PARIS FASHION WEEK SPRING/SUMMER 2026: DAY 7

editors ELIANA CASA, MAREK BARTEK, MARIA MOTA and MARIE-PAULINE CESARI

MAGDA BUTRYM
review by PHOEBE GIBSON-DOUGALL

all images MAGDA BUTRYM provided by the brand

The women’s SS26 season will go down in the annals of fashion history as a momentous turning point, a surge of designer debuts at storied houses co-existing alongside mounting chatter about the need for more female creative directors. Whilst I don’t think gender is a necessary consideration when appointing somebody new to a brand’s top spot, there’s no denying that a women’s perspective can imbue a collection with nuance and bring something beautifully personal to the clothes it contains.

A perfect example of this is Magda Butrym’s SS26 collection, “The Studio”, which marked her brand’s Paris Fashion Week debut. The title refers to both Magda’s working room in Warsaw and Paulina Ołowska’s painting of the same name, “where a woman paints a woman with an empathetic, searching gaze.” This acts as a perfect metaphor for Butrym’s output this season, thoughtfully tailored clothes that realise the brand’s ongoing dialogue with femininity, modernity and artistic expression. The clothes are wearable and dreamlike, with Butrym’s signature rose assuming a leading role. The rose’s silhouette inspired everything from ruched bloomers to petal-like, peplum bodices to the model’s giant hats. Delicate silk slips spoke of Butrym’s appreciation for female interiority, whereas structured leather jackets acted as a chic armour for chillier weather. If the collection's intention was to paint women as they are in their complexity, Butrym’s Paris debut realised this intention with strikingly empathetic precision.

LACOSTE
review by PHOEBE GIBSON-DOUGALL

all images LACOSTE via vogue.com

I have something to admit: I’m not much of a tennis fan. I can appreciate the game’s athleticism and skill, but if I’m honest with myself, I’d only ever be at Wimbledon for the celebrity-spotting and the Pimm’s cup. What I can appreciate, however, is Pelagia Kolotouros’ SS26 collection for Lacoste. Entitled “The Locker Room”, Kolotouros’ presentation leaned heavily on the brand’s athletic DNA, especially its tennis-centric roots. I imagine it can be a difficult task, reimagining an athleisure brand’s storied codes for new audiences. How many ways are there to reinvent the wheel? But with SS26, Kolotourous served a triumph. Reminiscent of vintage sportswear, the collection sported an array of colours; reds and browns that recalled the seventies next to bright greens and blues. Transucent organza cover-ups and undone buttons infused the runway with sensuality, whilst classic tracksuits reappeared. The accessories were given a tennis-inspired facelift; leather handles mimicked those of raquets and there was an abundance of pleats. I know I’m no expert, but with SS26, I’d say that Kolotouros has conquered the court.

CELINE
review VERONICA TLAPANCO SZABÓ

all images CELINE via vogue.com

This collection felt like a walk in the park, light, whimsical and easy. Only because it was just that, set in the Parc de Saint-Cloud on a Sunday morning (luckily not a rainy one), locals were slightly spooked by the arrival of a fleet of black vans accompanied by a streak of camera flashes. As the crowd poured in, the Celine show venue began to come alive, Michael Rider purposefully chose this location for his first ready-to.wear collection to create some distance between the convoluted centre of Paris and give attendees the opportunity to take in the fresh morning breeze on a platform runway structure with a cutout roof leaving room for the sun to shine in. This ironically led to a few no shows from guests who remained stuck in the Paris traffic and weren’t able to escape the borders of the Périph on time.

Now for the main attraction Michael Rider’s Celine, the show felt very immersive, full of energy and playful with lots of nods and references. It conjured the energy of someone who grew up in the house and is rummaging through his parents’ closet. The styling felt very natural, and allowed for our gazes to naturally fall on the many bags in lots of alluring silhouettes. As a general observation the dresses and skirts have felt quite short this season and Celine was no exception, perhaps Hedi’s influence? The runway also saw some old 60s Celine floral prints return, paired with some irrefutable Michael Rider elements in the chunky hardware styled with a power coat and skinnier pants. More references to his previous collection lie in the collar over the bold navy blazer styled asymmetrically and the very preppy professor looks. Like many of the debuts we’ve seen so far Rider’s main goal was to synthesise the brand's ethos to deliver a collection that will reach out from the past into the present, gripping all the generations along the way. Great success!

His foundation being built on Hedi Slimane and Phoebe Philo already set him up, as he kept the best of both worlds. With the Philo-coded colour-blocking also making an appearance on the right sleeve of a glorious white dress. Overall the looks were very confident, the process of researching, editing and pasting the pieces together was done in a very clean, non messy fashion. We can really see these looks existing outside of the runway, playing a genuine role in our daily wardrobe, offering the widest rage of pant silhouettes we’ve seen so far, the plein air location thus finds all its meaning. After all, what’s more Parisian than pedalling through the city in Celine?

NICCOLÒ PASQUALETTI  
review by PHOEBE GIBSON-DOUGALL

all images NICCOLÒ PASQUALETTI provided by the brand

I’ve heard it said that the world’s not black and white, and that to see it as such is erroneous and lacking in nuance. This notion has long been challenged by history’s greatest thinkers, but perhaps the best rebuttal I’ve seen is that of Niccolò Pasqualetti’s SS26 collection; a study in monochrome, complete with a little of life’s necessary shades of grey thrown in. Longline silhouettes were at home next to swimwear and shimmering sarongs, whilst leather jackets with deconstructed, removable sleeves were paired with tailored shorts. Structured necklines kissed collarbones and loosely cut clothes refused to swallow the models that wore them. The Italian designer, a finalist of last year’s LVMH prize, has earned a reputation for creative, well-cut clothes, and their SS26 offering was no different. The pieces were elegant yet wearable and smacked of the sophistication and panache of more seasoned brands.

VALENTINO
review VERONICA TLAPANCO SZABÓ

all images VALENTINO via vogue.com

Fireflies begins with a letter that reveals the collection’s inner light, written by the ever inspiring Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini. Diction courtesy of Pamela Anderson, the writing evokes the lightning bugs “glimmers so elusive as to survive the darkness of the ruling fascism.” a kind of hope, if you will, for the times we are traversing. Only a handful of designers have addressed the despair in air this season with the political climate taking a rather sharp turn for the worst. Michele is then in his own way a firefly by sharing his opinion in the opening spoken-word performance, “In this very dark moment we have to not turn off the light” inviting guests to do the same and not surrender.

The intermittent fragments of light produced by fireflies were directly transmitted into the programming of the flickering ceiling neons, that would sway and strobe in unison. The fireflies were not only present in the light, but also in the glimmer of the clothing, from giant golden pendants with insect-esque shapes, bedazzled motifs on the back of a blazer to the full sheer looks embodying a chrysalis stage, with the pleating mimicking the shedded exoskeleton (moulting) of the flies. The idea was further supported by the ethereal array of soft fabrics that floated across the room, ash rose, ivory, moss and candlelight yellow. Dotted in were pops of Valentino pink, cornflower blue, poppy red and glistening silver. As for the silhouettes, bows were at the rendezvous, upon voluminous shirtings and sleeves, with a side of feathered collars. 

Full glimmering looks also cascaded down, some adorned with a baby blue cape, some accessorised with chunky jewels; there were overall lots and lots of sparkles happening reminiscent of a firefly’s glow. Amidst the symbolism the collection did however leave many wondering how Valentino did Alessandro really go, with some Youtube comments even calling it Gucci with a V… 

OTTOLINGER
review by FIONA FROMMELT

all images OTTOLINGER via vogue.com

The designer duo of Christa Bösch and Cosima Gadient returned to Paris with their Girlfriend SS26 collection, which felt like a love letter to each other, and literally started with show notes that were an appreciation letter from Christa to Cosima. And it truly was a celebration of partnership translated into clothes. Signature moto leathers in white, dark khaki, and black, paired with color matched pants, gave the collection a charged, refined yet punky kind of romantic feel. Monochrome looks, oversized blazers, modern twists on vests, and sheer dresses completed the per usual perfect ready-to-wear runway clothes. Romantically shaped corset tops and dresses lead into the latter part of the runway, where we got to witness bridal looks, some with a hint of gothic, a dark colour palette, and some in white, threaded with lace details and intricate embroidery.

The “I’m with Otto” shirts marked a very fun collaboration with Tinder, and the internet (and real-life) besties Kickiyangz (Kicki Yang Zhang) and _ppprincesss (Lin Lin) were the faces for its campaign. For this collaboration they even donated pieces from their own wardrobes, which were then reworked into a single top for the runway and serves as a perfect example of the brand’s hands-on process of abstraction and deconstruction. The top will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go towards Lambda Berlin.

Once again the designer duo created a runway that merged a punk, ultra cool attitude with couture-level craftsmanship and asymmetric silhouettes, resulting in a bold, effortlessly cool ready-to-wear collection.

MCQUEEN
review by MAREK BARTEK

all images MCQUEEN provided by the brand

Faith, desire, and nature collided at McQueen, where Sean McGirr’s Spring/Summer 2026 unfolded like a fever dream. The air itself felt charged with the kind of tension you can’t quite name, only sense. The set, bathed in pulsing light, looked like something between ritual and rave.

Gone were theatrics; they were replaced with feral precision. The tailoring was fierce but sensual — officer jackets cut close to the body, lapels bent like wings mid-flight. The return of the bumster, reimagined in slick leather and crisp navy wool, and tracing the curve of the hip before melting into the floor, might just be what we needed this season. A gesture of liberation rather than provocation.

Washed silks looked almost kissed by sunlight, corset-laced dresses frayed at the seams, and cage tops in leather shimmered like armour caught in a flash. Prints that first read as floral revealed entwined insects on closer look. Referencing one particular scene of The Wicker Man, it was desire disguised as nature, nature disguised as desire. Every garment felt alive with a pulse, a breath, a trace of heat left behind. McGirr’s women don’t dress to stand still; they unbutton, roll in the grass, and find beauty in imperfection.

What McGirr brought to McQueen wasn’t shock value. Seduction isn’t about performance but presence. In a season crowded with nostalgia, he gave us something thrillingly human — a collection that felt like skin meeting sunlight, or a spark just before it catches fire.