Haute Couture AW25: Which shows will influence the fashion of seasons to come?

Among the highlights of Paris Haute Couture Week in July 2025, after Demna's final show for Balenciaga, the autumn/winter 2025/2026 Couture collections paved the way for fashion that is both artisanal and technological. Upcycling was joyfully celebrated by Glenn Martens for Maison Margiela and Germanier. Respect for nature was at the heart of Ronald van der Kemp and Iris van Herpen's innovative creative process.

Naturally, the absence of renowned designers was also noticeable at this fashion week, partly due to the reshuffling of major fashion houses. Jonathan Anderson has reserved his first Dior haute couture collection for January 2026, while Duran Lantink will debut at Jean Paul Gaultier in September 2026, marking the end of the brand's former Guest Designer model and the return to ready-to-wear collections. Pierpaolo Piccioli, who is moving from Valentino to Balenciaga, and Matthieu Blazy, the new creative director for Chanel, which took part for now without Blazy, were also absent, as were French houses like Alexis Mabille and Julien Fournié.

Balenciaga: Demna being Demna before his departure for Gucci

In terms of farewells, we look to Demna's last show for Balenciaga, held in the intimate setting of the house's historic salons on Avenue George V, Paris 8ᵉ. Intimate, in a manner of speaking, as the crowd amassed at the entrance to see the cohort of stars invited to the front row, such as Aya Nakamura, Katy Perry, Nicole Kidman, Lauren Sánchez Bezos and Cardi B. Kim Kardashian, Isabelle Huppert and Naomi Campbell were among those walking the runway.

The show's soundtrack listed the first names of the collaborators, ending with Demna and followed by the song "No Ordinary Love" by Sade. A reflection of his extraordinary fashion, the show showcased his signature designs, which could also be found in the exhibition dedicated to him. Among them were women's suits with oversized shoulders and structured couture dresses, oversized men's jackets, and a tribute to the nightdress worn by Elizabeth Taylor in the film "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" for Kardashian.

The only nod to his predilection for streetwear, absent from the show, was an unprecedented act. Demna took a turn around the catwalk dressed in a black hoodie, oversized military print trousers, and a baseball cap. Backstage, he said, according to 'The Cut': "I feel outed in a hoodie, jeans, and a baseball cap." A clever hint that everything will change with his position as head designer at Gucci, where his first show is scheduled for March 2026.

Maison Margiela and Germanier: the future of fashion will embrace the joy of upcycling

Glenn Martens' first collection, 'Artisanal,' the name of the house's couture line, embodied the fusion of couture and street culture. As a tribute to Martin Margiela, the founder of the eponymous brand, the new creative director presented his collection at the Centquatre in Paris, where Martin Margiela had held his last show.

Martens embraced the house's DNA: recycling, upcycling, anonymity, and the repurposing of objects. He chose a decor made of torn wallpaper. He covered the models' faces with masks made of crushed metal cans, lacquered paper, and illusion tulle. The looks were created from crumpled plastic bags. A striking gold dress was made from recycled computer cables.

Glenn Martens demonstrated that couture can pave the way for a new, more ecological and ethical fashion production. The future of fashion lies in the ability of fashion houses to adapt to the remaining natural resources. Couture plays an important role in this, as it is artisanal, experimental, and artistic.

Recycling is also the strength of Swiss designer Kevin Germanier. He told FashionUnited: "The day my couture is no longer made from recycled materials, it's no longer worth attending my shows." Regarding his collection 'Les Joueuses', the press release states: "We live in difficult times: politically, socially, economically. My job is to bring light, and that drives my work. This collection is a direct response to that. I wanted joy on the runway." This sets him apart from a certain reluctance to work with fabric scraps.

Upcycled leather silhouettes from the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest, his signature weaving technique with reclaimed beads, a finale dress made of recycled Japanese paper and feathers from previous collections. Germanier's message extended to the stage design, which consisted of plastic balloons. "They were rejected due to sewing errors, but I will use them for my next show," the designer explained to FashionUnited.

Ronald van der Kemp and Iris van Herpen: when couture makes nature, recycled or living, a creative material

Another key player in change is Dutch designer Ronald van der Kemp, who only upcycles offcuts and recovered luxury fabrics. For his AW26 couture collection, "Call of the Wild", he went even further by creating an ode to nature, particularly the Amazon rainforest, and explored biomimicry. "We don't realise how many solutions we have," said expert Alain Renaudin at Paris Good Fashion.

This return to nature comes courtesy of another renowned Dutch designer: Iris van Herpen. She focused on the relationship between humans and the sea. With a multisensory atmosphere of sound, light, and scent—in collaboration with perfumer Francis Kurkdjian—she emphasised the fragility of this vital ecosystem. Van Herpen used textile fibres made from plant-based, biodegradable materials, produced in the laboratory through microbial fermentation. These innovative and luxurious fabrics are ecological alternatives to silk or cashmere.

The centrepiece of her show, entitled "Sympoiesis", which means "co-creation between species", was a living dress made with 125 million natural bioluminescent algae. Cultivated in a nutrient gel, they react to movement by emitting a cyan-blue light. A sign to the industry of the path that creative fashion with heart and a future can take.

This article was translated to English using an AI tool.

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