The Fall 2026 Couture Season Was Filled With Show-Stopping Moments

While it may have seemed like the rest of the world was out of office for the long weekend, Parisian designers were working overtime in Paris for Couture Week’s semi-annual showing. The three-day fashion rendezvous may have been short (it took place from July 6-9), but it was jam-packed with fashion moments that will certainly define the Fall/Winter 2026 season. From long-awaited debuts by creative directors like Duran Lantink for Jean Paul Gaultier and Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga, sophomore couture collections from Mathieu Blazy’s Chanel and Dior by Jonathan Anderson, to signature codes from Schiaparelli, reimagined — this haute couture week had it all.

Across the board, there was a clear appetite for sculptural, oversized, and architectural shapes that went beyond traditional silhouettes. There was also a common thread of experimenting with materials that wouldn’t usually be used in couture (cue Schiaparelli’s poured silicone, sculpted clay, latex, and paint). And Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry was hardly the only creative director to challenge the mold when it came to texture this season.

Of course, celebrities were also out in full force — both on and off the runway. Gigi Hadid and Karlie Kloss went straight from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s ultra-secretive wedding to the catwalk. Sabrina Carpenter also managed to catch a flight from NYC for a seat in the front row at Dior.

Below, we’ve rounded up everything worth knowing from Couture Week’s Fall/Winter 2026 shows.

Schiaparelli

Schiaparelli kicked off the week by throwing out the couture rulebook entirely. The collection, titled “The Abyss,” was Daniel Roseberry’s attempt at tackling the unknown. Not exactly with his signature couture technique, but with the materials that create it. “Formulas are antithetical to the magic of creation, which can be found only in total surrender to the unknown,” Roseberry wrote in the accompanying show notes.

The 30-piece collection was defined by abstract silicone bustiers, colored latex, and backlit breastplates. Roseberry and his atelier even created some prosthetics, which were visible on the exposed stomachs of models wearing split cardigans, intentionally designed to show off the skin underneath.

“Schiaparelli is a house where you can still ask questions,” Roseberry explained in a video on the brand’s Instagram. The entire collection was quite boundary-pushing.

The VIP arrivals outside the show brought just as much drama as the collection itself. Actor Emma Corrin posed in a multi-colored high-neck feathered jacket with talons pointing out from the bust, while Bad Bunny donned a custom yellow suit with gold brooches and a braided tie as a nod to the brand’s Fall 2024 show.

Image architect Law Roach was there with one specific mission: dress Zendaya for The Odyssey premiere in one of the looks that debuted on the runway that very same day. Now that’s one quick styling pull.

Iris Van Herpen

Iris van Herpen — who solely focuses on couture (and currently has an exhibition running at the Brooklyn Museum through the end of the year) — delivered an otherworldly collection entitled “Sonic Starquakes,” which took its cues from the atmosphere, even managing to incorporate the energy of plasma into the designs.

“For years, I have been drawn to the idea of creating a garment woven from energy alone. We have shaped solids couture through solids, liquids, living matter and even gas. This is the first time we have worked with the fourth state of matter, plasma,” van Herpen stated in the show notes.

Dior

Staged in the sculpture-filled gardens of the Musée Rodin (a setting that made sense on two fronts — both for the designer’s well-known affection for greenery and for the sculptural inspiration behind the collection itself), Jonathan Anderson’s second Dior couture collection looked to an unexpected source: American sculptor Lynda Benglis, whose work centers on experimenting with different techniques, not limited to pouring, knotting, and molding.

“She is not scared of an idea,” Anderson said of Benglis in a short video shared by Dior. “I find her deeply inspiring and someone who challenges my viewpoint on how I see the form in my own work,” Anderson continued.

Over on the step-and-repeat, Carpenter took a cue from her friend Swift, wearing a white bridal-esque dress only two days post-wedding.

Chanel

For Matthieu Blazy’s second couture collection at Chanel, the designer referenced classic storybook fairytales like Jack and the Beanstalk and Goldilocks and the Three Bears, with the former visible in the set design itself. He reimagined both stories through the house’s most recognizable codes: suits, braids, tweeds, and chains, keeping a distinctly playful and childlike twist in mind for all.

One recurring detail tied the collection together very literally: an embroidered vine that wound its way up heels and threaded through seams and fabric throughout the show, as if the beanstalk itself had taken root in the clothes.

Sarah Pidgeon, Teyana Taylor, Lupita Nyong'o, and Michelle Yeoh were all in attendance, too. Pidgeon’s Chanel drop-waist Fall 2026 ready-to-wear look further confirmed her status as a rising It-Girl.

Balenciaga

Perhaps the most anticipated show of the season was Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Balenciaga, where he not only met expectations but completely exceeded them. With a focus on the label’s couture “principles,” the designer featured plenty of colorful gowns, unique construction, and splashy accessories. The former Valentino creative director left his mark on the season with the house’s 55th couture collection, taking his first bow at the helm alongside his entire design team.

Voluminous ruffled gowns paired with colorful opera gloves, drop waists, hoods, veils, high collars — along with a run of dresses made entirely from goose and ostrich feathers — rounded out the collection.

One familiar accessory spotted? The Balenciaga City Bag, this time with a crystal-embellished exterior for the special occasion. Hadid walked the show in a bold black-feathered, egg-shaped garment, while Anok Yai closed as the Balenciaga bride in an ivory silk-and-wool gown paired with ostrich-feather sandals.

Taylor — who had just been seen one day earlier at Chanel with dark brown straight hair — arrived at Balenciaga with an entirely new, very long copper look.