The world is a confusing place right now. So much so that editors at haute couture week in Paris debated whether it’s OK to be posting on social media from the shows at all, for fear of coming across as flippant. But the runways offered a respite. “We need beauty precisely when the world feels most frightening,” said Lauren Amos, owner of Atlanta concept store Antidote, and a couture client. Collections and designers put their best foot forward, delivering high-caliber collections — some were uplifting, others were thought-provoking, most were both.
Spring 2026 Couture Week, which ran from January 26 to 29, featured 28 houses, instead of the 29 initially announced in the provisional couture schedule (due to the cancellation of Giambattista Valli’s show). The calendar included the first couture shows of Jonathan Anderson at Dior and of Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, as well as Valentino, only a week after the passing of founder Valentino Garavani, Giorgio Armani Privé (by Silvana Armani, following the passing of the maestro), Schiaparelli, Viktor & Rolf, Gaurav Gupta, Alexis Mabille, and Julie de Libran.
“The week offered both beautiful craftsmanship from established haute couture ateliers and a performative aspect of fashion,” fashion curator Thierry-Maxime Loriot says. Regarding the latter, he highlighted Viktor & Rolf’s “groundbreaking performance”, Valentino’s “playful set and theatrical collection”, Stephane Rolland’s “circus act at the Cirque d’Hiver where Jean Paul Gaultier and Mugler presented some of their most iconic collections in the ’80s and ’90s”, Robert Wun’s “cinematographic presentation” and Schiaparelli, “which sets the bar higher and higher, season after season with technical virtuosity, innovation and elegance”.
Even with award season in full swing, the celebrity game was strong. Fresh off an Oscar nomination, Teyana Taylor attended the Schiaparelli show wearing a replica of the crown jewels stolen from the Louvre last year. She sat between Demi Moore and Jodie Smith, while the newlyweds Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez Bezos also sat front row. Rihanna, Josh O’Connor, Challengers co-star Mike Faist, and Jennifer Lawrence were in the audience at Dior; A$AP Rocky was at Chanel, alongside Dua Lipa and Nicole Kidman. Elton John and Kirsten Dunst turned up to the Valentino show.
Other standouts this week included the Saint Laurent Men’s show, where creative director Anthony Vaccarello continued to explore what masculinity and maleness can mean for Saint Laurent. Heated Rivalry’s Connor Storrie, a new friend of the house, was among the guests, sending the internet abuzz.