54 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAnnabel RackhamCulture reporter
Justin Shin/WireImage via Getty ImagesThe hottest week in haute couture was accompanied by scorching temperatures as the biggest names in the world of fashion and celebrity descended on Paris for Couture Week.
Brands such as Schiaparelli, Balenciaga, Chanel and Dior showcased custom, handmade designs that take hundreds of hours to create.
Haute couture week, which happens twice a year, is so exclusive that you have to be invited to present a collection by the French fashion industry’s governing body.
Shows across the four-day period attracted star-studded attendees, including Bad Bunny, Hudson Williams, Sabrina Carpenter and Cardi B.
Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images & Neil Mockford/WireImageSchiaparelli’s creative director Daniel Roseberry’s haute couture collection for Autumn/Winter 2026-2027 was entitled The Call of the Void, which he says was “a total surrender to an unknown creative process”.
The fashion house dressed its guests in eye-catching designs, including rapper and actor Bad Bunny, who took a break from the European leg of his world tour to attend his first haute couture week in a butter yellow suit.
Actress Emma Corrin was also in attendance in an incredible pastel-coloured feather jacket, complete with some very dangerous looking talons.
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Giovanni Giannoni/WWD via Getty ImagesPiccioli’s first couture collection for Balenciaga certainly didn’t disappoint, with the former Valentino man honouring founder Cristóbal’s signature styles and shapes.
Gigi Hadid walking the outdoor runway in a black feather cocoon was a visual delight, with all looks showcasing flowing designs in a variety of textures and colours.
Each look provided breathing space for the models and those attending the show – which couldn’t have gone unappreciated during a heatwave.
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Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images for Balenciaga
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Courtesy of Jean Paul GaultierDuran Lantink was appointed as the permanent creative lead at Jean Paul Gautier in April last year – with his inaugural haute couture show much anticipated.
The collection centred around the idea of transformation, playfulness and high theatre.
Lantink says he was inspired by Marie Antoinette and wanting to explore the French queen in a modern setting.
Courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier
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Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Dominique Maitre – WWD via Getty ImagesChanel’s artistic director Matthieu Blazy leant into the world of whimsy and fantasy with his haute couture collection.
Set against a backdrop of vines and beanstalks, a model even took to the runway holding a book of fairy tales once owned by Coco Chanel.
The whole collection was an escape from reality, with intricate floral designs and accessories that wouldn’t look out of place on a Disney princess.
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Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty ImageJonathan Anderson’s designs for his haute couture show weren’t even the biggest talking point of the week, as it was revealed the Dior director was behind the bridal looks at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s wedding.
There were some bridal-adjacent looks on display, but whether they hold any resemblance to Swift’s yet-to-be-seen wedding dress remain to be revealed.
His collection was a nod to the American sculptor Lynda Benglis and featured accordion-like dresses, skirts and accessories.
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Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Benoit Tessier/REUTERSVan Herpen says her scientific-themed collection “is about those forces that are influencing us in daily life but that we don’t know so much about”.
Her designs featured plasma, which are gas particles that have been charged, inserted into glass tubes, and attached to dresses to create sparkling and glowing looks.
As the runway progressed, each look appeared more and more elaborate – with intricate beading and ethereal like draping on skirts and dresses.
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Benjamin Cremel/Getty ImagesMabille’s collection for haute couture week was all about getting more than you bargained for with its theme of duality.
Each look appeared as a single garment before transforming into a second look – with the texture and style changing immediately.
There were also central themes with colour too as the collection leaned on black, silver and gold.
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