From Preppy to Colour Play: Paris Fashion Week SS26

Held 29th September – 7th October 2025, in and around the Palais de Tokyo and the usual selection of Paris venues, SS26 felt like a recalibration of confidence: a pushing-forward, but with a sense of composure. Many houses struck a balance between spectacle and introspection, delving into sensuality, material innovation, and reworked classics rather than pure shock value. As many commented – this season was also notable for new creative directors staking their ground at major houses. 

The result: a season of contrasts, transparency and concealment, bold primary colour and muted minimalism, archival nods with futurist flourishes. Below are five trends that repeatedly emerged on the Paris SS26 catwalks…

(This image and top: Psalter SS26)

Trend 1: Preppy Reimagined

“Prep” has returned, but not as a dusty uniform revival rather as a leaner, sharper, more modernist vision.

• Psalter delivered one of the more talked-about showroom approaches (particularly in Paris’s off-calendar / presentation circuit). Their SS26 offering revealed the prep aesthetic through fitted blazers, pleated skirts, neck ties, argyle knits twisted with raw hems, tonal mismatches, and micro-layers that speak to a post-prep palette rather than reprise of the 1990s.
• At Loewe, under the new creative leadership of McCollough & Hernandez (succeeding Anderson), the preppy undercurrent was palpable: V‑neck sweaters layered over crisp shirts, tailored denims, loafers with eccentric spiral detailing, and nurse‑blue knitwear, all given a summer lift with bright candy tones. 
• AMI Paris also played in this territory: their show was praised for a “muted greens and off-white layering” approach to luxury streetwear that quietly echoes heritage sportswear codes. 

Trend 2: Sheerness & Transparency as Statement

This season, translucency wasn’t just a flirtation it was a statement. Many designers used sheer fabrics, mesh, and organza not merely as underlayers, but as structural drivers of their silhouettes.

• KIMHĒKIM’s SS26 collection, titled “I FEEL LOVE”, blended disco-era sensuality with craftsmanship, and transparency took a core role. Pearlescent accents, strategically placed sheer panels, bow motifs, and semi‑opaque layers build an airy, expressive palette. The collection’s celebration of lightness, dance, and open-air energy underscores how transparency can feel both intimate and bold. 
• Schiaparelli gave a memorable interpretation – Daniel Roseberry leaned into sheer polka-dot chiffons and final white jersey pieces with “transparent finish,” allowing skin to glow through or fabrics to bloom in light. The effect was polished but charged with drama. 
• Givenchy under Sarah Burton built an array of looks that peeled back tailoring to expose lace, mesh or sheer panels making the tension between structure and fragility integral to the collection. 

(KIMHĒKIM SS26)

Trend 3: Maximal Colour + Chromatic Play

Across the spectrum SS26 leans into colour – not as accent but as mainstay.

• Loewe dazzled with saturated, candy-hued leathers, mesh, and block-colour staging. The chromatic ambition was evident not just in garments but in textile layering and accessory contrast.
• Zomer (an emerging name) turned the runway into a paint palette: models left trails of colour, oversized belts, swelled proportions, and joyous mixing of hues. 
• Dries Van Noten wove abstract geometry and vibrant tones into soft gowns and sculptural coats using colour as emotional narrative. 

Trend 4: Tailoring in Flux

Tailoring remains central, but the rules have softened. Jackets no longer rigid, hems elongate or crop unpredictably, and cuts veer between architectural and deconstructed.

• Chanel, under Blazy, balanced heritage codes with experimentation with a new director at the helm, pieces were given a willingness to let structure breathe, tempering tradition with fluid edges. 
• Acne Studios, played with oversized blazers, leather slashings, sheer skirts, and checks, toggling between strength and softness.
• Mugler (with Miguel Castro Freitas) revisited hourglass silhouettes but inserted moments of  volume – waists dropped low, feather cascades, and suspended sheath pieces that created

Trend 5: Sculptural Romance & Volume

Silhouettes were often expansive, architectural, and romantic, in contrast to lean minimalism.

• Cecilie Bahnsen fused romance with tech: flowing volumes and dramatic shapes carried LED hearts and rhythmic movement, suggesting silhouette as spectacle. 
• Noir Kei Ninomiya revived playful volume: ballet-like skirts, cloudlike tulle, star collars and whimsical headpieces. Fantasy and structure danced together. 
• Chloé, under Chemena Kamali, leaned into 1980s florals, smock shapes, and dramatic flounce with elegance.

Sources:

Hypebae

Vogue UK

Marie Claire UK

Elle

Wallpaper

Grazia Daily

Harpers Bazaar

Dazed Digital

RUUSH