With three key debuts and plenty of international brands — both established and young — on the schedule, plus a strong night scene, Paris Fashion Week (PFW) holds plenty of promise.
Altogether, the Autumn/Winter 2025 ready-to-wear calendar, which will run from 3 to 11 March, features a total of 72 shows and 37 presentations. “Paris is the Grand Central Station of where to see brands, whether it be in a showroom, hotel or Airbnb. Designers come from every part of the world to see buyers, press and read the overall vibe of fashion in Paris. With a packed schedule and many off-schedule presentations, Paris Fashion Week is sure to be explosive,” says Julie Gilhart, former long-time fashion director of Barneys who now owns consultancy Gilhart Co.
All eyes will be on the debuts of Sarah Burton’s runway show for Givenchy and Haider Ackermann’s for Tom Ford. “I could not be more excited to see what he does with the brand. I suspect that I will be the first on my feet to applaud after his show in March,” Tom Ford himself said in September when Ackermann was appointed. Tom Ford has traditionally been showing in New York and Milan but opted for Paris this time, where Ackermann is based. Another highly anticipated debut is that of Julian Klausner at Dries Van Noten. The 33-year-old Belgian designer has worked alongside Van Noten on the women’s collections since 2018.
Chanel will hold its second ready-to-wear show designed by the studio on 11 March. (It’s understood that Matthieu Blazy’s first ready-to-wear collection for Chanel will be presented in October 2025.) Other highlights will include Dior, Balenciaga, Chloé, Balmain, Alexander McQueen, Hermès, The Row and Lacoste. There is also Stella McCartney, her first show since buying LVMH’s share back, and Victoria Beckham, whose much-anticipated Netflix documentary is to be released later this year.
Saint Laurent changes slots: instead of taking place traditionally on PFW’s first Tuesday night, the house will close the curtain on 11 March. This time around, on the evening of Tuesday 4 March, the Louvre will host a fundraising gala dinner, coinciding with the ‘Louvre Couture’ exhibition to support the museum’s activities; dubbed ‘Le Grand Dîner’, it is being referenced by some as Paris’s answer to the Met Gala.
A very noticeable newcomer to the show calendar is Alaïa. The house’s founder Azzedine Alaïa famously opted out of Paris Fashion Week, choosing to show on his own time instead. Under its current creative director Pieter Mulier, the maison has been often showing its ready-to-wear collections during Paris couture, with a one-off in New York during September 2024. This marks the first time the house enters the official Paris ready-to-wear schedule.
Coperni, which showed off-calendar in Disneyland Paris last season at the tail end of PFW, returns to the official schedule. Known for its buzzy shows, this season the brand will be throwing a LAN party (or local area network), where 200 gamers will sit alongside guests. The “immersive experience” will be held on 9 March at 8.30pm at the Adidas Arena, which was built for the 2024 Olympics.
Ludovic de Saint Sernin is also returning to the French capital, after a stint in New York for AW24 and a couture collection as guest designer for Jean Paul Gaultier. Kenzo (which hasn’t shown ready-to-wear since September 2020), Marine Serre, Undercover, Off-White and Belgian-born designer Véronique Leroy are also making comebacks. For the second season, Danish cult brand Ganni is showing off-schedule straight after Dior on 4 March at 3.30pm. But no worries, the venues aren’t far from one another.
As reported, Loewe is switching to a co-ed presentation format, amid swirling rumours surrounding its creative stewardship. Mugler is absent from the calendar altogether.
Young talents
Christopher Esber, who scooped the 2024 Andam Prize, Hodakova, winner of the 2024 LVMH Prize, and Burc Akyol, a former LVMH Prize finalist, are set to join the schedule.
Speaking of the LVMH Prize, you’ll be able to meet the 2025 semi-finalists at a showroom on 5 March. The 20 contenders include All-In by Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø, the protégés of renowned stylist Lotta Volkova; Yasmin Mansour, who won the ready-to-wear prize at the most recent edition of Fashion Trust Arabia; and Paris-based Alain Paul, who, after working at Louis Vuitton Men’s under Virgil Abloh, created his namesake brand with his husband Luis Philippe, a Colette alum.
Also, don’t miss Matières Fécales, which will make its debut on the official calendar. The Canadian duo, whose brand name translates to “fecal matter”, joins the list of brands supported by Dover Street Market Paris and will host three identical shows on 7 March at 2pm, 3pm and 4pm.
Events
Work hard, play hard. Festivities include Le Grand Dîner afterparty held beneath the pyramid of the Louvre. Dress code: “Fashion black tie.”
Dior will host a screening of its documentary Her Dior — Maria Grazia Chiuri’s collaborations with women artists. Directed by Loïc Prigent, the premiere takes place ahead of its official release on Dior’s YouTube channel on 8 March, which coincides with International Women’s Day. The film highlights Chiuri’s commitment to women artists throughout her various shows for the maison since her arrival in 2016. They include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Judy Chicago and Eva Jospin.
Saint Laurent recently reopened its Saint-Honoré flagship following a period of renovation. If you work in fashion, you probably already know that there’s a Sushi Park inside, the first permanent Sushi Park outside LA. Unsurprisingly, the restaurant is fully booked throughout fashion week.
Pascal Morand, executive president of PFW organiser Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, expects this season to show “the vitality of Paris”.
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