Paris Fashion Week kicks off on Monday with big shows, new names and no-shows

On Monday 23 September, Paris Women's Fashion Week will take over from the catwalks in New York, London and Milan, with a promising programme despite several absences. As usual, the weekly calendar is packed with highlights, notably the eagerly awaited debut of Alessandro Michele for Valentino, as well as several interesting comebacks and novelties. However, several emerging brands, which had become regulars on the Parisian fashion scene in recent years, will not be present at this new round of shows for the Spring/Summer 2025 women's ready-to-wear collections, scheduled until 1 October.

From 71 shows on the official February calendar, September’s Paris Women’s Fashion Week is down to 66, plus the Coperni extravaganza. Including those making presentations, Paris will host 106 brands in total, with a dozen notable absences. The first is Victoria/Tomas, which is no longer around after the company was liquidated in June, due to the tough economic climate. The brand was founded in 2012 by Victoria Feldman and Tomas Berzins, and had appeared on the Paris Fashion Week calendar without interruption since 2017.

Without its iconic designer Glenn Martens, who recently announced his departure after 10 years as creative director, Y/Project will not be showing this season, having already cancelled its show in the previous edition. Avellano, the label that won the Pierre Bergé prize at the Andam competition in 2023, is no longer on the calendar, as is AZ Factory, which ceased operations as a brand in May to become a training programme. In March, AZ Factory gave up its space on the calendar to Lutz Huelle, who will keep it this season, and will show on 30 September.

The fashion market is under pressure, and other brands that are nevertheless booming have chosen to avoid the costly investments required for a catwalk show and have focused on presentations, which are considered more effective. This is the case of Dawei, Gauchère, Undercover and Ludovic de Saint Sernin. The latter, who was planning to return to Paris Fashion Week after showing in New York in February, prefers to “present his collection in a different way this season, in line with a long-term strategy designed to strengthen the company's fundamentals and promote growth.”

The last three firms not to be present at this edition are Givenchy, which recently hired a new creative director, Sarah Burton, whose first collection will be unveiled at the March session of the Paris fashion week; Off-White, which has shown in New York; and Marine Serre, which presented its summer collection with a mixed show during the June session of Pitti Uomo, where she was one of the guests of honour.

Chanel will return to the Grand Palais on October 1, after a four-year absence during which the historic building was renovated. For the first time, the Parisian luxury house will be without a recognised leader, as it will present a collection from the in-house design studio, creative director Virginie Viard having been fired in June. The same applies to Dries Van Noten, whose eponymous founder jumped ship last season. The house will show a collection designed by its in-house team on September 25.

See catwalk

In addition to the big names such as Christian Dior, Saint Laurent, Hermès, Balmain, Balenciaga and Louis Vuitton, two American labels will be back on the Paris catwalks this season. The first is Gabriela Hearst, by the Uruguayan designer of the same name and former creative director of Chloé, who will be back on the catwalk in France on Monday 30 September, after a four-year absence. And the label of Vietnamese designer Peter Do, who made his debut in Paris last year but was not present at the last winter edition. Peter Do will be back on the catwalk on Tuesday 1 October.

On Monday, the opening day of the week, the students of the Institut Française de la Mode (IFM), who will present another collective show next February, have given way to Weinsanto, the New York duo Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee with their label Vaquera, and the Japanese label CFCL (Clothing For Contemporary Life), already on the calendar for several seasons. The first show of a new addition is scheduled for Tuesday 24th, with the official debut of Alainpaul, a label that mixes haute couture with looks inspired by ballet.

Alainpaul was launched in 2023 by former dancer and designer Alain Paul, who worked at, among others, Vetements, under the aegis of Demna Gvasalia, and at Louis Vuitton with Virgil Abloh. For this new venture, Paul has teamed up with his husband Luis Philippe, former store manager and visual merchandiser at Colette. Another promising name will debut on Sunday 29th, Italian designer Niccolò Pasqualetti, one of the eight finalists for this year's LVMH Prize. Pasqualetti likes to reinterpret wardrobe essentials with an avant-garde, innovative and inclusive style.

Ganni will also make its Paris debut in style. It will be the first time that the Danish label, which usually shows at Copenhagen Fashion Week, has shown in Paris. It will not be on the official calendar, but its Paris catwalk debut on September 24 is expected to draw a large crowd. Ganni is a modern jewellery brand backed by the LVMH-linked L Catterton investment fund, and has grown in size and expanded greatly internationally in recent years.

A host of new names and emerging brands will arrive in the French capital with their off-calendar shows and presentations, as well as through various French and international showrooms.

Like Sphère, the showroom of the French Federation of Fashion and Haute Couture supported by the public body DEFI, which will be open from September 25 to October 1 at the Palais de Tokyo, Sphère will feature Charles de Vilmorin, Alphonse Maitrepierre, Antwerp-based designer Florentina Leitner, Frenchwoman Lucille Thièvre, the French-Canadian duo Paolina Russo and Lucile Gilmard, and two new additions: Weinsanto and Abra, the brand launched in 2019 by Abraham Ortuño Pérez.

Among the other highlights of Paris Fashion Week, the seventh show organised by L'Oréal will take place at the Opera House on the evening of 23 September, marking the opening of the week. Valentino will also begin a new phase with the first show by Alessandro Michele, the star designer who worked at Gucci, who will present women's and men's looks on Sunday 29 September. Fashion Week will close in style on the evening of 1 October, when Coperni will present a show-event that will take guests to Disneyland Paris.

To further liven up the week, there will be numerous after-parties, cocktail parties and other events, including dancing at Maxim's Restaurant on Wednesday 25th.