In 2025, fashion shows moved decisively beyond presentation and into cultural storytelling, with designers using the runway as a cinematic, emotional, and political stage. At Chanel, Matthieu Blazy transformed the Métiers d’Art collection into a glamorous ode to New York’s subway, while Dior entered a new era under Jonathan Anderson through a charged dialogue with its archive. Balenciaga welcomed Pierpaolo Piccioli, who infused couture rigor with human emotion, as Saint Laurent saw Anthony Vaccarello refine his language of restraint across both women’s and men’s collections. Elsewhere, Prada, Louis Vuitton, Dior, AMI Paris, and Willy Chavarria each offered distinct visions—ranging from stripped-back surrealism to overt political expression. Together, the year’s best fashion shows captured 2025 as a moment of reinvention, conviction, and renewed creative ambition.
Chanel Métiers d’Art as a Cinematic Ode to New York’s Subway Style
Courtesy of Chanel.
With the Chanel Métiers d’Art 2026 collection, Artistic Director of Fashion Activities Matthieu Blazy turned one of the world’s most democratic spaces—the New York City subway—into a sweeping cinematic universe. The result was an electrifying fusion of Parisian craftsmanship and pop-culture exuberance, where commuters became characters, glamour met grit, and the everyday transformed into the extraordinary, making it one of the very best of 2025.
Read more HERE.
Matthieu Blazy at Chanel — Cosmic Ambition
Courtesy of Chanel.
The most anticipated debut of the season, Matthieu Blazy’s first collection for Chanel transformed the Grand Palais into a celestial theater. Enormous glowing planets hovered above a black runway evoking infinite space. The scale recalled Karl Lagerfeld’s legendary show sets, signaling Blazy’s boldness and refusal to play it safe.
“We can go two ways,” Blazy told Business of Fashion. “Either we do a clean, by-the-book Chanel show, or we do this show as if it were our last. I took the last option.”
Read more HERE.
Jonathan Anderson at Dior — Decoding the Archive
Courtesy of Dior, photo by © ADRIEN DIRAND.
Jonathan Anderson’s first womenswear collection for Dior began with a jolt. British documentarian Adam Curtis’s opening film hurtled through eight decades of Dior history, spliced with horror scenes and political imagery, asking, “Do you dare enter the house of Dior?” When the screen turned white, it symbolized Anderson’s intent to clear the slate and start anew. He reimagined Dior’s icons—the Bar jacket became a mini silhouette, the 1952 La Cigale dress inspired sculpted coats—and balanced theatrical headwear with denim skirts and suede bags. The debut felt confident, conceptual, and contemporary.
Read more HERE.
Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga — Heartbeat
Courtesy of BALENCIAGA.
Courtesy of BALENCIAGA.
Pierpaolo Piccioli brought his poetic romanticism to Balenciaga in a debut titled Heartbeat. Held at Kering headquarters, the show opened with the sound of a beating heart on cassette. Piccioli reinterpreted Cristóbal Balenciaga’s couture shapes—especially the 1957 Sack Dress—through his lens of color and emotion. Leather pieces, floral appliqué, and tassels merged Balenciaga’s structure with Valentino-style humanity. “For every heartbeat there is a name, a moment, a gesture,” Piccioli wrote. His Balenciaga felt sincere, emotional, and entirely new.
Read more HERE.
Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent — A Language of Style
Courtesy of Saint Laurent.
Set in a blooming garden beneath the Eiffel Tower, Anthony Vaccarello’s Summer 2026 collection for Saint Laurent staged a cinematic vision where beauty became discourse and women emerged as heroines of multiplicity.
Guests were seated among sculpted flowerbeds of white hydrangeas and stone benches, a setting that blurred grandeur with intimacy. Against this lush Parisian tableau, Vaccarello articulated fashion as language—capable of nuance where words often divide, for this best of 2025.
Read more HERE.
Willy Chavarria — Huron
Courtesy of Willy Chavarria.
Huron marked a bold political statement from Willy Chavarria, exploring what fashion meant in a world defined by uncertainty for this best of 2025. The show opened with 35 men wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the message: “THE ACLU DARES TO CREATE A MORE PERFECT UNION – BEYOND ONE PERSON, PARTY, OR SIDE.” In partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union, Chavarria spotlighted the injustices faced by immigrants in the United States. For him, luxury functioned not as privilege but as purpose—fashion as empowerment, identity, conviction, and resistance.
Read more HERE.
Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent Men’s — Quiet Clarity
Courtesy of Saint Laurent.
For Saint Laurent Men’s Summer 2026, Anthony Vaccarello presented a collection shaped by restraint, sensuality, and quiet clarity. Staged at the Bourse de Commerce around Céleste Boursier-Mougenot’s clinamen installation, the show evoked a suspended moment between Paris and Fire Island. For this best of 2025, silhouettes floated and sculpted with cinched waists, extended shoulders, and silk and nylon fabrics. The muted palette—sand, pale ochre, dry moss, and pool blue—underscored an understated, unforced elegance.
Read more HERE.
Alexandre Mattiussi at AMI Paris — C’est La Vie
Ami Paris Spring/Summer 2026 runway show, courtesy of Ami Paris.
Ami Paris’s Spring/Summer 2026 set, photo by Nicolas Sisto.
AMI Paris’ Spring–Summer 2026 collection unfolded as a joyful celebration of Parisian life, staged in the historic Place des Victoires. Alexandre Mattiussi chose the iconic square—also home to the brand’s offices—for its blend of history, elegance, and street energy. Set to Ravel’s Boléro and Edith Piaf’s “La Foule,” 54 models moved in a continuous circular motion. The wardrobe, for this best of 2025, blended Parisian chic with comfort, mixing fresh colors, neutrals, and light materials where casual workwear met organza and knits.
Read more HERE.
Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons at Prada — Stripped-Back Surrealism
Courtesy of Prada.
At the Fondazione’s bare Deposito space, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons leaned into instinct and ease. Micro shorts, wave-printed shirting, and airy knits conjured a seaside dreamscape. Titled A Change of Tone, the Spring/Summer 2026 menswear collection dismantled power codes in favor of freedom and imagination. Silhouettes felt weightless and unbound, evoking fleeting moments—“the last swim,” “lover’s lake”—and offering fashion as sensation rather than statement, for this best of 2025.
Read more HERE.
Nicolas Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton — Avignon as Theater
The Palais des Papes, in Avignon, France, courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
In Avignon, the Cour d’Honneur of the Palais des Papes lit up for Louis Vuitton’s Cruise 2026 show. The historic venue—typically home to the city’s famed theater festival—hosted a collection centered on the performative power of clothing. Inspired by the site’s cultural resonance, the show explored how garments transform mood, appearance, and character. Fashion emerged as both narrative device and supporting role, capable of inhabiting everyday life and exceptional moments alike.
Read more HERE.
Pieter Mulier at Alaïa — Your Body Is Yours
Courtesy of Alaïa.
Courtesy of Alaïa.
The Alaïa Summer/Fall 2025 runway presentation was underpinned by history, geography, and a reverence for art, sculpture, and womankind. An original soundtrack by Gustave Rudman layered soprano Fatma Saïd’s voice with words by Khalil Gibran. Artworks by Dutch sculptor Mark Manders mirrored the collection’s textures and forms, creating a dialogue between body, space, and imagination.
Read more HERE.
Miuccia Prada at Prada — Raw Glamour
Courtesy of Prada.
For Fall/Winter 2025 womenswear, Miuccia Prada questioned conventional beauty. Wrinkled button-ups, pleated mini-skirts, oversized sweaters, and engulfing fur jackets challenged polished ideals. The collection framed glamour as something raw, imperfect, and deeply human—beauty found in friction rather than finish.
Read more HERE.
Marc Jacobs — Playing Dress-Up
Photo by Getty, courtesy of Marc Jacobs.
Marc Jacobs’ Spring 2025 collection served as a dazzling prelude to New York Fashion Week. Presented at the New York Public Library, the show featured exaggerated proportions, doll-like shoes, and star-studded faces.
Radiating joy and whimsy, the collection encouraged risk, scale, and playfulness—fashion as an act of optimism.
Read more HERE.
Pharrell Williams and NIGO at Louis Vuitton — Friendship as Craft
Courtesy of Louis Vuitton.
Pharrell Williams and NIGO debuted a Fall/Winter 2025 men’s collection in Paris that celebrated friendship and cross-cultural collaboration. Set within a cloud-like pink and silver environment by Wonderwall, the show honored heritage through contemporary expression. Avant-garde garments featured “Phriendship” graphics, dandy suiting, and Japanese craftsmanship. The soundtrack—anchored by “One-Winged Angel”—underscored a collection rooted in partnership, creativity, and shared vision.
Read more HERE.
