Season of new beginnings: All the SS26 debuts at a glance
Few fashion months in recent memory have been so heavily defined by debuts before even commencing as this spring/summer 2026 season. What begins surprisingly quietly in New York and London escalates into a veritable whirlwind of designer changes in Milan and Paris. The past few years’ game of musical chairs, with creative directors switching from house to house, reaches its peak this season. With so much new talent, it’s easy to lose track – so FashionUnited has compiled the most important debuts and dates for you.
New York Fashion Week
New York Fashion Week opens the fashion month – and surprisingly quietly. Few changes at the creative helm, few debuts.
Only Balenciaga alumni Nicholas Aburn provides a breath of fresh air. On Friday, he presents his first collection for Area, having taken over from co-founder Piotrek Panszczyk earlier this year.
There was also news at Proenza Schouler, albeit without a major runway debut. At 10am on Wednesday morning, the label showed its first collection since appointing Rachel Scott. It wasn’t solely her handwriting yet – the studio designed, she consulted. A taste of things to come.
London Fashion Week
This season’s London Fashion Week is even quieter than New York. Instead of exciting designer debuts at a major fashion house, the once-celebrated event, which has lost much of its creative appeal to Milan and Paris in recent years, focuses on a “next era of British fashion”.
Under Laura Weir, chief executive officer of the British Fashion Council, London Fashion Week is to be revived. Her ambitious plan? Building a sustainable fashion economy for designers in the UK and globally.
Milan Fashion Week
What London lacks, Milan and Paris more than make up for. On September 23, the fashion world’s gaze turns to Demna Gvasalia, who unveils his vision for Gucci for the first time – a debut that is already among the most anticipated of the season.
Just one day later, on September 24, Simone Bellotti will further elaborate on his ideas for Jil Sander, having already given a first glimpse in the form of a video.
Teasers seem to be a trend this season. While Bellotti used an image film, Dario Vitale for Versace and Louise Trotter for Bottega Veneta gave a foretaste of their upcoming work on the red carpet at the Venice Film Festival. Vitale will present a collection for Versace on September 26, followed a day later by Louise Trotter for Bottega Veneta. She is the only woman to make her debut on the major Milanese catwalks this season.
Paris Fashion Week
In Paris, similar to Milan, some of the most renowned fashion houses unveil new creative visions. Miguel Castro Freitas kicks things off with his debut for Mugler on October 2. The Portuguese designer is one of the few relatively unknown names to be appointed to the helm of a major fashion house in the recent designer merry-go-round.
Quite different is the designer duo making their first appearance for Loewe on October 3. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the founders of Proenza Schouler, officially succeed Jonathan Anderson. Anderson, in turn, will show his womenswear collection for Dior on October 1. This is not a true debut, as he already presented his first menswear collection in June, but it is the first look at his interpretation of the house’s feminine codes.
Just one day later, one of the most hotly anticipated comebacks follows. Pierpaolo Piccioli, who had retired since leaving Valentino in March 2024, takes over as creative director at Balenciaga. The appointment of Dutch designer Duran Lantink as creative director of Jean Paul Gaultier also marks a return. After years of rotation at the French brand, a single designer is once again taking the reins. He will show his first collection on October 5.
Undoubtedly, the highlight is the biggest event not only of the season, but perhaps of the entire year. Matthieu Blazy presents his first show for Chanel. Ten months after his appointment and almost six years after the death of Karl Lagerfeld, expectations for the former Bottega Veneta designer are higher than ever.
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