Oui, oui, oui! Paris Fashion Week was truly la cerise sur le gâteau. From brilliantly executed debuts to internet-melting moments, and a few very big shoes to fill, PFW SS26 had it all.
The city was electric: late-night fittings, sunrise call times, and runways that swung from razor-sharp tailoring to dreamy romance in a heartbeat. Think Loewe’s clever craft, Hermès’ quiet power, CHANEL’s spiritual rebirth, Lacoste’s evolving game, Balenciaga’s silhouette games, Thom Browne’s theatre, Hobeika’s liquid shine, Givenchy’s sleek edge, Valentino’s soft poise, and Casablanca’s jet-set glow.
KHAMSA was there. Inside the rooms, on the sidewalks, in the after-glow, and bringing it to you hot like a fresh croissant from the boulangerie at 8am. Consider this your front-row digest: the magic, the moments, and the looks we can’t stop thinking about.
١. The Bright Side of Loewe
Loewe’s new era opens like a sunbeam. With Jonathan Anderson at Dior, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez (formerly Proenza Schouler boys) bring color and curve to the house. Ellsworth Kelly on the walls, sculptural hourglass leather minis, slouchy polos, clever “frayed” textures, and clear heels over bright socks. It feels warm, playful, and beautifully made: Spanish heart with a little New York snap. New hands, same heartbeat and a burst of optimism you can feel.
٢. Hermès Finds Its Free-Rein Groove
Hermès leans into its roots with a loose-rein mood. Nadège Vanhée lifts an antique saddle into today: curved, hand-waxed leather, straps and rings, all set in motion by cropped riding jackets, asymmetrical quilted skirts, and billowing dust coats cinched like harnesses. Silk carrés become tops and chokers; corsetry-quilted dresses slip over biker shorts; sheer nautical knits and harness-strap dungarees bring a salty ease. Chevron-quilted riding boots stride on; tiny crescent bags keep just a lipstick and a key. It’s heritage unbuttoned – wild, bright, and wonderfully free.
٣. Chanel on a Full Moon
Under a sky of spinning planets at the Grand Palais, Matthieu Blazy launched Chanel into orbit leaving us in awe in front of this magical setup. Workwear borrowed from Boy, crushed 2.55s hugged close, tweeds turned light enough to float, and feathers sweeping like comet tails. It felt romantic and modern at once: a little lived-in, a little luminous, totally alive. You could feel the house codes breathing: chains at the hems, toe caps, pearls, all remixed with a wink and a rush of joy. By the final passage, L’Universel, Blazy’s intent was clear: to dissolve the notion of a singular Chanel woman and instate, instead, Chanel women. Matthieu brought Chanel home. Chanel is a constellation, not a mold. Chanel is many moods but one universe.
٤. A Sporty Masterclass at Ecole Lacoste!
At Lycée Carnot’s iconic Hall Eiffel, Lacoste slips behind the curtain and lets the heart rate speak. Pelagia Kolotouros leans into the in-between: buttons half-undone, polos turned sheer, robe-like trenches stamped “Tennis for Everyone,” mirror leathers flashing like court lights after rain. Shower-curtain organza, toweling textures, wet-look nylon: it’s victory meeting vulnerability. Oversized transparent polos float over fluid trousers, the Lenglen bag swings with racket-grip handles, and the crocodile smiles in motion. Archival blue, sun-struck orange, taupe and olive keep the rhythm vintage-fresh. It’s sport stripped of the scoreboard: intimate, sensual, effortless – dressing for the moment you catch your breath and step back into the light.
٥. Balenciaga Cuts a New Pulse into the Everyday
Pierpaolo Piccioli opens Balenciaga’s Summer 26 with clothes that seem to breathe: volume from cut alone, space between body and fabric treated like a third dimension. His neo gazar keeps the gauzy, animated surface and organza within, so shapes form without stiffness and move with a quiet simplicity. Staples are recalibrated into bold, architectural silhouettes; flowers and feathers appear as self-fabric embroideries, more structure than adornment. It isn’t homage, it’s a reset: method as meaning, humanity at the core. You feel the rhythm in every seam proof that what’s universal can still feel intimately yours.
٦. We Come in Peace: Thom Browne’s Joyful Alien Landing
On Paris’s final night, Thom Browne beamed down a camp invasion with glitter-green heads, silver greeters handing “We come in peace” cards, and The Carpenters’ “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” floating through the room. Then came the clothes: sport coats with shoulders nudged into sculpture, drop-waist pleated skirts swishing like antennae, shrunken cricket sweaters hugging the ribs. It was surreal but razor-cut, classic Americana abducted and upgraded – proof that tailoring can laugh, sparkle, and still land perfectly. By the end, resistance was futile: smiles everywhere, hearts a little lighter & joy fully returned!
٧. Savor the Stitch & Own the Moment with Georges Hobeika
While the world chases the next drop, Hobeika taps the brakes. Vanilla whites, caramel beiges, raspberry pinks, and tiny black specks glide across pieces made to be lived in, not scrolled past. You feel the handwork until each garment exhales: sophisticated yet effortless, timeless yet alive. Born between Beirut and Paris, the father-and-son dialogue builds rather than reinvents. Clothes to savor, keep, and quietly rule your day.
٨. Powerful Femininity at Givenchy
Power dressing, no pinstripes required. For her sophomore outing at Givenchy, Sarah Burton peels back the suit to let light in: clean, confident tailoring that slips into pearl-laced bodysuits, bra tops, and frilled minis that flare like tutus. Jewelry becomes armor while a “bedsheet” satin gown and tossed-on tulle whisper of dress and undress, instinct and play. It’s powerful femininity recast: softer, freer, and somehow even stronger—strength you feel, not just wear.
٩. Follow the Fireflies for Valentino’s Quiet Revolution
Valentino’s “Fireflies” asks us to blink, breathe, and look again. Not the blare of spectacle, but small glows in the dark – those shy sparks that show you where hope hides. Alessandro Michele made pieces feel like whispered signals: light moving over skin, textures that don’t shout but hum, beauty that resists being flattened into one idea. It’s a tender kind of rebellion, a way of dressing that chooses wonder over noise, difference over sameness. You feel your gaze soften, your heart lean in. And in that soft light, the future doesn’t arrive all at once – it flickers toward you, bright enough to keep going.
١٠. Mass, But Make It House: Casablanca’s Cathedral Rave
Casablanca turns the American Cathedral into a dance-floor confession, hands in prayer, hands in the air. Charaf Tajer spins his love of Chicago-born house into clothes that thrum—sports spliced with suiting, acid-neon flashes, rave-flyer prints, and gradients that ripple like bass (hello, Martin Naumann). Archetypes glide by: the Social Concierge DJ, the Bourgeoise Raver Girl in crystal-spritzed chiffon and techy mules, the laissez-faire Nightclub Proprietor in oversized tailoring. Sneakers (Stade, Del Mar) swap between tux and track with zero guilt. Under Louie Vega’s live soundtrack and an 18-voice choir, it’s inclusivity you can wear: Ibiza sun after a long night, sweat-slick shine, and the simple joy of moving together – in a true house of love.
١١. Zimmermann’s Kindred Spirit Lets Loose
Zimmermann bottles that 70s creative-family energy and hits play: psychedelic florals and soft tie-dyes swirl on billowing sleeves, painter’s overalls peek open over a plunge bodysuit, and those signature super-fluff organza tiers bounce like they’ve got their own soundtrack. Suiting goes sun-kissed – shrunken vests with micro-shorts – while braided décolletages, buoyant harem pants, and bird-kissed denim keep the mood free and a little bit cheeky. Accessories double down on nostalgia: wooden platforms, raffia slides knotted in blooms, patchwork drawstrings, shield sunnies, even koala charms. Set at Le Carreau du Temple to Lana Del Rey reading Violet Bent Backwards over the Grass, it all lands as a love letter to chosen families—colorful, communal, and joyfully unbothered by the rules.
١٢. Hold Me Tight, Let Me Breathe: Alaïa’s Radical Continuum
Alaïa feels like a pulse against the skin—sculpture made tender. Pieter Mulier carries the line forward with radical simplicity and precise cut, then pushes it to the edge: cotton, python, leather, silk – nothing in between. The uniform of Azzedine becomes a love letter to function, while tension does the talking—between cover and reveal, restraint and excess, past and what’s next. Pearls are “knit,” macramé feathers circle the body, pieces are suspended from unexpected points so the silhouette twists, redraws, breathes. Fringes shiver and regroup as you move. You sense the woman inside—alive, unafraid—and the clothes, somehow, feel like they could cry.
١٣. Canteen Chairs, Crowned Aprons: Miu Miu’s Work of Heart
Miuccia Prada pulls the runway into the break room and makes the apron a headline, not a footnote. Inspired by Helga Paris and Dorothea Lange, the collection looks women’s work straight in the eye—factory floors, kitchens, invisible labor—and answers with uniforms that glow. Guests sat at Formica tables while Sandra Hüller opened in stark canvas; soon, aprons multiplied: leather and black taffeta with flirty ruffles, floral prints like cleaner’s smocks, then bejewelled versions that turned grit into grace. It’s utility flirting with fantasy, the tenderness of care made visible in clothes that mingle duty and desire. You feel the weight and the lift at once—the history on the hem, the shine at the edge. Miu Miu reminds us that glamour isn’t just gala-night sparkle; it’s the resilience that gets you through the shift, the dignity in getting dressed again tomorrow. Work becomes worth. Uniform becomes love letter. And the apron gets its flowers, at last!
