Haider Ackermann will unveil his debut co-ed collection for Tom Ford in Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday, March 5, marking the first time the American label will stage a show in the French Capital.

 
Fashion loves a debut, and the other huge one in Paris will be Sara Burton’s first collection for the house of Givenchy on the morning of Friday, March 7 – according to the provisional schedule of shows released Monday by the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM), French high fashion’s governing body.
 
In other news the house of Alaïa will be making its first official appearance on the Federation’s schedule. Its founder Azzedine Alaïa was famous for showing out of season. While its current creative director Pieter Mulier presented his most recent Alaïa collection in the Guggenheim Museum last September, one of the highlights of New York Fashion Week.

Several notable houses return to the season including Coperni,  which showed off calendar in Disneyland last year; Kenzo, which had concentrated on co-ed shows in the menswear season since September 2020; and Ludovic de Saint Sernin and Off-White, who had recently shown in New York. Also returning after brief hiatuses are Marine Serre, Undercover and Véronique Leroy.
 
While several indie labels Nurc Akyol, Christopher Esber and Hodakova will also make their first appearance on the official calendar.
 
As ever, huge crowds of professionals and fans will swarm to witness the great brands in Paris, to whose shows invitations are strictly private. They include mammoth marques like Dior, Hermès, Louis Vuitton and Chanel, along with directional star houses – Yohji Yamamoto, Dries Van Noten, Courrèges, Chloé, Rick Owens, Victoria Beckham, Valentino, Miu Miu and Balenciaga, among others.

All told, there will be 72 shows, including the Master of Arts Joint show by the Institut Français de la Mode (IFM), France’s most noted fashion and luxury management college. Along with 31 presentations spread across the City of Light.
 
The next season, which features Fall/Winter 2025/2026 collections runs from Monday, March 3, to Tuesday, March 11, 2025. With access to the calendar always controlled by the FHCM, whose Executive President Pascal Morand offers his insights on the upcoming season to Fashion Network.
 

 
Fashion Network: Paris has attracted some very high-profile names to this season’s schedule, both new and returning brands – like Tom Ford, Alaïa, Off-White and Givenchy – why does the French season have such magnetic power?
 
Pascal Morand: Paris Fashion Week has a number of structural characteristics: the presence and involvement of the most renowned brands ; the exigency of the selection commissions; the rigorous work involved in drawing up the Official Calendar; a creative ecosystem of great vitality; an active policy in favor of emerging brands; the dual economic and cultural dimension of this major event; a close cooperation with public authorities; a policy of innovation built on an international history; the “Paris flavor”, which exudes the union of fashion and the arts. All these factors align in favor of Paris’ attractivity and are reflected in the policy led by the Federation’s Executive Committee.
 
FN: Last year was a tricky one for runway brands, with most suffering sales declines. What are you expecting in 2025?
 
PM: This situation follows a moment of high growth on international markets. A number of factors have come together, such as the crisis affecting digital pure players; difficulties in the wholesale market; low relative growth and the property crisis in China, which have notably led to a rise in the savings rate and now to a policy of boosting consumption.  All this is in addition to the digital and ecological revolutions, which are accelerating. We are living through a period of rebalancing and changes, but the fundamentals of success remain the same: the vitality of creation, the quality of know-how, the culture of innovation.

 
FN: Recently, Culture Minister Rachida Dati announced several measures to open fresh spaces where young designers can show. What do you expect the impact to be?
 
PM: For young designers, presenting their collections is essential, and an integral part of their development model. The question of venues for shows and presentations is often a delicate one, because of the availability and cost involved.  That is why we have a long-standing cooperation with the Palais de Tokyo, can be found a mutualized space and a presentation space adjacent to the Sphere showroom. But we need to take this further, and we are working in this direction. We’ve shared this challenge with the public authorities, and it’s with this in mind that the Minister of Culture ,has made her announcements which testify to the common concern regarding the support of emerging brands. 
 
FN: The European Union, and France, have recently introduced new laws governing sustainability, recycling and end use of fashion products. What impact will they have on Paris Fashion Week?
 
PM: We actively follow French and European initiatives and are involved in the discussions associated. For example, the Federation is a voting member of the Apparel & Footwear PEF (Product Environmental Footprint) Technical Secretariat at the European Commission, with a view to European environmental labelling. The Federation is also represented, as well as the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, through the European Fashion Alliance within the Ecodesign Forum which brings together a limited number of organizations from all sectors of the economy.
 
There, the Delegated Acts of the ESPR (Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation) will be drawn up, dealing in particular with the recycling and treatment of unsold goods. However, French and European regulations concern the industrial value chain, and not the event value chain, which is where Paris Fashion Week comes in. In this respect, the Federation has set up as of 2019, STEP.event, an eco-design tool for fashion shows and presentations, in partnership with PwC and with the support of DEFI, which is now widely used by the Houses.