Paris Couture Week Spring/Summer 2026: Mushrooms, Memory, And The Desi Designers Who Refused To Hide

 

 

Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2026 in Paris wasn’t just about dresses. It was about feelings. Big ones. Soft ones. Sparkly ones. Paris, in January, is usually a mood. Grey sky, grey coats, grey existential dread. Inside the couture venues, however, designers decided to respond the only way fashion knows how: by saying, No thank you, reality, and building fantasy worlds.

There were theatrical sets, debut nerves, legacy reckonings, celebrity sightings that felt like a Marvel crossover, and two desi designers who continue to prove that Indian couture doesn’t need to shout to be heard. It just shows up, impeccably crafted.

 

Top designers Rahul Mishra and Gaurav Gupta represented Indian couture with the kind of confidence that doesn’t ask for validation. Rahul Mishra’s couture continues to feel like a conversation between philosophy and embroidery. This season, he leaned into his signature themes (nature, regeneration, time) but with a lighter, almost meditative touch. What sets Mishra apart, especially in Paris, is that his work refuses spectacle for spectacle’s sake. His clothes asked you to come closer. To look longer.

Gaurav Gupta, on the other hand, arrived with his signature sense of controlled drama. His couture exists in that sweet spot between futuristic and emotional—like architecture that learned how to feel. This season, Gupta’s work felt especially assured.

 

Chanel stacked its front row like a movie premiere because, of course it did: Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman, Dua Lipa, Penélope Cruz, A$AP Rocky, Gracie Abrams, Margaret Qualley. But the real headline was backstage: Matthieu Blazy making his couture debut for the house. No pressure. Just the weight of history, Karl, Gabrielle, tweed, pearls, and every fashion editor’s unresolved feelings.

Blazy’s answer? Joy. Inside the Grand Palais, Chanel built a dream-garden straight out of an art-school kid’s subconscious: candy-coloured trees, giant pink-and-red mushrooms, and a general sense that Alice had taken a very chic edible. Before the first look, an animated film played; woodland animals working in Chanel ateliers, Cinderella-style.

 

 

Then came the clothes, and the message landed fast: lightness. Blazy took Chanel’s most famous codes (the suit, the pearls, the chain-weighted hems) and put them on a diet of air. A classic skirt suit appeared as a sheer, barely-there version of itself. Birds hovered as a recurring motif: freedom, movement, escape. Feather-light textures, fluttering embroideries, chiffon that moved like breath rather than structure. The genius move was restraint. Up close, the craftsmanship was obsessive.

 

Models could choose symbols or messages to stitch into their garments. A love note. A sign. A private mark. This is couture as a wearable secret, not a uniform. Bhavitha Mandava returned after her viral Métiers d’Art moment and later closed the show as a feathered couture bride, smiling like someone who knew she had nailed the ending.

 

Across town, another debut carried very different emotional weight. Silvana Armani stepped forward with her first couture collection as creative director of Armani Privé, following the death of her uncle, Giorgio Armani, in September. After four decades working alongside him, she now becomes the only woman leading a couture house this season. Her collection was edited down to about 60 looks: sharper, cleaner, more intentional. Tailoring opened the show, but softened: relaxed suits, sheer organza shirts with ties, wide-leg trousers in light layers that moved easily. Accessories were minimal.

 

The palette stayed pale and controlled: celadon, blush, muted neutrals. Embroidery appeared, but sparkle was selective, not maximalist. Eveningwear delivered the strongest moments: crystal-shimmered gowns that felt weightless, sequins paired casually with wide trousers, a column dress covered in translucent crystals beneath a black satin opera coat lined in green. The finale was pure emotion: a bridal gown designed by Giorgio Armani for his final Privé collection, shown publicly for the first time.

So, if there was a shared theme this season, it was emotional. Chanel offered joy. Armani offered grace. Mishra offered reflection. Gupta offered transformation.