PARIS — The luxury sector is in flux, and haute couture is no exception.

The sector is gearing up for its biggest creative upheaval in recent memory, with new creative directors due to present their first haute couture collections at Chanel, Dior and Balenciaga in January. Meanwhile, Givenchy is preparing its comeback, likely in July 2026.

As a result, it’s tempting to view the fall 2025 edition of Paris Couture Week, which runs until Thursday, as a placeholder season. 

That’s not exactly the case: Glenn Martens is set to make his debut at Maison Margiela on Wednesday, and Dubai-based designer Rami Al Ali is joining the fray as guest designer, ensuring an influx of fresh blood.

Behind the scenes, the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, or FHCM, and the French government have updated the arcane rules governing the production of made-to-measure clothing for the first time in more than two decades.

“I’m quite optimistic about the haute couture season overall,” said Sidney Toledano, head of the haute couture commission at French fashion’s governing body.

Toledano, an adviser to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton chairman and chief executive officer Bernard Arnault, noted that while Dior is sitting out the season to give its new creative director Jonathan Anderson time to settle in, the house will host client appointments.

Anderson’s predecessor, Maria Grazia Chiuri, showed 31 haute couture looks as part of her swansong show in Rome in May. 

Meanwhile, Givenchy is padding out its couture atelier in Paris following Sarah Burton’s well-received ready-to-wear debut in March. A special team in London, where the designer spends half her time, handles commissions from VVICs, Toledano said. 

“We’re getting requests for haute couture, though we have yet to show a collection on the runway. Sarah designs looks directly for certain clients,” he explained.

Chinese Resilience

Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion and president of Chanel SAS, also struck an upbeat note. The house is showing its third couture collection designed by a studio team, due to a protracted handover period for its new designer, Matthieu Blazy, who arrived on April 1.

Pavlovsky, who is president of the FHCM, said Chanel’s couture division has held up well as customers and editors await Blazy’s first designs, to be unveiled during the ready-to-wear shows this fall. 

“Chanel’s haute couture business has never been better, even if we sense, with the arrival of Matthieu Blazy, a gradual desire and curiosity among our clients to discover a new creative direction,” he said.

Tourism is thriving. International air arrivals are forecast to increase 4.7 percent year-on-year between June and August, according to data from travel intelligence company ForwardKeys.

“We continue to feel the effect of the Olympic Games,” said French Tourism Minister Nathalie Delattre.

And high-end customers from the U.S. and Middle East are still ordering custom couture looks, both for day and special occasions. 

Pavlovsky noted that among U.S. clients, many work in the tech industry. “When we offer them a fitting for haute couture pieces, suddenly, we slow down their concept of time,” he said.

While Chinese consumers have tightened their purse strings, the top-end tier is still active, with strong demand for daywear, he reported.

“Contrary to what one might think, our Chinese haute couture clientele never went away. Indeed, the majority of them are women who work and continue to travel abroad a lot,” Pavlovsky said. 

“Across the country, we’re also observing the emergence of a new generation who are increasingly interested in the values ​​of haute couture,” he added.

Relaxing the Rules

Pascal Morand, executive director of the FHCM, said that with 27 shows on the four-day schedule versus 28 in January, the season is broadly stable.

Alexis Mabille, Julien Fournié, Gaurav Gupta, Maison Sara Chraibi and Miss Sohee have dropped off the calendar, but returning brands include Iris Van Herpen, Robert Wun, ArdAzAei and Adeline André. 

“Haute couture continues to resonate very strongly across the world,” Morand said, noting that the media impact value of Paris Couture Week quadrupled between 2022 and 2025, according to data research and insights company Launchmetrics.

In order to keep pace with the changing times, the sector recently held its first major consultation since 2001.

While the government decided to maintain unchanged the regulations governing the “haute couture” label, established in 1945, it has relaxed some requirements, such as the obligation to stage two shows a year.

Brands including Balenciaga and Valentino typically present just one couture collection annually. “It has now been stated explicitly that presenting once a year falls within the scope of exemptions,” Morand said.

The Industry Ministry commission in charge of regulating couture has been reshuffled, and will designate experts whose job is to inspect qualifying houses to ensure they meet the minimum standards. These include employing at least 20 people and showing at least 25 looks a season.

“In a rapidly changing world, haute couture is a model of stability,” Morand said.

Toledano cautioned that even if certain rules are relaxed, it’s important to maintain the highest standards for the permanent members of the couture calendar.

“The rules governing the haute couture label must remain strict. It has to be truly haute couture technically,” he said. “We’re dealing with a clientele that is extremely demanding in terms of quality.”

Likewise, no matter how tight the budgets given the current downturn, houses should not skimp when it comes to the magnificence of the clothes, he said. “That’s as if you talked about a budget version of an F1 car,” he said.