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Depending on how you count them, there were at least 13 designer debuts this season. I’m not going to rank them all, because that doesn’t feel constructive, but here are the five that felt the most consequential for their respective brands, and for the industry. My methodology was not very different from how I typically evaluate fashion shows. I asked myself, Did the designer live up to (or exceed) his or her abilities? Was there a pure appeal to the collection? What was the feedback from both buyers and editors? Do I think it will sell? Did I like it?

That final point is the least important, but of course everything is subjective. Herewith, you’ll find my picks, with one honorable mention, and a caveat—I didn’t include Demna’s Gucci, which officially hits the runway next season.

Photos: Estrop/Getty Images, Courtesy of Versace, Courtesy of Loewe

Photos: Courtesy of Dior, Jil Sander, Celine

And now, the main event…

Paris made everyone nervous, given all the designers making their debuts at new houses, but also because of what comes after: the judgment of the market. Not every runway collection is commercial, but it must at least fuel sales in one way or another. The question, of course, is whether the consumer is gagging for fashion anymore.

After two weeks in Milan and Paris, my conclusion is that the obsession with European fashion is less feverish than it once was, or ever will be. I am no longer convinced that Louis Vuitton will someday be a €50 billion-in-annual-sales business (after you adjust for inflation). There are just too many things that consumers can spend money on, especially in China, where homegrown brands are going to emerge as real competitors, as has been the case in so many other creative fields. So far in 2025, the top-grossing film globally is an animated Chinese feature that was mostly distributed domestically and brought in $2.2 billion. The same will happen in this industry, eventually.

Photos: Courtesy of Alaïa

And yet, there was plenty of optimism during the last leg of shows, mostly because what constitutes success is changing. Richemont-owned Alaïa is still a relatively small business, but it has grown exponentially since the arrival of Pieter Mulier in 2021. In four short years, he’s managed to change the industry, or his corner of it anyway. Before Mulier, it felt as though brands like Alaïa had no chance commercially; they were overwhelmed by better-funded, more broadly distributed megabrands. Now, thanks to Alaïa’s critical and commercial success, there’s hope for makers of beautiful, special things.

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On the runway, Mulier has grown more incisive with time: to me, it’s about the interaction of a garment and a body. Sometimes it makes you uncomfortable, sometimes it makes you excited—sometimes, as Mulier said in his show notes, it’s about “clothes that make you cry.” Raf Simons, his former design partner, had tears streaming from his eyes as Mulier took his spin around what was formerly the Fondation Cartier, a glass building designed by Jean Nouvel and completed in 1994. (I’ve seen Simons cry more than any other grown man. I love him.)

The collection was moving not only because of the dynamism of the presentation—a video streamed up from the gridded floor as the models walked through the two rooms—but because of the shape of the garments, which pulled like rubber bands around the body, constricting the arms or making the legs stiff, then freeing the limbs in certain outfits. This collection is going to sell like crazy. The asymmetrical trench, the wavy skirt, the leather jackets were all done in the right colors—pine, pink, citron. It was the jolt we needed on a rainy Saturday morning to remember that there is more to fashion than product.

At Margiela, Glenn Martens is still trying to strike a balance between the creative and the commercial. I liked his couture collection a lot, and I was doubly impressed by his recent collection for Diesel, which unfolded as a sort of Easter egg hunt on the streets of Milan. Martens is super smart—you can tell just by talking to him—and seems hyper-aware of the dynamics of the business. And yet, with this Margiela ready-to-wear debut, I felt he briefly lost the plot. The Four Stitch mouthpieces—which forced the model’s mouths agape—were affecting, but the clothes themselves, which he said were “a series of concepts and proposals for real life,” didn’t give me a sense of what he thinks a modern Margiela should be. I wanted a bit more fantasy mixed with this reality.

At Balenciaga, Pierpaolo Piccioli faced the opposite problem. What I admired most about his work at Valentino was the way he modernized couture, and backstage in Paris, surrounded by family and friends—including Valentino co-founder Giancarlo Giammetti—he talked about bringing couture elements to everyday life. I thought he achieved that, especially with the dress work, even if I would have preferred less of an effort to bridge the gap between the coolness of Demna and the prettiness of Piccioli. (The sunglasses and flip flops distracted from the beautiful clothes.) The most daring look was a dress knitted into an archival 1960s print. More of that, please.

Photos: Courtesy of Maison Margiela, Balenciaga, Valentino

In between Balenciaga and Valentino, now designed by Alessandro Michele (a show that Giammetti also attended), all I could think was that we cannot expect more of these designers than they are capable of. They do what they do, and rarely reach another plane or take a different direction. We need to be more accepting of that, and figure out ways to make it viable. At Valentino, Michele pared things back, making it easier to see the clothes. They were, as always, beautiful, and I especially liked the tiered dresses and the open-top heels. This was something of a reset, but the question remains of whether Michele’s Valentino will find its audience with a new C.E.O. in place. Here’s hoping.

Sometimes, it’s just about meeting the moment, which Michael Rider is doing at Celine. It’s so fun: the ’60s-floral minidresses, the black suiting, the nods to Phoebe with the white buttons. Everyone has their look that they want: a double-breasted blazer, a red turtleneck, loafers. (I’m partial to the taffeta miniskirts.) I can see him taking inspiration from the way our generation dresses now—vintage jeans, Charvet scarves, and a fancy pair of trousers—and making it his own. It looked like a real-life wardrobe, in part because Rider styled it himself this season. (If you remember the amazing Ralph Lauren 50th anniversary show at Central Park, you’re already familiar with Rider’s prowess in that area, as he styled that, too.)

Photos: Tom Shickle/Courtesy of Celine, Hermès, Jean Paul Gaultier

Alas, Duran Lantink, who made his debut as creative director of Jean Paul Gaultier on Sunday, is far from reaching his limits. I wish this collection, which had a lot of vulgar trompe l’oeil—like the hairy, photorealistic body suit covering a slim model—was more than just commentary on the age of physical optimization. It would have been nice to see some clothes, too, because he’s good at making those. Seán McGirr sure made some great ones at McQueen this season. The low rise is coming for us, and Sean used the McQueen archives in the right way to address that. (As for the whole narrative about sexy friends partying, sure, that tracks.)

Photos: Estrop/Getty Images

And finally: Holy cow, did Matthieu Blazy prove himself at Chanel. I heard whispers that it was very elegant, that it looked nice, and that people were going to like it. And then I was blown away. All the technique Blazy honed at Bottega Veneta was applied here with a lighter, more sophisticated touch, from the larger-than-life set and the music of our childhoods (“I Don’t Want to Wait” by Paula Cole! “Rhythm is a Dancer”!) to the expert use of the house codes. He managed to work them all in—the dropped waist, the tweeds, the bags (no quilting though), the box jacket—in a trope-free way that didn’t ever feel overworked. Of course the shoes and bags were good—Chanel’s always are—but what was truly impressive was how Blazy defined the silhouette and refreshed familiar ideas about how to dress. If Jonathan Anderson is depicting the dark side of fashion, with the horror screams coming out of an Adam Curtis doc, Blazy is the light, using the theme song to Dawson’s Creek to narrate his runway full of truly beautiful, truly desirable clothes. No wonder everyone is freaking out.

No reading list today. Sleep well! More tomorrow,

Lauren

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