The French men's season will feature 35 shows, with two debutants in Paris and the return of Balenciaga

January's French men's runway season will feature 35 live shows, including two Paris debuts, and at least 32 presentations, including the surprise return of Balenciaga.

Scheduled to last six days, from Tuesday, January 20 to Sunday evening, January 25, the season will welcome the debut shows in Paris of two prominent young brands: Jeanne Friot and Magliano, according to the official calendar published on Thursday by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM), the governing body of French haute couture.

Although the most anticipated shows of the season will be the debut of Grace Wales Bonner at Hermès, the return of Jacquemus and Jonathan Anderson's second men's collection for the house of Dior. However, the house of Saint Laurent, known for its erratic dates, has once again disappeared from the French calendar, after having paraded last June.

As for what's new, Jeanne Friot is a Paris-based gender-neutral brand founded by Friot in 2020. A graduate of the Duperré School and then the French Fashion Institute in 2018, Friot trained at several fashion houses, including Balenciaga. His show will open the season on Tuesday morning, on a busy opening day that will end with Pharrell Williams' fifth runway collection for Louis Vuitton.

Luca Magliano is a creator born in Bologna who first received recognition in Who Is On Next? menswear awards in 2017. Six years later, Magliano bagged the coveted Karl Lagerfeld award at the LVMH Prize 2023. Last January he staged a dramatic show in Florence as Pitti's guest designer, in a slick, dramatic display that deftly combined gender fluidity and quirky Italian tailoring.

The highlight of the season, though, will be Wales Bonner's opening performance at Hermès with a show on Saturday night, where she will succeed Veronique Nichanian after more than three decades in the role. Jacquemus will culminate the men's season with the final show on Sunday night.

Tuesday afternoon will see Anderson's second Dior Homme men's show, ending with an evening show by Alexandre Mattiussi for his Ami line.

Balenciaga, which had previously presented menswear mainly in mixed shows with designer Demna, will try a novel format with his successor Pierpaolo Piccioli. The house will present its menswear online on January 15, when most buyers and press will attend the Pitti menswear show in Florence, before physically presenting the collection on January 20 at its historic Paris headquarters.

Elsewhere, Paris will also welcome perennial and inventive artists such as Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons, Junya Watanabe and Rick Owens. And it presents programs from current labels such as Willy Chavarria, Kidsuper, Sacai, 3. Paradis and Kolor.

As noted, the Loewe house has decided not to present any fashion show in the next men's season in Paris in January. Instead, it will combine menswear and womenswear in a co-ed show during the upcoming women's ready-to-wear season in the French capital in March. While JW Anderson, the house of former Loewe designer Jonathan Anderson, who moved to Dior, will also not host a runway event.

In a busy week, four newcomers will perform: ERL by Los Angeles' Eli Russell Linnetz; the Saudi brand Kml; the ecological brand Sonia Carrasco; and Japanese minimalist label ssstein. While three other labels return after brief hiatuses: Charles Jeffery Loverboy, Maison Kitsuné and Post Archive Faction (PAF).

During the menswear season, FHCM will host Sphere, its well-designed incubation program for young talent. The autumn/winter 2026-2027 session will take place at the Palais de Tokyo from January 21 to 25, 2026. This season, Sphere PFW Showroom is pleased to announce the arrival of two new brands: Gardouch and Rkivecity, along with five more established brands: Cachí, CREOLE, La Cage, Lazoschmidl and Ouest Paris.