Four days, 29 houses, and a very strict definition of “handmade”
PARIS — The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode has finally released the official calendar for the Fall/Winter 2026-27 couture shows, and it is, by design, short. From Monday 6 July to Thursday 9 July, just 29 presentations will unfold across Paris — most by invitation only, most lasting under 20 minutes, all required by French law to be made almost entirely by hand in the city.
It is the 79th year that couture has its own week, separate from ready-to-wear, and this July edition arrives with unusual anticipation. Two of the biggest houses are showing under new creative directors for the first time in couture: Matthieu Blazy at Chanel and Jonathan Anderson at Dior.
THE CALENDAR (all times Paris)
Monday 6 July
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10:00 Schiaparelli — Place Vendôme
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11:30 Julie de Libran (guest)
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13:00 Georges Hobeika
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14:30 Christian Dior — Musée Rodin (livestreamed)
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16:00 Rahul Mishra
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17:00 Imane Ayissi
Tuesday 7 July
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10:00 & 12:00 Chanel — Grand Palais Éphémère (two shows, film released at 14:00)
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13:30 Gaurav Gupta
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14:30 Stéphane Rolland (livestreamed)
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16:00 Julien Fournié
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17:00 Ronald van der Kemp
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18:00 & 19:00 Giorgio Armani Privé — Palais de Tokyo
Wednesday 8 July
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10:00 Alexis Mabille
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11:00 Franck Sorbier
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12:30 Elie Saab (livestreamed)
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13:30 Yuima Nakazato
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15:00 Valentino
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17:00 Viktor&Rolf
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18:30 Zuhair Murad (livestreamed)
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19:30 Robert Wun
Thursday 9 July
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10:00 Aelis
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11:00 Peet Dullaert
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12:00 Ashi Studio (livestreamed)
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13:30 Phan Huy
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15:00 Celia Kritharioti
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16:00 Rami Al Ali
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17:00 Miss Sohee
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18:30 Germanier
The Fédération notes that only 13 houses hold the full “Haute Couture” appellation — including Dior, Chanel, Schiaparelli, Givenchy (absent this season), and Stéphane Rolland. The rest are “corresponding members” or invited guests, a status that must be renewed each season.
WHO TO WATCH
1. The debuts. Anderson’s first Dior couture is expected to mine the house’s 1947 Bar jacket but with the surrealist humour he brought to Loewe. Blazy’s Chanel, meanwhile, is rumoured to be built around what ateliers are calling “frayed tweed” — a deconstructed take on the classic suit that already drove a 3% revenue lift for the house in early 2025.
2. The guests. Seoul-born Miss Sohee, a favourite of Cardi B and Ariana Grande, closes Thursday with hand-embroidered hanbok-inspired gowns. Germanier, the Swiss upcycler, will show entirely from deadstock beads — a first for couture.
3. The outsiders. Rahul Mishra continues to bring Indian zardozi embroidery to Paris, while Yuima Nakazato presents kimono-constructed pieces made with a single square of cloth, no waste.
CURIOSITIES YOU WON’T SEE ON THE LIVESTREAM
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By law, it’s couture only if… a house employs at least 15 full-time artisans in a Paris atelier, presents 35 day and evening looks twice a year, and makes each piece to order for a private client. The FHCM inspects workshops annually.
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No tickets, ever. Even Anna Wintour needs an invitation. About 70% of seats are reserved for clients — many from the Middle East, Asia and the U.S. — who will order the dresses shown that morning.
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The film delay. Most houses now release a film of the show hours later, not live. Chanel will drop its film at 14:00 after both shows, a tactic to protect front-row exclusivity.
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A parallel couture. On 8 July, the same night as Valentino, a separate “SM Global Haute Couture Showcase” will take place at Normandy Le Chantier hotel, featuring celebrity designer Samina Mughal and a reality-TV crew. It is not official couture — but it shows how the word itself has become marketing gold.
WHY IT STILL MATTERS
In a season where fast fashion is signing 150-piece deals with Bad Bunny and luxury groups are reporting flat growth, couture remains stubbornly unscalable. A single Schiaparelli bustier can take 800 hours of embroidery. A Chanel jacket requires four fittings.
That slowness is the point. As FHCM president Bruno Pavlovsky put it at the calendar launch: “Couture is not about trends. It’s about keeping a craft alive so ready-to-wear has something to copy in three years.”
From 6 to 9 July, Paris will do what it does best: close streets, open ateliers, and remind the industry that fashion, at its highest level, is still made by hand — one stitch, one client, one very exclusive invitation at a time.
Photo Credits: essica Minh Anh during Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture 2025 Photo: Filsav1331, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons Cropped to 12:9 (horizontal) from original, lower part removed. HD enhanced.
