Paris Fashion Week to run until March 10

Paris Fashion Week has added an extra day to its women’s fashion autumn/winter 2021 calendar, and will now run from March 1 until March 10.

There was no explanation on the official statement regarding the reason for an extra day, however, on the schedule, it shows that Louis Vuitton has moved from its original date of March 9 to the following day.

The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode said in a statement that the women’s ready-to-wear schedule will feature 92 houses and they will mainly be participating in the form of digital events, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The shows will be viewable on the Paris Fashion Week platform, and the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode is also continuing its digital partnerships with YouTube, Google, Canal +, CNN Style, The Asahi Shimbun, Kommersant, Instagram, Facebook and the main Chinese social networks, as well as TikTok, to offer “more visibility” to the new collections.

The autumn/winter 2021 season will open with the Institut Français de la Mode Master of Arts Graduate show, which has joined the official calendar for the first time. Each of the 48 students of the Master of Arts in Fashion Design will present their collections in ready-to-wear, accessories and image design, all filmed on IFM’s new campus.

Paris Fashion Week key shows not to miss for autumn/winter 2021

There are also new additions to the official schedule including Jil Sander, Ujoh, Benjamin Benmoyal, Heliot Emil, Di Petsa, Ninamounah and Weinsanto. As well as the return of Paul Smith, Lecourt Mansion, Maison Rabih Kayrouz and Veronique Leroy.

Notable absences from the calendar include Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and Celine, as well as Kenzo, which will be unveiling its collection with a film on March 26. Olivier Theyskens, originally scheduled for March 5, is now no longer showing, and Mugler has also disappeared from the schedule.

There are several highly anticipated collections, with Gabriela Hearst set to premiere her debut collection at Chloé on March 3, the same day that Nicolas Di Felice showcases his first collection for Courrèges. While Matthew Williams will unveil his first full coed collection for Givenchy on March 7.

Other major names on the calendar include Chanel, Dior, Hermès, Loewe, Miu Miu, Isabel Marant and Thom Browne.

This season, Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode has also announced that it will be supporting talent with the launch of its Sphere - Emerging Brands Initiative, a programme aimed at supporting the development of brands within an institutional, commercial, technological and media network. It enables designers to benefit from services ranging from financial support to mentorship to help them anticipate the different stages of their growth.

The Sphere - Paris Fashion Week Showroom, which brings together selected brands in a space at the Palais de Tokyo, four times a year to present their collections to buyers and professionals, will this season host Alexandre Blanc, Benjamin Benmoyal, Germanier, Kenneth Ize, Mossi and Thebe Magugu.

Image: Gabriela Hearst by JAMIE MCCARTHY / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP