From Sacai to Walter Van Beirendonck, Paris Pushes Forward For Fall/Winter '26

On the menswear runways, Paris Fashion Week continues to grow increasingly experimental, with Fall/Winter ’26 marking a season defined by unconventionality as both concept and craft. Designers placed renewed emphasis on styling as a form of expression, unafraid to expand beyond traditional frameworks.

Tailoring remained present, yet it was the execution that carried impact. Heavier knits were paired with finer fabrics, building depth through intentional layering rather than singular silhouettes. Oversized tailoring persisted, with focus shifting toward how garments work in harmony—balancing function and styling to create dimension and encourage thinking beyond convention.

From Sacai’s unconventional tailoring to Walter Van Beirendonck’s playful streak, discover the standout moments shaping the season.

SACAI

Designer Chitose Abe continues to challenge conventional garment construction, moving beyond single-form designs in favor of hybrid silhouettes that rethink what—and how—garments are worn. Neckwear had its own moment, with scarf-like ties and sparkling iterations functioning as integral styling components rather than mere accessories.

Layering was embedded within the garments themselves, most notably through skirt–trouser hybrids that anchored the collection. Why present a traditional trouser or skirt when both can exist at once? The approach underscored the house’s ongoing commitment to reworking familiar forms through inventive pattern cutting and unexpected combinations.

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Guillermo Andrade redefines luxury by creating a “Refined Ruin.” The collection reads like a tactile rebellion against the sterile polish of traditional high fashion. He leaned into a vocabulary of discarded luxury materials and over-dyed military blankets to create an aesthetic that feels both weathered, and existentially alive. The line is intentionally blurred between physical craft with digital culture through a landmark collaboration with Azuki, that merges anime-inspired artistry with couture technique.

Mink and denim were hand-sheared by a professional barber to achieve an unsettled, lived-in texture. Hand-painted, multi-layered boots were fashioned to be willfully “uncopiable,” as a sort of a provocation aimed squarely at fast fashion. Honing in on what Andrade calls “perfect imperfection,” the designer brings a recognizable Los Angeles authorship to Paris’ stage.

WOOYOUNGMI

Inspired by the history of travelers’ winter uniforms, the South Korean designer revisited eras of travel through a distinctly personal lens, reworking them for Fall/Winter ’26. The collection served as a reminder that travel is something to be dressed for—even in freezing conditions.

Practical elements ran throughout without compromising opulence or drama, striking a careful balance between function and fantasy. Fitted tailoring brought refinement to a lineup of velvet and heritage fabrications, grounding the richness of the materials with structure and precision.

And if there’s one essential to travel, it’s the bags. Elegant, structured leather travel bags punctuated the collection, rounding out the traveler’s look. Designed as polished top-handle styles, they were both purposeful and elevated—made to carry life’s valuables with style.

ZIGGY CHEN

The Shanghai-born designer finds romance in the tactile. With a focus on craftsmanship and wearability, the pieces’ construction remained visible rather than concealed, showcasing how layering can be tactfully utilized while remaining intentional and fluid.

Soft, muted tones and natural fibers highlighted texture and movement. Outerwear featured trench coats and blazers with large pockets and adjustable buttons, subtly altering fit. These quiet details prioritized function while leaving space for expression.

WALTER VAN BIERENDONCK

Among fashion connoisseurs, Walter Van Beirendonck has long occupied a singular place as one of the Antwerp Six—yet also, unmistakably, as their perennial outlier. This season, that cultivated distance crystallised intoa collection shaped by Art Brut, Outsider Art, and the radical sincerity of André Robillard’s assemblages.

In the cavernous language of youth; plastic artillery bloomed with flowers, 3D birds hovered beside guns, and garments became mutable systems, detachable and reassembled at will. War carpets were translated into knitted memories, tape was used as both material and marker, while protective covers morphed into moving shells. The models bodies pulsed beneath utilitarian smocks and EASTPAK outlines, and their silhouettes shifted with belts and removable sleeves. Fine British wools collided with nylon and plastic, and ton-sur-ton palettes tempered with chaos without extinguishing it.

The designer traced a direct parallel to childhood. This ethos animated the collection and put forth that raw pre-self-conscious state where feelings move freely into drawings, objects, and clothes; and where tenderness runs headlong into aggression.

Named after figures that stand alone, assembled from whatever is at hand, SCARE the CROW / SCARECROW becomes Van Beirendonck’s portrait of contemporary youth: dispersed, provisional, and defiantly present : a naming gesture before they are lost, unnamed, to the margins once more.