What’s your favourite season? Couture, darling!
It’s again that time of the year when celebrity showmanship and sensational couture presentations converged at the Paris Haute Couture Week for the autumn/winter 2025/26 season.
This is the launch pad of many Hollywood red-carpet looks in the coming months, and where the source of style inspiration for next year’s Durban July is conceived. The girlies have started mood-boarding, stay woke!
This season again lived up to expectations: from head-turning A-list cameos, to spectacular runway moments. Living micro-organisms took centre stage at Iris van Herpen, Schiaparelli delivered meme-worthy moments, while Georges Hobeika turned the runway into a celestial wonderland, and Chanel was whimsical.
While it was American rapper Cardi B’s playground, other stars spotted in the front row included Ryan Destiny, Law Roach, Dua Lipa, Hunter Schafer, Naomi Campbell, Kirsten Dunst, Lorde, Keira Knightley, and Sofia Coppola.
We have rounded up some of the unforgettable moments from our favourite season.
Cardi Fever
The WAP hit-maker took over the haute couture week once again with her over-the-top wardrobe selections. She attended the opening show at Schiaparelli in a dramatic, sculptural and fringed gown. But it was her supporting act that stole the show — a live crow, affectionately dubbed Crowdi B. Other fantastic sightings included her at Rahul Mishra in a ruby-red corseted creation that also featured on the runway. At Stéphane Rolland, Cardi B went big in a nun-inspired, hooded gown. At the Ashi Studio show, she channelled angelic chic in a cream, lace-hued frock.
The bioluminescent world of Iris
Spellbinding Dutch designer Iris van Herpen continues to push the envelope. At her haute couture showcase titled Sympoiesis, the designer unveiled her “living gown”, which was grown in seawater baths over several months using 125-million living bioluminescent microalgae – microscopic, single-celled organisms that produce light through a chemical reaction when disturbed. It was a visual spectacle and a genius collaboration between biotechnology and fashion design that sent chills down the spine. Her aerial and sculptural creations included futuristic materials and fluid forms.
Stiletto bodice and feather gowns at Schiaparelli
What takes place outside the cult-pleasing Schiaparelli couture show is as newsworthy as the runway show. Taking snaps on the stairs of the Petit Palais, American actor Ryan Destiny was accompanied by celebrity stylist Law Roach. The 30-year-old Star actor wore a rose-gold satin ribbed bandage dress with a stiletto-heel shape moulded into the bodice of the dress. The29-year-old British musician Dua Lipa attended the showcase in a feather-inspired outfit with a keyhole shape in its centre.
The purity of couture at Stéphane Rolland
For the French couturier, the return to the purity of couture grounded his latest showcase. Models walked the runway in garments that showed off form, technique and design. The simplicity of function and form was juxtaposed with striking shades of crimson, black, white and metallics with sculptural detailing that would please the fashion gods.
Sprinkle of ornate splendour at Georges Hobeika
The Lebanese couturier’s couture mesmerised attendees with a goosebump-inducing display of the exquisite heritage of Middle East craftsmanship. Models floated down the runway in visually captivating ombré (shaded) garments in ornate and bespoke designs, featuring iridescent nude-sheer gowns with crystal embellishments on eloquent slim silhouettes.
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