HAUTE COUTURE WEEK FALL/WINTER 2026: DAY 2

CHANEL
review by MAREK BARTEK

all images courtesy of CHANEL

What if fairy tales weren’t really about princes or enchanted forests, but about believing that transformation is still possible? That seemed to be the question lingering beneath Matthieu Blazy’s second Haute Couture collection for Chanel.

Presented inside the Grand Palais, transformed into an oversized garden of towering flowers and twisting vines, the collection drew inspiration from stories including Jack and the Beanstalk and Goldilocks. Yet despite the fantastical setting, Blazy firmly resisted costume-y approach, and instead he translated the magical side of stories into subtle gestures. A Chanel suit embroidered with climbing vines, tiny flowers blooming across tweeds, hidden charms tucked into garments, and shoes seemingly overtaken by nature. The fantasy was omnipresent but only for those willing to look a little closer.

Blazy continues to argue that exceptional craftsmanship doesn’t need an exaggerated silhouette to prove its worth. His impeccably cut tweed suits, softly tailored coats and fluid dresses felt designed to be lived in rather than simply admired from a distance. Even the more embellished looks remained remarkably wearable, balancing peculiar imagination with functionality in a way that has quickly become one of his signatures. There was something wonderfully playful running through the collection. Tiny floral appliqués, feathered trims, whimsical hats and delicate embellishments gave many of the looks a youthful lightness without making them feel childish. It was a reminder that sophistication and joy are not mutually exclusive, and perhaps should never be.

Blazy wants us to remember that couture isn’t finished when it leaves the atelier. It’s only the beginning. Every hidden note, every charm stitched into a lining and every tiny embroidered flower seemed to anticipate a future owner who would add their own chapter.

GERMANIER
review by MAREK BARTEK

all images courtesy of GERMANIER

Haute couture loves a grand show, but it ultimately demands something more difficult: knowing when to exercise self-control when nothing seems off-limits. This season, Kevin Germanier returned to demonstrate how far he has come as a couturier.

His signature exuberance was, of course, still present. Electric pinks, acid yellows and mirrored silver shimmered across hand-embroidered gowns, while oversized skirts constructed from thousands of delicate strands appeared throughout the collection like sculptural explosions frozen in motion. A dramatic black version, followed by neon, silver and pink iterations, became one of the show’s defining ideas, each variation showcasing a different mood rather than repeating the same trick.

Liquid black gowns, sharply sculpted bodices and airy fringe constructions introduced a sense of rhythm, allowing the eye to pause before another burst of embellishment. Rather than relying solely on decoration, Germanier placed greater emphasis on silhouette, proportion and movement.

That shift also changed the conversation around his work. Sustainability remains fundamental to the designer’s practice, with discarded beads, sequins and deadstock continuing to form the foundation of the collection, but this time the craftsmanship truly took centre stage. Many of the garments felt strong enough that, stripped of their dazzling surfaces, they would still hold their own through construction alone.

Not every look achieved the same balance. Some embellished bodysuits revisited familiar territory, while a handful of pieces leaned closer to the designer’s ready-to-wear vocabulary than couture. Yet those moments did little to overshadow what felt like a significant step forward.

The white tulle bridal gown said it all. Romantic, surprisingly restrained and beautifully executed, Germanier no longer needs to rely on excess alone. His imagination remains delightfully maximalist, but his couture is becoming something far more sophisticated.

ARMANI PRIVÉ
review by FRANCESCO PIZZUTI

images courtesy of GIORGIO ARMANI PRIVE

Armani Privé’s Fall/Winter haute couture collection revealed itself quietly, seducing us slowly and engulfing us in this deeply intimate realm. The inspiration for the collection is the personal space of the boudoir; the space where a woman can withdraw in private and reflect. A place away from the outside noise, where all that remains is the ritual of dressing. In this universe of its own, choosing what to wear becomes a meticulous and deeply inspired way to express the most secret facets of one’s identity. This allowed the show to unfold with an air of seductive nocturnality in the movements of the clothes and the models, where a confident looseness yet composure left space for an alluring ambiguity.

On the runway, the silhouettes were elongated, fluid, but they all maintained a certain authority, further conveyed through the stunning precision af each garment. A lot of drapey trousers and blazers, along with more structured jackets, led the way to evening gowns that seemed to fill the room with opulence. Not a hair was out of place on the models’ heads as shimmer and sparkle took over every garment.

The deep and nocturnal palette spoke to the whole collection: black hues lured us in to reveal a variety of other tones in iridescence. At every movement, deep greens, browns, amaranth reds, and blues came out of their hideout while the different textures felt equally rich, with velvet tactility and shimmering stone embroideries juxtaposing like works of art.

ASHI STUDIO
review by ANOUK WOUDT

images courtesy of ASHI STUDIO

Closing off the second day of Couture Week, Ashi Studio’s Fall 2026 Haute Couture collection serves to leave you dazzled and enchanted. Creating creatures that look as though they’ve just stumbled out of a grim enchanted forest, the pieces warp you into a fantastical fairy tale otherworld, draped in feathers and porcelain. Titled A Different Skin, this collection treats its models as characters, borrowing bits of historicism to craft a persona, while never allowing itself to be bound to a certain time period.

High-neck silhouettes and corseted busts make Victorian influences clear, through a conscious billowing that contracts at just the right points. Influences from the Surrealist Ball given by Baroness Marie-Hélène de Rothschild in 1972 also make themselves clear, with each piece seeping with an extravagance that would only be fit for a ball. The infamous soirée included a gorgeous host of guests, including Salvador Dalí, Princess Grace of Monaco and Audrey Hepburn.

Sculptural structures jut and poke, while others bounce airily across the runway, making it clear again that each look represents a different mystical creature. One dress pieced together broken porcelain to create a minidress that swivelled into curled feather features. Another came draped in a sheer, distressed parasol, whilst decorated by decaying white roses. Through tethers and feathered asymmetry, she carries herself with a mysterious gloom, which seems to trail behind each look of the collection.

Despite tethered fabrics and a hint of dishevelment, each piece carries an understood elegance that moves gracefully through each imperfection to create something both garish and beautiful – a collection that stands out both as a favourite of this Couture Week and of the entire Ashi Studio lineage.