Paris Haute Couture Week 2025: Chanel, Schiaparelli and Armani Privé shine
The autumn/winter 2026 haute couture shows are under way in Paris. While this season is a bit lacking in excitement due to the absence of big names such as Dior and Valentino, haute couture is still the pinnacle of fashion – the ultimate embodiment of the savoir faire of centuries-old ateliers in Paris and beyond.
Here's a look at three of the biggest shows of the week so far. Schiaparelli: Back to the Future A sequinned leopard-print look at the Schiaparelli haute couture 2025-26 show. Photo: Handout During a recent conversation in Hong Kong, Schiaparelli owner Diego Della Valle , also chairman of Tod's Group, talked about the importance of sticking to a brand's codes while constantly updating them in order to stay relevant.
This is even more important, Della Valle explained, when dealing with previously dormant houses like Schiaparelli, which he single-handedly revived after acquiring it in 2007. His advice has not fallen on deaf ears. Since taking over as creative director in 2019, American Daniel Roseberry has been building on the rich visual vocabulary and surrealist tropes of Schiaparelli without, however, staying stuck in the past. A matador-inspired outfit at the Schiaparelli haute couture 2025-26 show. Photo: Handout
For the autumn/winter 2025-26 show, Roseberry wanted to go 'back to the future'.
The starting point was 1940, the year founder Elsa Schiaparelli left Paris for New York. That pivotal change in the life of the designer made Roseberry reflect on those fraught times – the early days of World War II – and the tension between past, present and future at the heart of every creative endeavour.
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