Daring or reassuring: Brand strategies at Paris Fashion Week

“Historic” was a term widely used by industry professionals to describe this notable fashion week. A large number of brands had chosen this season to begin an important chapter in their history and unveil the very first collection from their new artistic director. While these debuts largely captured public attention, other key moments also made a lasting impression.

In short, Paris Fashion Week was split into three distinct dynamics: the Grand Debuts, the Sophomores (a second presentation by an artistic director), and the Collections of Continuity. Each highlighted a unique strategy, adapted to the brand's market position and its own growth cycle.

Grand debuts

The arrival of a new creative director at a fashion house always stirs a strong mix of emotions and feelings: curiosity; impatience; and excitement. While it puts the brand in the spotlight, it is also important that the attention does not fizzle out and instead endures over time.

At Chanel, Matthieu Blazy, the new artistic director of fashion, seems to have lived up to expectations. The show, which ended with a standing ovation, moved the audience to tears. They were perhaps also touched by the significance of the show itself, which definitively turned the page on the Karl Lagerfeld era, who was Chanel's artistic director from 1983 to 2019.

Blazy's proposal dusted off the image of the classic tweed suit and offered a resolutely modern silhouette. This was achieved through creative work with materials, fluid cuts and wearable styling. The apparent simplicity and great creativity of the pieces designed by Blazy had already proven commercially successful at Bottega Veneta, his previous employer, and could well boost sales for the illustrious French house too.

Highlights include: the shaggy earrings worn by the first model, as well as all the tweed pieces reworked into a soft, organic knit.

At Balenciaga, Pierpaolo Piccioli is giving the Kering Group brand a new direction. Following the fusion of haute couture and streetwear proposed by his predecessor, Demna, the Roman designer is infusing a modern and much less divisive glamour. To describe his approach, the new artistic director spoke of a “recalibration” of the house's heritage.

A key takeaway: Piccioli has carefully reinvented the City Bag, one of the brand's bestsellers. This is an important point because although the brand's sales are down, its leather goods segment is still performing well.

The LVMH house of Christian Dior presented Jonathan Anderson's first womenswear collection. Like Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, the designer's signature style was evident. It appeared as a continuation of his creative exploration for Loewe, where he led the creative direction for over ten years.

The pieces by Anderson, sometimes highly conceptual, break with the previous collections by Maria Grazia Chiuri, whose approach some considered too commercial. It is likely that the show's retail offering will be supplemented with classic pieces, particularly to avoid disappointing the community of loyal customers established by her predecessor.

As Anderson is no longer the artistic director of Loewe, the role has been entrusted to Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, whose first show took place on the morning of Friday, October 3. Here, there was no break, but a clear continuation. The playful grammar that Anderson had developed continues in a graphic collection that mixes artistic pieces with everyday wear. 

A highlight: the re-edition of the Amazona 180 bag, which the house describes as “a spacious, double-sided version”, to be worn open or closed.

Another major new development was the first collection by Duran Lantink for Jean Paul Gaultier. The creator of one of the most viral looks of AW25 Fashion Week (a man wearing a pair of fake breasts on his chest) had the creative responsibility of bringing Jean Paul Gaultier's ready-to-wear back to the runways. Known for his provocative and innovative fashion, the Dutch designer stayed true to his style. The result was a divisive proposal, featuring strong references to JPG codes and provocative silhouettes playing on nudity.

This season also marked the debut of Miguel Castro Freitas at Mugler, the L'Oréal group brand whose image resonates with adjectives like dramatic, spectacular and glamorous. The new artistic director focused on a sensual language of the hourglass silhouette and monochrome ensembles, with a strong emphasis on the nude shade. 

A key takeaway: one of the most shared looks on social media was a light, draped dress, dotted with stars and held in place by small hoops on the model's nipples.

Sophomore

Givenchy, Tom Ford, Maison Margiela and Celine all presented the second collection from their artistic director. This is a key step that allows the brand to confirm a vision and identity, but also to gain credibility and legitimacy with both consumers and professional buyers.

In March 2025, British designer Sarah Burton, artistic director of Givenchy, another LVMH label, had captivated everyone with sculptural cuts and looks with viral potential. Her position as a woman at the artistic helm of a luxury heavyweight is a rare occurrence in a sector that has predominantly appointed men to this role. Her feminine vision therefore generates particular interest in the industry, beyond her characteristic talent.

Sarah Burton was probably aware of this uniqueness when she wrote this sentence to accompany the notes for the Givenchy SS26 show: “A powerful femininity. I wanted to explore the strength of women through the prism of female archetypes.”

The collection plays on contrasts between the classic and the subversive, with couture or artistic proposals but also more commercial pieces, like a cropped jacket, a trendy jacket suitable for everyday wear.

At Celine, an original strategy was chosen by making this new collection by Michael Rider a continuation of the first, which was presented this summer and dedicated to the summer 2026 womenswear wardrobe.

“We considered this collection a continuation, as if the July show never really ended,” explains Rider in the show notes. There could be two reasons for this decision. It could be a desire to firmly establish the new image of the Celine woman by Rider, avoiding the dilution of the new artistic director's stylistic grammar in yet another unrelated collection. Alternatively, it could be a style that is still finding its feet and taking its time.

For his first Celine collection, Rider had drawn inspiration from elements of the Hedi Slimane era and the Phoebe Philo years (his two predecessors, whose performances had led to an increase in sales). This second instalment therefore follows the same idea.

On social media, what will be most remembered from Glenn Martens' second show for Margiela – and his first ready-to-wear collection – are the open mouths of the models wearing metal bars similar to dental cheek retractors.

The collection, however, was well received. The new artistic director focused on a key segment for the brand: tailoring. His silhouettes were wearable, designed for “real life”, with a subtle construction of sleeves with rounded shoulders.

Collections of continuity

Faced with the attention given to the Grand Debut shows (Chanel, Dior, etc.), the main challenge for luxury brands that opted for Collections of Continuity was to stand out and reclaim the spotlight. However, in today's uncertain economic climate, it was not the time for sensationalism or overly flashy images seeking attention at all costs. Consequently, most brands preferred to reassure their clientele by opting for a sober approach. They chose a straightforward narrative focused on wearable clothing that avoids any scandal and maintains a positive tone, far from the gloomy climate many countries are facing.

One of the brands to clearly express a desire for stability through its creations is undoubtedly Saint Laurent. Although the Kering Group house saw its figures decline in the first half of 2025 (current operating income down by 17 percent), the creative proposal of Anthony Vaccarello – who has been in the role for almost ten years – remains unchanged. It featured the same wide-shouldered silhouettes; the same heavy leather pieces; and the same decision not to send models down the runway with bags, a key segment for luxury.

Highlights from this show include the imposing, colourful dresses, which appeared inflated and looked as if they could be folded into a handbag, as well as a long series of trench dresses.

As usual, Nicolas Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton built a collection around powerful storytelling. This season, inspiration from the former summer apartments of Anne of Austria, Queen of France, informed a very “lounge” proposal, focused on clothes designed for indoors. The show notes speak of “great freedom in dressing” and the “ultimate luxury of dressing for oneself and revealing one's true personality”.

“All we can do is follow the rhythm of our clients' hearts,” wrote Daniel Roseberry in the Schiaparelli show notes. His statement shows the brand's desire to frame its offering with a more humble approach, one that is connected not to a designer's fantasy but to the desires of its clientele.

Among the standout pieces from the Schiaparelli SS26 ready-to-wear collection, the knitted trompe-l'œil was a highlight, being both wearable and powerful from an Instagram image perspective.

At Richemont-owned Alaïa, Pieter Mulier continued his exploration of an innovative wardrobe of apparent simplicity, focusing on “emotional clothing”. Here, the inventiveness is surprising and touching, with clothes that feel new (a rare feat in 2025) and technical feats that earn the admiration of connoisseurs.

Furthermore, the choice of scenography, with a mirrored ceiling and a digital floor projecting images, reinforced the idea of introspection and contemplation, inviting the audience to truly look at the clothes. Attention was thus drawn to strong, distinctive pieces that allow the brand to establish an immediately recognisable signature.