Galeries Lafayette’s Victoria Dartigues on SS27: 'We want joyful and sparkling fashion'

Following Paris Fashion Week in October 2026, dedicated to the spring/summer 2027 collections, FashionUnited gathered initial thoughts from Victoria Dartigues, director of womenswear and leather goods purchasing at Galeries Lafayette.

From her Fashion Week marathon to emerging seasonal trends, she discusses the highlights of the season. She also explains how buying teams select brands, build their product offering and allocate their budgets.

What does your role involve?

Victoria Dartigues: My role as director of purchasing is to translate the strategic vision of Galeries Lafayette for women's ready-to-wear and fashion accessories.

The idea is to assert our position as the number one luxury and fashion destination for the Haussmann department store and also for our network of stores. Of course, we also aim to optimise all our partnerships in terms of both turnover and profitability.

Buying is a team effort, involving four market managers and about 15 buyers. We work together to create the best customer journey, aiming to surprise them every time. We want to ensure their experience at Galeries Lafayette is unique and makes them want to return.

What is your schedule like during Fashion Week?

Fashion Week is a 360-degree ecosystem. For a month, we see shows and presentations, and we visit showrooms. I cover London, Milan and Paris. For New York, a buyer from my team attended.

These are significant moments for discussion. We understand the brands' strategies and visions. Based on this, we align them with our own vision. On average, over a month, we attend four shows and at least four appointments per day.

From everything you have seen, what are the first trends emerging for summer 2027?

In ready-to-wear, the skirt is undoubtedly the key piece of the season. Prada made it the manifesto of its show, exploring all its variations from the pencil skirt to the pleated skirt, from utilitarian to the most sophisticated. This trend is also very prominent at Miu Miu, Dries Van Noten and Loewe.

The shirt and the light blouse, sometimes transparent or lingerie-inspired, are also key at Chloé, Dior and Victoria Beckham, alongside fluid trousers at Celine and The Row. These are versatile pieces that allow for a personal wardrobe, balancing sophistication and styling freedom.

Which spring/summer 2027 fashion accessories stand out?

Belts and costume jewellery take centre stage, with the return of layering, pearls, colourful necklaces and unexpected combinations, particularly at Celine and Dries Van Noten.

The scarf and bandana are becoming true elements of personalisation.

Finally, footwear is rediscovering a feminine, joyful and expressive dimension, with heeled flip-flops, court shoes, bows and embellishments, especially at Loewe, Saint Laurent and Jil Sander.

Have the Fashion Weeks for the spring/summer 2027 collections changed your perspective on fashion?

What I find interesting is that we are in a creative yet wearable fashion moment. After quiet luxury and minimalism, we wanted something more joyful and sparkling. It is a real return to personality.

Today, each house is asserting its DNA. I am almost less able to talk about trends than about the DNA of each one.

Colours are a real risk because they can be much more divisive. Yet, we are seeing a lot of them. Designers are willing to take these risks on quite commercial shapes. This is important because we must not forget the reality of business and the current context.

Where previously one might have said, “this is the look of the season,” today the customer says, “this is my look.” This change is what is interesting.

How do these trends translate into your buying, especially when major brands have concessions at Galeries Lafayette?

Brands with concessions do their own buying. The main benefit of meeting them in the showroom is to have a discussion. Each department store has its own specific clientele and customer profile. We can therefore understand how they build their buys and guide them based on what we know about our customers.

What we see on the luxury catwalks informs our interpretation of all the brands we see in the showroom, from the still-niche designer to the leading contemporary brands.

Have you already identified any labels you would like to bring into Galeries Lafayette for spring/summer 2027?

It is still too early to present our seasonal bets. The teams are still in the showroom and we still have brands and collections to discover.

Once all the showrooms are finished, we meet with the teams to deliberate on what we have seen and what they can bring to us.

First, there is prospecting work, then a pooling of ideas. We need to understand what one brand brings compared to another, how the offering is complementary and how to avoid cannibalising what we already offer.

For the most part, we have room for discussion until around October 15 or 20.

How do you build your buying budget?

We are constantly working on a forecasted budget. We have a starting budget, then we make several likely projections to align as closely as possible with our end-of-season landing.

It is based on this landing that we can frame the budget for the following season. The budget is first defined at the department level, then allocated by brand, according to showroom timings and deliveries.

For multi-brand spaces, especially those dedicated to young designers and seasonal discoveries, we always keep a budget reserve at the end of the showroom period. This allows us to seize an opportunity when a proposal seems particularly interesting.

In contrast, the budgets for the major houses are very structured in advance. Each buyer must then calibrate them according to the weight of the merchandise groups and the different product lines.