klausner’s spring collection for Dries Van Noten leaned into the ease and surprising elegance of wetsuits worn by surfers, embodied by glistening waters, the ripples of waves, and the glint of sunshine bouncing off them. This took form in rounded shoulders, slouchy striped knits, and jewels encrusted like found seashells. It was exciting to see Klausner retain the opulence of the brand’s founder while adding a touch of levity with his vision.
09 of 30
Chloé
Chloé is known for a hyper-feminine aesthetic that women actually want to wear—and not just gawk at from their phone screens. For summer, Chemena Kamali took a couture approach with her designs, drawing on the free-spirited nature of the brand’s ethos to create standout silhouettes complete with cascading tiered ruffles, structured leathers, and oversized, bold coats that still seemed effortless to wear. To combine Chloé’s romantic vision with craft was proof that Kamali can expand the design language of the house.
10 of 30
Valentino
Maximalism is what Alessandro Michele is best known for, and the fashion industry is all the better for it. Even though the designer pared things back (for him, at least), his spring collection still felt opulent, with its bright hues and lavish fabrics. He kept the styling equation simple, pairing silk blouses with either sharply cut trousers or pencil skirts, along with draped gowns that had just the right amount of nostalgia to make them timeless.
11 of 30
Celine
At Celine, Michael Rider isn’t interested in industry clout—instead, he seems more concerned with making clothes that are meant to live beyond flash-in-the-pan viral content. Coats were liberally cut but not slouchy in the slightest, trousers hit at just the right spot, and gowns with knotted capes were grand proposals for formal affairs. Even without the runway styling, which was magnificent in its magpie approach, Rider’s pieces were singular in their sophistication.
12 of 30
Balenciaga
Another hotly anticipated debut was Pier Paolo Piccioli at Balenciaga. During his tenure at Valentino, the creative director revitalized the storied brand with grandiose flair, and he brought that same magic to Balenciaga. Using Cristobal Balenciaga’s “Sack Dress” as a catalyst for the collection, Piccioli sent balloon-shaped dresses, blooming skirts, and rounded separates down the runway that looked light as air even though they were crafted from the finest of luxury materials.
13 of 30
Vivienne Westwood
The old became new and vice versa at Vivienne Westwood, where Andreas Kronthaler took reclaimed fabrics, such as old curtain drapes and floral embroideries left in drawers, and repurposed leathers that would otherwise be discarded, transforming them into dreamy and romantic silhouettes that were distinctly Westwood-coded.
14 of 30
Hermès
Nadège Vanhée infused a sophisticated sultriness into her spring collection for Hermès. With equestrian garb always at the forefront of the brand’s design ethos, Vanhée leaned into the more provocative interpretation. This meant corsets that criss-crossed along torsos and held silk scarves strategically over models’ breasts, quilted leathers hugged the figure, and miniskirts grazed upper thighs. It was a refreshing and indeed daring direction for the brand.
15 of 30
Maison Margiela
With an orchestra comprised of 61 children playing joyous classical music, the jarring nature of Glenn Martens’s ready-to-wear debut for Maison Margiela was even more apparent. Models walked out with their mouths held open by metal rectangles meant to mimic the brand’s iconic four stitches, which are sewn into the back of garments. This visceral display made the collection of cutaway tailoring, embossed knitwear, and fabrics swapped with plastics feel heightened, even dangerous.
16 of 30
Alaïa
Courtesy of Alaïa
Pieter Mulier is a maestro of shapes. There are a few creatives who can metamorphose materials quite like he can, and with his spring collection for Alaïa, Mulier took cottons, python skins, leathers, and silks and pushed them to their extremes. Coats became marvelous monuments, dresses cocooned the body, while draped skirts were wild with movement. Other pieces were sliced open, revealing glimpses of skin, punctuating Mulier’s love of tension.
17 of 30
Givenchy
As one of the few female creative directors in charge of a major design house, Sarah Burton knows what women want to wear and has managed to strike a perfect balance between pragmatism and imagination in her two seasons at Givenchy. For spring, stiff, hardened coats in black, white, and red satins took on a life of their own, and these were contrasted with soft suiting and knotted dresses that displayed Burton’s knack for duality design.
18 of 30
Victoria Beckham
Another designer who tapped into the mirroring sides of femininity was Victoria Beckham. Ahead of the release of her Netflix documentary, Beckham designed a spring collection that was equal parts sellable with loungey, loose-fitting suits and plaid coats perfect for fall wear mixed with more fashion-forward pieces like warped gowns, silk slip dresses that looked as though they were crushed under the weight of time, and feather-adorned minis. While we don’t know what her documentary will reveal, her spring collection showed that there are many facets to Beckham’s creativity.
19 of 30
Nina Ricci
Foxy Ladies were who Harris Reed had in mind when designing his spring collection for Nina Ricci. Reed subverted dress codes to combine clothes with a rock ‘n’ roll meets classical aesthetic. This resulted in looks that could’ve been pulled straight out of David Bowie’s closet, complete with mixed and matched polka dots, soft chiffons, glittering leopard prints, and jacquards that never tetered into tacky territory. It was, instead, an unapologetically glamorous vision.
20 of 30
Issey Miyake
The creations at Issey Miyake took on many shapes and sizes that defied typical notions of clothes, instead feeling like high-wave frequencies rendered into fashion. As pounding harmonics filled the runway show space, the clothes became a visceral experience as organic forms blended with abstract adornments and unusual layering, transforming the models’ bodies into a feast for the senses.
21 of 30
Loewe
Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez are a design duo known for their New York sensibilities, but with their debut collection at Loewe, they proved that they’re fit for a global takeover. With Spanish roots, the brand is known for its vibrant colors, sensual physicality, and sunniness, which the pair elevated with straightforward clothes that looked anything but ordinary. Bright, “printer-cartridge” hues, as they called them, made everything from parkas, anoraks, and tank tops, to polos, five-pocket jeans, and bomber jackets pop with personality.
22 of 30
Isabel Marant
The Isabel Marant woman has gone through a long, arduous journey for spring, more specifically, a trek through the desert. Drapey silks, embossed leathers, and clingy jerseys looked weathered by the sun and time. These looked much were given glints of sparkle with rich embroideries, beaded fringes, and rustic jewelry that reminded one of the glisten of a mirage.
23 of 30
Schiaparelli
Daniel Roseberry takes joy in the fact that people are going to movies less and to museums more: “Maybe the hunger today is less to be entertained, and more to be inspired,” said the Schiaparelli creative director. With his spring collection, Roseberry created moving works of art meant to inspire fashion-lovers and laymen alike, featuring sculpted suits, slip-on column gowns, and trompe l’oeil knitwear that mimicked fashion sketches.
24 of 30
Rabanne
Known for armor-like adornments, Rabanne took a lighter approach for spring, as creative director Julien Dossena looked to the tropics for sartorial inspiration. Floral motifs, such as palm-tree-shaped keyholes, printed bikini tops, and fin-like flared hems in beachy pastels, were a welcome juxtaposition to heavy embellishments and anchoring neutral tones. Although ideal for vacation getaways, these clothes still had a high-fashion edge to them.
25 of 30
Mugler
Showgirls are having a moment. Whether he was inspired by Pamela Anderson or Taylor Swift, creative director Miguel Castro Freitas drew inspiration from Old Hollywood glamour and the fetishized cliché of show business for his debut collection at Mugler. This came to fruition with flashy feathers, strands of jewels, and figure-hugging latex in nude and flesh tones, rather than the typical gaudy colors associated with variety shows.
26 of 30
Balmain
In the show notes for the spring Balmain collection, Olivier Rousteing writes that he spent his youth daydreaming on the beach about designing clothes made of sand and seashells, making this aquatic-inspired collection all the more captivating. Cocktail dresses were created out of seashells that rattled as they walked by; corsets were sculpted for sunset-hued sand (a call back to his viral Met Gala look); and crochet pieces were perfect for far-off getaways.
27 of 30
Tom Ford
Staging can make or break a runway collection. At the Tom Ford show, creative director Haider Ackermann captivated onlookers with models in coordinating looks. Laser-cut patent trench coats, sultry lace slips, and Studio 54-worthy gowns sauntered down the all-black, lacquered runway in unison, further amplifying their impact. Ackermann’s love of a well-cut suit was on full display with generous tailoring in rich colors that turned them into stylish spectacles.
28 of 30
Gabriela Hearst
Modern Pride and Prejudice met free-spirited wine country in Paris. The person Gabriela Hearst designs for loves tending to their gardens in a sundress during the day and hosting wine tastings at night. A down-to-earth approach to luxury that Hearst embodies in her personal style and throughout her design ethos.
29 of 30
Cecilie Bahnsen
Watching models at the Cecilie Bahnsen show pass by in diaphanous dresses strapped with harnesses, backpacks, and paracords gave a sense that the designer was commenting on the hardships of maintaining a sense of fragility in our volatile world. Adding such delicate details to such study styles has become a tell-tale sign of Bahnsen’s designs.
30 of 30
Vaquera
The collection explored the idea of what defines “good” taste versus “bad”—finding joy in wearing the wrong thing at the right time. Models struck multiple poses while walking down the runway as moving spotlights lit up their streetwear-meets-pagentry-inspired clothes. Everything was a bit “off” in the best way—whether it was unruly collars, overly roomy tailoring, or dresses seemingly slashed down the middle and tacked onto underpinnings.
Read the original article on InStyle
