France’s Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode on Thursday unveiled a bumper Paris ready-to-wear catwalk season, bristling with nine designer debuts and key houses, in the most anticipated Paris Fashion Week this century.

The French’s capital’s two most famous fashion houses, Chanel and Christian Dior, will both feature women’s ready-to-wear show debuts by their freshly appointed creative directors – Matthieu Blazy and Jonathan Anderson, even if the latter has already had his Dior menswear baptism with a men’s show in June.
 
A further seven major labels will stage debut shows by new creative talent. They are the hyper-experienced Mark Howard Thomas at Carven; Michael Rider at Celine; Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough at Loewe; Duran Lantink at Jean-Paul Gaultier; Glenn Martens at Maison Margiela; Miguel Castro Freitas at Mugler and the acclaimed Italian master Pier Paolo Piccioli at Balenciaga. Though, it should be noted, Rider did show a special spring 2026 Celine co-ed collection on the eve of Paris couture season at the start of July, while Martens presented his first couture collection for Margiela three days later.

In effect, these first six houses and a further four – Agnès B, Lanvin, Thom Browne and Vetements – are all returning to the Paris ready-to-wear catwalk week after a hiatus ranging from one season to over five years in the case of Gaultier, since founder Jean-Paul stepped down in 2020.
 
All told, there will be a hefty grand total of 76 physical catwalk shows, and 36 by-appointment presentations in this fall’s nine-day Paris Fashion Week, which runs from Monday, September 29 to Tuesday, October 7. The clothes displayed will be for spring/summer 2026.
 

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The FHCM, French fashion’s governing body, has also welcomed on to the official calendar two very happening new houses. Matières Fécales, or Fecal Matters, founded by Hannah Rose and Steven Raj, who are known for their extremist glamour and post-human aesthetic. They will show after Louis Vuitton on Tuesday, September 30.
 
Meryll Rogge, the highly popular winner of the latest ANDAM fashion prize, will climax the busy season with a 6 p.m. show on October 7. Rogge has also just been named the new creative director of Jil Sander, which shows in Milan. 
 
While, hyper-acclaimed Alaia alumna Julie Kegels will stage a must-see off-calendar show on the opening Monday.

Entrance onto the official Federation calendar is notoriously difficult to achieve, given French insistence on maintaining a uniquely high level of creativity, quality, production and staging in Paris.
 
Which makes it a significant achievement that a further three houses have been approved to stage presentations on the official calendar: eco-conscious label Façon Jacmin from sisters Alexandra and Segolène Jacmin; Ganni, the hipster Danish label from husband-and-wife team Nicklas and Ditte Reffstrup, and Torishéju, by the talented British designer of Nigerian-Brazilian origin Torishéju Dumi.
 
This bumper Fashion Week – with shows running from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily – will also feature global bold face labels like Louis Vuitton, Schiaparelli, Balenciaga and Hermès, along with indie houses led by hot talent, like Courrèges, Dries Van Noten or Tom Ford and a triumvirate of legendary Japanese houses – Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake.

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Plus, there will be a series of highly talented female designer who have of late staged their most evolved collections in Paris for their own brands or as guns for hire – Victoria Beckham, Gabriela Hearst, Stella McCartney, The Row and Givenchy.
 
Fasten your seat belts for the kickiest season in decades.