If last season flirted with nostalgia, this one slices straight through it. At Balenciaga, Demna disrupts the classic couture codes with shredded tweed suiting, satin hoods, and monastic silhouettes layered like armor, fashion as existential expression.
Meanwhile, the Jean Paul Gaultier atelier welcomed guest designer Nensi Dojaka, whose interpretation fused 1990s lingerie minimalism with Gaultier’s famously maximalist DNA: think sheer corsetry paired with punk opera gloves.
Even Maison Margiela, still echoing the shockwaves of Galliano’s SS25 masterpiece, returned with a cryptic, cinematic collection staged inside a shuttered Parisian metro station: part ghost story, part garment séance.
In 2026, couture is no longer about looking back. It’s about reimagining how we move forward, thread by radical thread.
HAUTE COUTURE WEEK FW26
ROBERT WUN
Robert Wun’s FW26 collection was a meditation on life’s pivotal transitions, moments of beauty, grief, and transformation. From gowns that resembled burning roses to veils that looked soaked in rain, the designer explored rituals such as mourning, marriage, and rebirth.
The collection fused high drama with emotional storytelling, each look an abstract reflection of personal and collective memory.
Wun’s command of silhouette and his surrealist vision created a visual poem about the passage of time and the emotions sewn into the act of dressing.
FRANCK SORBIER
Franck Sorbier returned to his roots in lyrical couture with a collection steeped in French mythology and artisan heritage. His FW26 show felt like a live fairytale, featuring lavishly embroidered coats, corseted dresses, and layered textures inspired by medieval folklore and operatic drama.
Hand-painted fabrics and lace flourishes evoked a romantic, near-theatrical vision of Parisian elegance.
Sorbier treated the runway like a stage, transforming couture into a living art form that transcends fashion into fantasy.
BALENCIAGA
Demna’s FW26 show for Balenciaga marked a climactic and deeply personal moment, an introspective farewell that reconnected with the house’s storied past.
Structured tailoring echoed Cristóbal Balenciaga’s original silhouettes, while sharp shoulders, vast coats, and intricate trompe-l’œil effects reasserted Demna’s subversive fingerprint.
It was a collection of restraint and grandeur, silent yet commanding, where each look stood like a monument to the weight of legacy. The tension between reverence and rebellion underscored a new era in couture.
ELIE SAAB
Elie Saab’s channeled imperial grandeur for FW26, drawing from the rich visual language of Eastern European folklore.
With gowns dripping in golden embroidery, oversized capes, and regal color palettes of crimson, midnight, and antique gold, the collection felt like it was lifted from the pages of a Slavic epic.
Saab’s love for embellishment met historical references in hand-beaded motifs and dramatic sleeves, all celebrating the mystique and strength of queens and heroines from a bygone age.
VIKTOR&ROLF
Viktor&Rolf continued their witty deconstruction of fashion with a FW26 collection that pushed geometry to its breaking point. Triangles, spheres, and optical illusions dominated the silhouettes, at once humorous and hyper-precise.
Referencing everything from Bauhaus art to childhood toys, the designers crafted exaggerated ball gowns, boxy coats, and inverted structures.
It was couture as playful sculpture, blending absurdity with astonishing craftsmanship, and proving once again their role as fashion’s sharpest surrealists.
ZUHAIR MURAD
For FW26, Zuhair Murad leaned into his signature opulence with a collection that celebrated celestial divinity and mythic femininity. Gowns flowed like liquid starlight, embroidered with constellations, gold filigree, and moonlit shimmer.
Inspired by ancient goddesses and astral symbolism, Murad created silhouettes that were statuesque yet sensual, highlighting the divine in the earthly.
Each piece was a love letter to glamour, meticulously crafted to radiate a sense of wonder and timeless allure.
MAISON MARGIELA
Glenn Martens reimagined the concept of couture as rebellion in Maison Margiela FW26 presentation.
The collection was raw, visceral, and constructed from deconstructed materials, garbage bags, cracked leather, and tangled wire, transformed into poetic, ghostly garments. Referencing decayed luxury and post-apocalyptic elegance, Martens questioned the permanence of beauty and the future of fashion.
The artisanal hand of the house remained intact, but twisted into a dystopian fantasy where waste became wonder.
AELIS
Aelis presented a cerebral and minimalist FW26 collection that explored the intersection of nature and human architecture. Silhouettes were stripped of excess, allowing sculptural drapes and natural fabrics to speak for themselves.
Earthy tones and textures gave the collection a grounded, elemental feel, while unexpected metal and glass-like embellishments hinted at an eco-futurist vision.
It was a quiet but powerful collection, committed to slow fashion and artisanal purity without sacrificing innovation.
ARDAZAEI
Ardazaei embraced the sacred and the sensual with a FW26 collection inspired by ancient ritual objects, tribal jewelry, and sacred geometry. Each look was layered like a relic, featuring textured silk, intricate metallic embroidery, and sculpted silhouettes.
Drawing from Persian motifs and desert landscapes, the collection felt like a myth made modern. It honored tradition not through nostalgia, but through elevation, making heritage feel both tactile and transcendental.
PEET DULLAERT
Peet Dullaert FW26 was a breathtaking study in kinetic form and fluid precision. His designs clung to the body and then exploded into sculptural volumes, creating an interplay of tension and release.
Inspired by geological formations and underwater motion, the collection used fine pleating, asymmetry, and reflective textiles to craft a silhouette in constant flux.
Every garment was both armor and air, defying convention while celebrating the body’s natural grace.
RAMI AL ALI
Rami Al Ali delivered a refined, emotionally resonant FW26 collection that drew on the rich artistic heritage of the Levant.
Embroidery and beadwork mimicked ancient mosaics and calligraphic lines, while modern draping techniques gave the garments a streamlined elegance. Soft silks in muted jewel tones suggested quiet strength and cultural pride.
It was a collection rooted in tradition, but elevated through a global couture lens, introspective and stunningly detailed.
GERMANIER
Kevin Germanier’s label, Germanier, ended couture week on a high-voltage note with a FW26 collection titled Les Joueuses. It was an electrifying mash-up of recycled sequins, acid-toned tulle, and glitter-soaked silhouettes, a joyful rebellion against eco-dourness.
Germanier continues to redefine sustainability as something glamorous and celebratory, not muted or minimal. With campy headpieces and irreverent shapes, the collection was a glittering manifesto for maximalist, conscious couture.
