Image source, Justin Shin/WireImage via Getty Images
Image caption, American rapper Cardi B attends the Robert Wun Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2026/2027 show
ByAnnabel Rackham
Culture reporter
The 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.
Stars at Schiaparelli
Image source, Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images & Neil Mockford/WireImage
Image caption, Bad Bunny attending Schiaparelli’s show
Schiaparelli’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.
Image source, JB Lacroix/GC Images & WWD via Getty Images
Image caption, Emma Corrin wearing one of Daniel Roseberry’s eye-catching designs
Pierpaolo Piccioli for Balenciaga
Image source, Giovanni Giannoni/WWD via Getty Images
Image caption, Models on the runway at the Balenciaga fashion show
Piccioli’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.
Image source, Estrop/Getty Images
Image caption, Gigi Hadid walked the runway
Image source, Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images for Balenciaga
Image caption, Actor Hudson Williams attended the Balenciaga show
Image source, Giovanni Giannoni/WWD via Getty Images
Image caption, Pierpaolo Piccioli (centre) taking to the runway at the end of the show
Duran Lantink for Jean Paul Gaultier
Image source, Courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier
Image caption, Models wearing Jean Paul Gaultier AW26 couture
Duran 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.
Image source, Courtesy of Jean Paul Gaultier
Image caption, Jean Paul Gaultier couture
Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel fairy tale
Image source, GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT / AFP via Getty Images
Image caption, Model Ugbad Abdi walked for Chanel
Image source, Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Dominique Maitre – WWD via Getty Images
Image caption, Runway shots from Chanel’s showcase
Chanel’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.
Image source, Kristy Sparow/Getty Images
Jonathan Anderson for Christian Dior
Image source, Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Image
Image caption, A model walking the runway during Christian Dior Haute Couture fashion show
Jonathan 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.
Image source, Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images
Image caption, Anna Wintour, Baz Luhrmann and Sabrina Carpenter at the Dior fashion show
Image source, Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Image caption, Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2026-2027
Image source, Victor VIRGILE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Iris van Herpen’s scientific couture
Image source, Benoit Tessier/REUTERS
Image caption, A model presenting a creation by designer Iris van Herpen
Van 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.
Image source, Benoit Tessier/REUTERS
Image caption, Iris van Herpen’s haute couture
Image source, Manon Cruz/REUTERS
Alexis Mabille’s dual meaning
Image source, Benjamin Cremel/Getty Images
Image caption, Models walking the runway during the Alexis Mabille show
Mabille’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.
Image source, Benjamin Cremel/Getty Images
Image source, Benjamin Cremel/Getty Images
Image caption, One of Mabille’s looks transforming on the runway
Related topics
