The Tamesis
Despite global uncertainty and the death of Valentino Garavani, the Paris menswear season delivered exciting moments for big brands and emerging talent alike.
Pascal Morand, executive president of the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, said: “In a challenging international context of geopolitical and economic tensions and the ongoing crisis in wholesale both physical and online, Paris Fashion Week highlights the creativity of designers – expressed through their new vision of tailoring and diverse, creative scenes.”
The schedule runs from January 20 to 25 with 36 fashion shows and 30 presentations, while January 2025 has 37 shows and 30 presentations. As the latest crop of creative directors find their feet at new companies, they may be skipping menswear shows. Like Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Fendi in Milan, Loewe is not participating in Paris Men’s Fashion Week, instead choosing to hold a co-ed show in March. Saint Laurent, meanwhile, will hold a menswear show during Haute Couture Fashion Week, as it did last January. But a brief survey of several editors reveals that their schedules are anything but easy.
Since Michael Rider and Peter Copping took charge of the creative directors of Celine and Lanvin respectively, these two brands held separate men’s wear conferences for the first time. LVMH Prize alumni also appear on the men’s calendar. Among them is Magliano, winner of the 2023 LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Award, who joins this season’s official men’s show schedule in Paris. “I think we’re at a moment where we have an opportunity,” the brand’s founder, Luca Magliano, said backstage.
Here are our top thoughts on Paris Men’s Fashion Week.
Coping with uncertainty
Paris Men’s Fashion Week is taking place against the backdrop of the threat of new tariffs. Coinciding with the World Economic Forum in Davos, President Trump threatened new tariffs on goods from eight European countries, including France, on January 17, but reversed course four days later. On January 19, he threatened to impose 200% tariffs on French wine and champagne. Luxury goods stocks were hit hard.
Some are finding creative ways to deal with the tariffs. Before the show, Kartik Kumra, founder of New Delhi brand Kartik Research, talked backstage about the 50% tariff imposed by the United States on India from August 27, 2025: “The first theme that comes to my mind this season is tariffs. We are at 50% We opened the New York store three months before the tariffs – the timing was brutal – and while the store is doing pretty well, the common theme in all the conversations with artisans in the textile development space is: What’s going on? As a manufacturer, you’re not getting to your end customer, so it’s important to really build on the craft capabilities that we have, and the level of embroidery that you’re going to see is very different from anything we do. “The embroidery in the Kumla collection is handmade by Indian artisans.
