Paris Fashion Week 2025: India inspired maximalist fashion

From Pharrell’s brilliantly curated India-inspired Louis Vuitton showcase to Jonathan Anderson’s much-awaited debut show at Dior, the Paris Men’s Fashion Week 2025 delivered showstoppers and surprises in equal measure. Here’s a glimpse of everything we loved and the standout moments that made this season one for the books.

Kartik Research’s debut

Kartik Research’s debut at Paris Men’s Fashion Week was a riot of colour, craft, and conviction; an energetic and long-overdue entrance onto the global runway. Titled ‘How To Make In India’, the Spring/Summer 2026 collection was Kartik Kumra’s bold, maximalist homage to his homeland, celebrating India’s instinctive layering, fearless patterns, and unabashed joy of dressing. As Jaipur Rugs lined the runway, the show challenged the dominance of “quiet luxury” with an exuberant mix of embroidery, texture, and prints

Louis Vuitton Men’s Spring’26 showcase

Louis Vuitton’s SS26 menswear showcase placed craftsmanship front and centre, making India not just an inspiration but the soul of the story. Pharrell Williams, in his second season as men’s creative director, turned Paris’s oldest bridge into a life-sized Snakes & Ladders board reimagined by Mumbai-based architect Bijoy Jain (Studio Mumbai) using local timber, marble, and stone, sculpted into LV’s classic Damier checks. The scenography was both tactile and poetic, echoing Indian design traditions with reverence, not appropriation. The show featured trunks that looked like museum pieces, some adorned with crystals and others featuring elephants and palms, while a live score co-composed with A.R. Rahman opened with spiritual restraint and built into a glorious crescendo.

Christian Louboutin Men’s Spring/Summer 2026 collection

Christian Louboutin debuted its new Sartorial line at Paris Men’s Fashion Week. Guests were transported into the world of high craft in the opulent Salon des Batailles, where artisans demonstrated la patine and le glaçage, the label’s signature finishing techniques that give the Chambeliss shoes their lustrous, layered polish. Elevating the experience further, limited-edition styles like the Farfajour and Farfanuit were adorned with delicate, hand-embroidered butterflies created by Maison Lesage, using organza, metallic threads, sequins, beads, and rhinestones.

Jonathan Anderson’s debut show for Dior

Unveiled on June 27 at Paris’s Hôtel National des Invalides, Jonathan Anderson’s debut for Dior was a playful yet poetic remix of the House’s heritage. Bar jackets took on tuxedo trims, archival couture turned into cargo shorts, and sharp frockcoats met laid-back denim. Embroideries from 18th-century France danced across sweaters and sneakers, infusing tradition with whimsy. Set in a space inspired by Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie, with still lifes by Jean Siméon Chardin on loan from the Louvre, the show struck a perfect balance of elegance with edge.

Rick Owens’s major retrospective in Paris

Rick Owens’ Spring/Summer 2026 show at Paris Fashion Week unfolded like a living prologue to his ‘Temple of Love’ retrospective at Musée Palais Galliera. The collection itself was raw, sculptural, and haunting; Owens’ unmistakable blend of European elegance and American edge. Think slashed Tuscan leathers, studded straps that echoed mythic nymphs, black leather panels exposing skin in deliberate defiance, and voluminous flight jackets in sustainable Italian fabrics. Even the shoes, his now-iconic “Burrito Sneaks” played into this performance-art-meets-fashion narrative.