Despite global uncertainty and the passing of Valentino Garavani, this menswear season in Paris offered standout moments from both megabrands and fresh talents.
“Against a challenging international backdrop marked by geopolitical and economic tensions, as well as an ongoing crisis in both physical and online wholesale, Paris Fashion Week highlighted the creative resilience of designers — expressed through their renewed vision of tailoring and through diverse, inventive scenography,” Pascal Morand, executive president of Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, said.
The schedule, which ran from January 20 to 25, featured 36 shows and 30 presentations, versus 37 shows and 30 presentations in January 2025. As the creative directors of the latest cohort are finding their footing in their new houses, they might be skipping men’s shows. Like Gucci, Bottega Veneta, and Fendi in Milan, Loewe sat out of men’s fashion week in Paris, choosing instead to present a co-ed show in March. Meanwhile, Saint Laurent will stage its men’s show during couture as it did last January. But a brief survey of a handful of editors reveals that their schedules were anything but light.
For the first time since Michael Rider and Peter Copping took the creative helms of Celine and Lanvin, respectively, the houses hosted presentations for menswear alone. LVMH Prize alumni also populated the men’s calendar. They included Magliano, winner of LVMH’s Karl Lagerfeld Prize in 2023, who joined the official Paris Men’s show calendar this season. “We are in a moment that can also give chances, I guess,” the brand’s founder, Luca Magliano, said backstage.
Here are our key takeaways from Paris Fashion Week Men’s.
Navigating uncertainties
Paris Men’s Week took place against the backdrop of new tariff threats. Coinciding with the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Trump threatened new tariffs on goods from eight European countries, including France, on January 17, but reversed course four days later. On January 19, he threatened 200% tariffs on French wine and champagne. Luxury stocks took a hit.
Some are finding creative ways to respond to tariffs. Backstage before his show, Kartik Kumra, the founder of New Delhi-based label Kartik Research, addressed the 50% tariffs imposed by the US on India since August 27, 2025: “The first theme on my mind this season was tariffs. We opened this New York store three months before 50% tariffs — brutal timing —and while the store is performing pretty well, the common theme from all the conversations with the artisans in textile development is: what is happening? As a brand, I m relatively agile. I can shift to grow in certain demographics. If you’re a maker, you have no access to your final customer, you re kind of screwed, so it felt important to really double down on the ability of craft that we have access to. The level of embroidery that you re going to see is quite different than anything we ve done.” The embroideries in Kumra’s collection were handmade by artisans in India.
The wholesale crisis, which continues to affect the industry, was also on everyone’s mind at Paris Men’s Week. Saks Global filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 14. Ahead of his show in Paris, Doni Nahmias said, “We are trying to navigate this right now. We have their whole spring buy in the warehouse right now, but until we get some answers, our factoring group isn’t approving the order guarantee.”
It’s not just Saks. The wholesale channel offers decreasing support for emerging brands, as many partners have struggled lately. Canadian online fashion retailer Ssense, which is under bankruptcy protection, is restructuring. Matches has returned, but the acquisition and closure under Frasers Group took a toll on several brand partnerships.
Jeanne Friot, who delivered a high-energy show for her debut in the official Paris men’s show calendar, dropped the showroom model altogether: “I decided to really believe in myself and in what I think the future of fashion is, given today’s conditions. To truly stand by my point of view. I don’t even do a showroom after the collection — it’s just direct-to-customer. We do two or three pop-ups a year at [Paris fashion incubator] La Caserne, and it’s working more and more. People come, we do custom-made pieces, and it’s amazing. So I really want to keep going in that direction.” (She still has a few wholesale accounts in Asia.)
Collaborations are still part of independent designers’ strategy, as support from partners can be a game-changer: Nahmias unveiled a collaboration with Puma, Kiko Kostadinov with Crocs, and Willy Chavarria revealed the latest installment of its collaboration with Adidas. “This collaboration is for the World Cup in partnership with the Mexican Federation,” Willy Chavarria told Vogue Runway and Vogue Business global director Nicole Phelps. Sacai continued its collaboration with Levi’s, Jacquemus with Nike, and Louis Gabriel Nouchi introduced a partnership with OnlyFans (and opened an OnlyFans account).
“Collaborations are an established part of menswear now,” says GQ global fashion correspondent Sam Hine. “They don’t have that same fizzy surprise they once did, when it was rare for fashion brands to collaborate with sportswear brands. But it’s now part of the established vocabulary and business model. Thanks in part to the success of his Adidas partnership, Willy Chavarria was able to put on a really elaborate and ambitious performance in Paris.”
Fashion as entertainment
Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director, Pharrell Williams, has accustomed us to grand spectacles blending gospel and orchestra with incredible sets. This season was no exception: a prefabricated glass house served as the backdrop for his show, watched by First Lady Brigitte Macron, Callum Turner, and SZA.
In today’s landscape, where eye-catching and emotionally engaging content is essential, other brands have heightened their focus on spectacle. Willy Chavarria’s “Eterno” mega-show featured the Latin boy band Santos Bravos, singers Lunay and Mon Laferte, a telephone booth, and a convertible Cadillac, all projected live on a giant screen. Around 2,000 guests attended.
Jeanne Friot collaborated with Maud Le Pladec, the choreographer behind the Paris Olympic ceremonies and the Ballet de Lorraine, on a dance performance. “I wanted you to have a different experience. The challenge is that there isn’t a fashion show and then dancers behind — the show is the dancers. We had to alter every piece for freedom of movement.”
New formality
On this season’s silhouette, Alice Feillard, men’s and shoes buying director at Galeries Lafayette, says: “Suiting is key, slightly more fitted for an elongated silhouette. A must-buy is a relaxed double-breasted jacket, worn with loose pleated pants, soft suede loafers, and a soft tie. Soft tailoring is more refined, emphasizing sophisticated fabrics, details, and craftsmanship.”
Sophie Jordan, buying director of menswear at Mytheresa, also noted “a more formal feel”. “It s not corporate, it’s modern.”
GQ’s Hine agrees: “Many designers this season have been playing with the idea of formality. The preppiness doesn t feel quite as big a thing as last season. Designers have been exploring a more classic way of dressing. How do we create something new with dress codes that feel quite antiquated? How do you dress up in an inventive way? At Sacai, you saw these tuxedos that were spliced, merged, and layered; at Dior, the elegant tuxedos were made very sharp and skinny. Jonathan Anderson was looking at the young aristocrats of Paul Poiret’s time in the early 20th century and exploring how they would dress today for a black tie party. Kiko Kostadinov was very formal and monastic.”
Meanwhile, Kenzo creative director Nigo presented kimono tailoring, and elegant linen tuxedos showed up at Jacquemus. “Menswear for us is a lot of suiting and shirts. It’s now equaling womenswear in terms of business in ready-to-wear in all of our stores. It’s a big journey for menswear,” Simon Porte Jacquemus said backstage after the show.
This is also reflected in the use of sumptuous materials, perhaps as the luxury sector positions itself as the ultimate standard-bearer of exceptional craftsmanship, while the high-end segment of the market remains remarkably resilient amid the slowdown. French filmmaker Loïc Prigent said: “It’s all about the materials this season: brocade with lamé at Dior, vicuña trousers at Louis Vuitton, a yak wool and silk coat at Kartik Research — and I have never touched fabrics this much before.” I concur: at Lanvin, there were jackets and pants made from furnishing fabrics by the Venetian manufacturer Bevilacqua, the same manufacturer from whom Jeanne Lanvin purchased fabrics in Venice.
Dries Van Noten stood out for focusing less on suiting and more on chunky, comfortable knitwear. “Outerwear and knitwear were the standouts, both with a strong visual identity to translate off the runway and become must-haves for the Dries customer,” said Mytheresa’s Jordan.
The take on Dior and Louis Vuitton
For his second men’s show for Dior, Jonathan Anderson drew inspiration from early 20th-century French fashion designer Paul Poiret and mixed references. His models wore spiky yellow hair and eclectic looks, ranging from tailcoats to cropped Bar jackets. “Some declared themselves in love; others did not understand it. People talked about it. To have a polarizing collection is great,” says Vogue’s Luke Leitch. “And I think that it was very much pitched to a womenswear customer as well as a menswear customer. The female clients love buying menswear. I bet you will see those first three looks — the tops — on women.”
At Louis Vuitton, there was a noticeable “mood shift”, as Leitch observed. “There was so much less logo. There was no camouflage. I wanted all the hats, I wanted half of the jackets, but I thought some of the customers would be a little bit surprised, but of course, their merchandising is so broad.” Leitch added that the collection’s uniqueness was not immediately visible, rooted instead in textile innovation. “They applied all of the same notions of technicality and sports to traditional dress and tailoring.” (Leitch, being a meticulous journalist, poured water on a cap with a suede finish backstage, and it was fully waterproof.)
A Hermès farewell
On Saturday, Hermès bid farewell to its artistic director of menswear, Véronique Nichanian, who is stepping down after 37 years in the job. About 1,000 guests (including Travis Scott, Usher, Ed Westwick, and Paul Smith) turned up to her final show held at Palais Brongniart. “This is not a retrospective because it is not nostalgic. I conceived my collection like the others, but as a wink, I included past pieces to show how timeless Hermès clothing is,” she said backstage. There was, for instance, a jumpsuit in moka calfskin from Fall/Winter 1991 and a blouson from FW04.
While she took her bow, the audience gave her a standing ovation, and large screens showed archival footage from her earlier runway shows. She decided to stop designing the Hermès men’s ready-to-wear, but will continue to work on the artistic direction of silk and men’s leather goods for the house.
Nichanian is one of the few women who design men’s fashion. Asked after the show if it was difficult to make her mark in this field as a woman, she answered: “It wasn’t difficult because Nino Cerruti trusted me from the very beginning in 1975, and [Hermès’ former CEO] Jean-Louis Dumas entrusted me with the entire men’s line. I encourage many young women to take an interest in men’s fashion. We’re constantly asked what it feels like for a woman to design men’s fashion, but no one asks men what it feels like to design women’s fashion.”
On her successor, Grace Wales Bonner, who will present her first show in January 2027, Nichanian said: “I wish her all the best for the future. Although I haven’t met her yet, I am familiar with her work and will be delighted to meet her as soon as she comes to Paris.” It all ended with a party and a performance by Paul Weller.
The joyful spirit continued on Sunday with the Jacquemus show titled Le Palmier, a nod to the palm tree hairstyle of Simon Porte Jacquemus’s young daughter. “I wanted to have fun,” Jacquemus said backstage.
The co-ed show felt like a bridge into couture, which kicks off on January 26.
