THE FABRIC OF NOW
*Paris Fashion Week 2025 Highlights
written ALBAN E. SMAJLI
Paris Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2025-2026 unfolded as an encoded manifesto, where fabric became language and silhouettes spoke in tongues. Designers unearthed buried histories, reconstructing past blueprints into a future without borders.
The runway was an evolving stage—DIOR dismantled gender constructs, LOUIS VUITTON mapped the velocity of movement, VALENTINO engineered intimacy as spectacle. Vans infiltrated Valentino, threading rebellion through the needle of luxury. This was a transmission. CHLOÉ reactivated an artifact, the Paddington bag, as an emblem of memory in motion. ZIMMERMANN stretched the seams between myth and reality. Vans infiltrated Valentino, threading rebellion through the needle of luxury.
Paris Fashion Week FW25
VALENTINO Show
VALENTINO Ready-To-Wear Fall/Winter 2025/2026
Alessandro Michele’s Fall/Winter 2025-2026 collection for VALENTINO continued his redefinition of the house’s identity, expanding on the foundations set in his debut. The show, titled Le Méta-Théâtre Des Intimités, transformed the runway into a dystopian, Lynchian space, evoking the surreal ambiance of a public restroom—an environment stripped of traditional constructs, where personal and collective identities dissolve.
Structured ‘70s-inspired suits, sculptural coats, and richly embellished dresses unfolded in deep VALENTINO red, ivory, and ink black, carrying an almost ritualistic quality. The collaboration with VANS introduced a new dimension, reworking the classic Authentic sneaker in bold checkerboard patterns and an “I Love My Vans” motif intertwined with VALENTINO’s logo. Lace veils layered over raw-edged tailoring, gloves extended beyond the elbow, and sculptural accessories punctuated the silhouettes with a sense of quiet subversion. Michele’s vision explored intimacy as a performative space, where identity is neither fixed nor singular but constantly in flux, layered like fabric, revealing and concealing with each movement.
Paris Fashion Week FW25
VALENTINO Show
Paris Fashion Week FW25
VALENTINO Show
Paris Fashion Week FW25
VALENTINO x VANS
Paris Fashion Week FW25
DIOR Show
Paris Fashion Week FW25
DIOR Show
DIOR Ready-To-Wear Fall/Winter 2025/2026
Maria Grazia Chiuri's Fall 2025 collection for DIOR was a sartorial journey through time, drawing inspiration from Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" to blur the lines between masculinity and femininity. The runway transformed into a theatrical spectacle, with models navigating a set adorned with mechanical pterodactyls and looming icebergs, evoking a sense of timelessness and evolution.
Chiuri revisited the archives, paying homage to predecessors like Gianfranco Ferré and John Galliano. The reimagined white shirt, a nod to Ferré's architectural approach, became a canvas for exploration, featuring detachable ruffled collars reminiscent of Elizabethan ruffs, symbolizing the fluidity of identity. The collection's palette transitioned from somber blacks to ethereal whites, mirroring the narrative of transformation. Lace gowns juxtaposed with military-inspired coats underscored the harmonious blend of strength and delicacy. The revival of the "J'adore Dior" T-shirt, an emblem of Galliano's era, was recontextualized, bridging past and present. Chiuri's exploration of gender-bending silhouettes and the interplay of historical motifs with contemporary aesthetics reaffirmed Dior's commitment to innovation while honoring its rich legacy.
LOUIS VUITTON Ready-To-Wear Fall/Winter 2025/2026
Nicolas Ghesquière's vision for LOUIS VUITTON's Fall/Winter 2025-2026 collection was a love letter to the golden age of train travel, encapsulating the romance and anticipation of journeys. Staged at the historic Gare du Nord, the show immersed attendees in the bustling ambiance of a Parisian train station, complete with the rhythmic hum of Kraftwerk's "Trans-Europe Express."
Ghesquière presented an eclectic array of silhouettes, from voluminous midi skirts paired with heavyweight knit vests to pinstriped boiler suits accented with vivid scarves. The accessories were a testament to LOUIS VUITTON's legacy in travel, with models clutching steamer-inspired handbags and oversized duffel totes, reminiscent of classic luggage pieces.
The collaboration with set designer Es Devlin resulted in a runway that mirrored the transient nature of travel, with models embodying characters from various walks of life, each telling their own story. This new collection celebrates the art of travel, highlighting the brand’s connection to movement, heritage, and design, with historical elements woven into a contemporary vision that unfolds as a continuous narrative.
Paris Fashion Week FW25
LOUIS VUITTON Show
Paris Fashion Week FW25
LOUIS VUITTON Show
CHLOÉ Ready-To-Wear Fall/Winter 2025/2026
Under the creative direction of Chemena Kamali, CHLOÉ's Fall/Winter 2025-2026 collection was an ode to the multifaceted nature of femininity, exploring the interplay between strength and softness. Kamali studied the archives, reviving the iconic Paddington bag, a beloved accessory from the early 2000s, now reimagined for the modern woman.
The runway showcased a harmonious blend of opulence and practicality, with lavish, embellished dresses juxtaposed against pared-down, utilitarian pieces. Broad logo belts cinched sheer, low-rise maxi skirts, adding a touch of structure to the ethereal ensembles. Ballet flats, poised to become the season's must-have, offered an effortlessly chic touch, embodying the brand's signature blend of elegance and ease. Kamali's exploration of plurality and the influences that shape women's identities resulted in a collection that felt very personal and universally relatable, resonating with women across generations.
Paris Fashion Week FW25
CHLOÉ Show
Paris Fashion Week FW25
CHLOÉ Show
Paris Fashion Week FW25
CHLOÉ Show
Paris Fashion Week FW25
ZIMMERMANN Show
ZIMMERMANN Ready-To-Wear Fall/Winter 2025/2026
Nicky Zimmermann’s Fall 2025 collection, Hypnotic, built a world where storytelling unfolded in fabric, silhouette, movement. Inspired by the haunting atmosphere of Picnic at Hanging Rock on its 50th anniversary, the collection absorbed the film’s lingering sense of mystery without directly referencing its costumes. Instead, elements from the narrative were distilled into textures, structures, and motifs that shaped each look with quiet precision.
Lace-trimmed lingerie dresses, pinstripe suits, and structured wool coats introduced a balance of softness and strength, while hidden details—maps of Mt. Macedon printed on silk, hand-drawn Valentine’s Day cards stitched between layers of chiffon—wove subtle fragments of the story into the collection. The use of Mongolian shearling, leather-wrapped boots, and braided trims reinforced a tactile complexity, adding depth to the compositions without overpowering their fluidity. A shift in palette from soft, sunlit hues to deep moss greens and midnight blues signaled an evolving mood, with textures becoming richer and silhouettes taking on a more dramatic form.
Polished stone jewelry and an almond-shaped suede bag introduced grounding elements to the collection, serving as counterpoints to the weightlessness of chiffon and the elongation of sleeves. ZIMMERMANN shaped Hypnotic with an attention to atmosphere, allowing the garments to move between clarity and enigma.
Paris Fashion Week FW25
ZIMMERMANN Show