Paris Haute Couture Week, July 2026: what mattered
Indian debuts, new creative directors and craft meeting technology: Forecut's summary of the autumn/winter 2026 couture week.
Paris Haute Couture Week ran from 6 to 9 July 2026. Here is what stood out for Forecut readers, summarised from published coverage.
Indian couture in Paris
Manish Malhotra made his official couture debut with "Maa", a tribute to his mother that used chikankari, zardozi, resham and gota work. Rahul Mishra showed "Devi: The Eternal Muse", drawing on the Ajanta caves and temple carvings in zardozi and dabka.
New hands at historic houses
Pierpaolo Piccioli presented his first couture collection for Balenciaga and Duran Lantink his first for Jean Paul Gaultier. Jonathan Anderson at Dior and Matthieu Blazy at Chanel showed their second couture collections. Fendi showed couture in Rome.
Craft and technology
Iris van Herpen used more than 30,000 hand-blown glass bubbles on tulle, and Dior worked with hand-pleated chiffon and sculptural bows.
What it means
- Indian hand techniques are now part of the global couture conversation.
- Sculptural, structured silhouettes remain strong.
- Innovation works best alongside hand craft, not instead of it.
Sources: Aza Fashions, Wallpaper*, FashionNetwork.
