All The Highlights From The Couture A/W25 Runways
The industry’s elite has descended on Paris once more, to showcase the uppermost echelon of artisanry – the haute couture collections…
Chanel
Chanel’s AW25 collected shimmered with opera‑house grandeur – imagine oversized bows and tassels cascading like diamond fringe, with sparkling embellishments spun into the very fabric of tweeds. The maison’s signatures were out in force – plenty of camelias and wheat ear motifs – but it was the pearl adorned boots that truly caught our eye.
Ashi Studio
Ashi Studio’s AW25 couture show in Paris was a lesson in opulence, featuring corseted gowns in duchesse satin and whisper-fine Chantilly lace engineered into architectural forms; their silhouettes balancing power and intimacy with the moody sensuality of Serge Lutens and the opulent allure of Madame Claude.
Rahul Mishra
Rahul Mishra’s AW25 couture collection, Becoming Love, unfolded in Paris as a visual Sufi poem, each intricately hand-embellished look narrating a passage through the seven sacred stages of love, from tender longing to transcendent surrender. Beneath the soaring arches of the Collège des Bernardins, gilded heart-armour, cascading pearl bustiers, lotus-laced sheaths and Klimt-gold halos took hold.
Tony Ward Couture
Tony Ward’s AW25 couture presentation in Paris, titled Entre Rêve et Regard, felt like an intimate exploration of fashion history, showcasing baroque-inspired embroidery, velvet dévoré cut‑outs, and bespoke 3D appliqués that enveloped the body in ultra-romantic sheaths. Corseted waists, voluminous sleeves, metallic layers and sheer lace came together under Hôtel Pozzo di Borgo’s grand arches – this was a collection that brought drama in spades.
Georges Hobeika
Georges Hobeika’s AW25 couture show presented a collection founded on soft, otherworldly pastels, each look adorned with lace, feathers, and crystals that made ensemble look luminescent. The father-and-son atelier crafted a story of grief transfigured into grace, beginning with mourning-black velvets and evolving into celestial whites and blushes. Embroidered stars, feathered flourishes, and cascading crystal veils culminated in a final bridal look like no other.
Schiaparelli
Daniel Roseberry’s Schiaparelli AW25 couture collection transported the audience into a mysterious nocturnal realm—using a striking palette of black, white, and silver as his backdrop for provocative anatomical details like a beating heart necklace and eye-adorned column gowns. The collection played with contrasts, pairing sharply tailored matador-inspired jackets and bold sculptural bustiers alongside flowing, bias-cut fabrics, merging the refined grace of the 1940s with the power dressing of the 1980s. This was couture as wearable cinema.
Balenciaga
Demna’s last bow for Balenciaga was much anticipated, and for his couture swan song, he traded high-octane spectacle for love of the craft: think sumptuous materials, deft savoir faire, and silhouettes that were unmistakably Balenciaga through and through. There was plenty of drama – legends like Naomi Campbell and Isabelle Huppert took the runway – and the show closed with Sade’s “No Ordinary Love”, a song the designer has carried with him since childhood. Names of past collaborators echoed through the soundtrack, grounding the collection in its archives and celebrating Demna’s contribution to its lasting legacy.
Elie Saab
The ever-elegant @nojoud_alrumaihi invited Harper’s Bazaar Arabia to get ready with her for Elie Saab’s haute couture show. From the glam chair to the front row, the Saudi content creator gave us exclusive behind-the-scenes access.
After the show, @beccaxbloom shared her thoughts on the breathtaking @eliesaabworld styles from Paris Couture Week in a conversation with Harper’s Bazaar Arabia and @nojoud_alrumaihi.
