As the men’s fashion shows wrap up in Milan, today the focus shifts to Paris — where, over runways and presentations across the next five days, some of the world’s biggest labels will attempt to define the future dress codes of menswear.
Over the weekend, designer Jonathan Anderson fanned the flames of his hotly anticipated debut at Dior with a handful of Instagram stories shared via the app’s “close friends” function. Amongst the snippets posted to Dior’s official account was a film photo of ‘80s New York art icon and provocateur painter Jean-Michel Basquiat, as well as American socialite and sister of Jackie Kennedy, Lee Radziwill. Keen-eyed fans noticed that both portraits were shot by Andy Warhol and emblazoned with the original 1948 Dior logo, which was changed to an uppercase version in 2018 — offering an early indication of how Anderson may want to make his mark. Fans guessed further at the direction of the designer after he shared an image of a canary yellow book tote bag designed in the style of the first edition Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” from 1897.
Meanwhile, Loewe, which typically shows at both women’s and men’s fashion weeks, has new designers in Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. The duo were jointly appointed in March as the successors to Anderson, who stepped down as creative director after 11 years. However, the label is absent from the calendar this season as McCollough and Hernandez plan to unveil their new vision in October.
Anderson isn’t the only designer making a debut in Paris this week. Julian Klausner, who took the creative helm at Dries Van Noten at the end of last year, will present his first menswear collection on Thursday, following his first womenswear show for the label in March. Clues on Klausner’s vision for masculinity and menswear may reside in his women’s offering, which was as rich in historical references as it was in color and textile, with tassels, boleros, belts and ornate embellishments attached to outfits.
There is no shortage of returns to look forward to, either. Kickstarting the week is Anthony Vaccarello designing for Saint Laurent, which has taken up an official slot on the calendar (the brand’s last show took place off-schedule, at the tail end of couture week). British designer Craig Green is back after three years away from the City of Light, while buzzy New York-based brand Willy Chavarria is also returning after his Paris debut earlier this year.
Elsewhere, Grace Wales Bonner, Marine Serre and Emily Adams Bode Aujla have reclaimed their spots on the schedule — injecting a fresh, female perspective in the world of male fashion. Bode’s last time showing at Paris Fashion Week Men’s was January 2023 (she staged a co-ed Spring 2025 runway at New Orleans earlier this year) while Serre’s was in January 2024. Bonner — who is celebrating 10 years in the business — returns to the men’s runway for the first time since Spring-Summer 2024 after opting to release a lookbook for Fall-Winter 2025.
And for those interested in starry front rows and celebrity street style, the schedule is bookended by Louis Vuitton (where men’s creative director Pharrell Williams will present his sixth collection) and Jacquemus — both of which have become known for staging blockbuster catwalks.
Beyond the catwalk, which can only be attended with an invitation, Paris’ artistic institutions see an opportunity to engage with the public. On Saturday, Palais Galliera will open its doors to “The Temple of Love,” a new retrospective chronicling Rick Owens’s boundary-pushing oeuvre since launching his label in 1992. The exhibition — which Owens helped artistically direct — is the second retrospective globally dedicated to the Californian designer.
At the Musée des Arts décoratifs, a new show on trailblazing designer Paul Poiret — a key figure in 20th century Parisian haute couture — will also open to the public. Running until January 2026, it marks the museum’s first monograph dedicated to his work. And Demna, Balenciaga’s creative director for the last decade, who is soon to depart for a new job at Gucci, is getting his flowers from parent company Kering via a retrospective staged at their headquarters on Thursday.
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