After a month of creative debuts and daring reinvention, the Spring/Summer 2026 present season closed in Paris with lots of speaking factors and, crucially, a clearer image of how the business’s newest wave of Creative Directors are settling into their new roles.
From Demna’s stripped-again Balenciaga to Jonathan Anderson’s twin Dior debut, the temper was one of recalibration – designers distilling model codes, and in some circumstances, selecting quiet craftsmanship over headline-chasing spectacle.
Balenciaga: A creative comeback in management
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s debut presentation at Balenciaga marked a pivot for the designer and the home. The assortment drew reward for its concentrate on silhouette, tailoring and sculptural type over spectacle. Social media buzzed with approval and business insiders welcomed the return to “Balenciaga-ness” with out over-the-high theatrics.
Simon Longland, Director of Buying, Fashion at Harrods, mentioned: “Pierpaolo Piccioli delivered a rare debut at Balenciaga, a assortment that balanced reverence and renewal with uncommon precision. His deep exploration of the archive paid true respect to Cristóbal Balenciaga, one of vogue’s best pioneers, whereas his reimagining of signatures – from sculptural silhouettes to one thing as elemental because the T-shirt – revealed a couture-stage sensibility.
“This was not only a beautiful collection, but a confident new direction for the house – one that feels entirely authentic to its heritage while opening an exciting new chapter. It was everything we had hoped for from a designer of his calibre.”
Jo Ellison, Editor of HTSI, added that the gathering was “fabulous – some of the chicest, most wearable clothes of the season,” whereas Suzy Menkes referred to as it “the most sophisticated presentation so far this season, both in the quality of the collection and its audience.”
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(AP/Aurelien Morissard)
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(AP/Aurelien Morissard)
Dior: Jonathan Anderson’s imprint takes form
Over at Dior, Jonathan Anderson’s first ladies’s assortment, since becoming a member of from Loewe, signalled the start of a new chapter. The connection between the lads’s and ladies’s strains was evident, but some felt his strategy leaned too far towards Loewe minimalism and never fairly sufficient towards Dior femininity.
Accessories, nevertheless, had been the standout story. Designed below the route of the previous Loewe equipment lead Nina Christen, who adopted Anderson to Dior, they sparked pleasure amongst consumers and editors alike.
Simon Longland described Anderson’s Dior debut as “a revolution rather than an evolution”, predicting that “his update of the Bar jacket and skirt will undoubtedly be on countless wish lists, setting the tone for a bold new chapter at Dior.”
Still, as many famous, Dior’s new id stays a work in progress. One Instagram person wrote: “His vision would have made so much more sense at Chanel”, whereas one other famous that the gathering was “an underwhelming disappointment.”
Celine: We’re so again
For Celine, Michael Rider’s debut was one of the season’s most anticipated, and whereas reactions had been blended, there was a sense that the designer had honoured the home’s DNA whereas starting to form it in his personal picture.
Suzy Menkes praised the gathering for its readability. She mentioned: “At the 11th hour, Paris fashion came up with something we would all like to see – simple clothes that make themselves interesting and different to what has gone before.”
Fans took to social media, corroborating this, writing “We’re so back” and “I can’t get these looks out of my head”.
Set in opposition to the pure backdrop of Parc de Saint-Cloud, Celine’s present struck a steadiness between class and ease. The equipment had been a specific spotlight – a reassuring signal for a home whose industrial energy has lengthy been rooted in its leather-based items.
Loewe: American wearability meets Spanish sensuality
This season additionally marked the debut of Proenza’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez at Loewe, succeeding Jonathan Anderson and bringing a recent lens by means of which critics have begun to reassess the home’s id.
Esteemed vogue author Cathy Horyn, wrote: “Not only did the designers bring a sense of American sportswear to Loewe – a T-shirt and a pair of jeans, a crisp blouse – they also smoothed away some of the hard edges of Anderson’s Loewe. In fact they seemed to challenge the notion of how conceptual fashion needs to be.”
“Isn’t it much harder, and in a way more sincere, to design clothes that are wearable and also novel? To me, McCollough and Hernandez went further than a lot of designers in this big debut season: they laid the foundation of a universe based on clothing as well as accessories.”
Their assortment leaned into texture and delicate conceptual touches – like leather-based shredded to mimic terrycloth and finely knitted items that merge softness and construction. The duo took Loewe from avant-garde to accessible, however with legacy and ambition in tact.
Gucci: Demna defies odds
Demna’s SS26 debut for Gucci was characterised by unapologetically attractive designs. It embraced heritage whereas pushing ahead together with his provocative strategy. Overall, it earned a hotter reception than many anticipated, signalling a rising confidence in his imaginative and prescient for the Italian home.
While followers praised the polish and route of Demna’s strategy, critics remained divided on whether or not it provided sufficient evolution for a home as soon as synonymous with opulence. Fashion journalist Dana Thomas summed up the scepticism with chew: “Can I be paid millions to page through old magazines and reproduce a look that my mother liked to wear when I was a kid and claim it as an original idea? Please?”
Still, the prevailing sentiment was that Demna’s debut reveals he’s discovering his rhythm, quietly steering Gucci towards a new period of restrained glamour.
Versace: Quiet confidence over excessive-octane swagger
Versace, the home synonymous with daring glamour, excessive heels and determine-hugging attire, felt a little totally different this season after Donatella Versace handed the reins over to Dario Vitale. “It’s missing the sexy Versace energy,” remarked some observers on-line, with others asking, “Where is Versace?”
Pamela Golbin, curator, writer and vogue historian, nevertheless, mentioned: “After 15 years with the Prada group designing Miu Miu, Dario Vitale’s début collection at Versace offers a new paradigm for the Milanese house. More intimate, personal and intentionally restrained, Dario’s vision for both men and women evokes the ease and quiet confidence of the everyday – without forgetting the Versace ‘sexy’.”
Critic Pam Boy added: “I don’t wanna hear it: he can do excessive-glamour if (when?) they relaunch Atelier Versace. Yesterday, I assumed it was horrible, then I slept on it, and this morning I realised it was truly actually good.
This SS26 outing alerts a transfer away from theatrical extra towards a lived-in luxurious.
Bottega Veneta: Innovative silhouettes
As Louise Trotter stepped into the function of Bottega Veneta’s first feminine Creative Director, her debut marked a assured introduction. The assortment showcased a combine of outsized tailoring and fluid silhouettes, incorporating tactile supplies like taffeta and field-recent leather-based. Signature parts, such because the intrecciato weave, had been reimagined in new varieties; in the meantime, equipment performed a pivotal function, with up to date variations of iconic luggage just like the Cabat, alongside new additions like boxy crocodile totes and shoulder luggage.
Creative Consultant, Violet Grace Atkinson, mentioned: “Louise Trotter is the debut of the season. I’ve loved Bottega in all forms this past 6 years, but maybe this is going to be the best chapter yet?”
Critic Pam Boy echoed this sentiment, noting that the gathering “was the pinnacle of chic”.
Trotter’s debut displays a seamless integration of creativity and industrial attraction, signalling a promising new chapter for Bottega Veneta.
Jean Paul Gaultier: Shock issue
Duran Lantink stepping in as Jean Paul Gaultier’s Creative Director this season. Lantink’s SS26 debut leaned into the model’s legacy of theatricality whereas bringing his personal conceptual readability to the desk. The polarising items? Male physic-printed bodysuits that sparked quick social media chatter. They had been provocative, playful and unmistakably Gaultier in spirit.
Critics famous that whereas the gathering embraced shock worth, it additionally displayed precision and thoughtfulness, avoiding spectacle for spectacle’s sake. One social media person mirrored: “There’s art, expression, a message, and exploration of ideas. And then there’s shock value. I deeply respect the former… I struggle to see how this benefits our world. What is being said?”
Lantink balanced these polarising parts with wearable silhouettes and assertion equipment that paid homage to Gaultier’s daring DNA whereas asserting a distinctly new creative voice.
Alexander McQueen: Navigating succession
Seán McGirr’s first assortment at Alexander McQueen introduced a steadiness between homage and reinvention. However, there have been blended reactions. Was McGirr enjoying it too secure for the model famend for its theatricality?
Suzy Menkes commented: “THE SUCCESSION QUESTION. Alexander McQueen by Seán McGirr – following the body-conscious outfits which were well done – yet familiar. As a succession question, the designer is doing a good job. But a new McQueen? Not so sure.”
Another took to social media, writing: “The Alexander McQueen line is so theatrical, you would feel and see the story of the woman wearing it. This was nice but not worthy of his genius.”
The consensus steered that whereas McGirr respects McQueen’s DNA, the problem of establishing a distinct voice stays.
Chanel: Magic in motion
Last, however not least, was probably the most extremely anticipated designer debut of not solely the season, however the decade. Matthieu Blazy for Chanel.
Blazy’s capacity to modernise Chanel codes – tweed, chains, camellias – whereas sustaining composure was spectacular. He didn’t bulldoze the previous, he tailored it.
Accessories, Chanel’s core industrial driver, stood out. Metallic purses with uncovered seams, “crushed” finishes, and playful touches akin to feathers. These are markers that Blazy understands each the industrial and symbolic energy of equipment for Chanel.
Reactions on-line had been, naturally, blended. Some praised the designer’s work. “Karl would be proud,” wrote one person, whereas one other added: “Great work, Mr Blazy”. Many agreed that “Chanel is back,” although others had been much less satisfied: “I don’t know if Chanel customers will spend that kind of money on this. I expected more couture,” one remark learn.
In Suzy Menkes’ phrases: “A star is born at Chanel, where designer Matthieu Blazy had a hit so powerful that those in the fashion world hardly noticed that the French government was collapsing.”
Overall, the temper was clear. Blazy aced the check, bringing whimsical motion and trendy polish to a assortment that felt distinctly Chanel.