Following a palpably quieter Pitti Uomo and Milan Fashion Week Men’s, Paris is dialling up the energy with a busy few days to close out the A/W 2026 men’s season. Starting strong last night (20 January), proceedings got underway with a resolutely beautiful show from Auralee, which saw Tokyo-born designer Ryota Iwai seek moments of lightness in the gloom of winter. Then it was a house party of sorts at Louis Vuitton, where Pharrell erected a contemporary home with glass walls, furniture and a lawn (made in collaboration with Shinji Hamauzu’s Tokyo-based architecture firm Not a Hotel) inside the brand’s foundation. The impressive structure set the stage for an energetic collection that journeyed through decades of menswear codes, soundtracked by unreleased music by the multi-hyphenate’s friends John Legend and A$AP Rocky.
As for the rest of the week, there’s a mixture of new beginnings and momentous goodbyes. One of the most anticipated events of the week comes yet again from Jonathan Anderson, who will present his sophomore men’s show for Dior today (21 January) at the Musée Rodin (his acclaimed men’s debut exploded beyond the industry into wider cultural dialogue, making for one of the most broadly documented fashion events of 2025). Joining the calendar for the first time is Bologna-based Magliano, who will present his Paris debut among mainstays Rick Owens, Comme des Garçons, Dries Van Noten, Issey Miyake and Sacai. Closing out the week will be an undoubtedly emotional swansong from Véronique Nichanian on Saturday, who hands her 37-year position at the helm of Hermès men’s to Grace Wales Bonner. The London-based designer will present her debut for the heritage Parisian house in January next year.
Louis Vuitton
Pharrell Williams’ latest menswear collection for Louis Vuitton was one of sartorial trickery. He called it ‘timeless’, and it was certainly rooted in the canon of menswear classics – double-breasted tailoring, gentlemanly overcoats, Harrington jackets, cableknit sweaters all featured. But, thanks to the Wonka-lik wizadry of the house of Vuitton, these were transformed through futuristic fabrications developed by the house’s atelier (in Williams’ words: ‘a wardrobe structured from lasting forms elevated through the artisanal and scientific ingenuity of Louis Vuitton’). So there were jackets that appeared to be constructed from houndstooth or herringbone tweeds, but were actually a light-reflecting technical yarn (a use of trompe l’oeil ran throughout); silk and chambray jackets with in-built thermoregulatory technology; jackets applied with crystals to appear as if the wearer had been caught in a rain shower; or simply a T-shirt crafted not from simple cotton but ultra-soft vicuña.
Williams also used the occasion to reveal Drophaus, a prefabricated home in wood and glass that sat in the centre of the showspace. Described as a ‘future living concept’, it was made in collaboration with Shinji Hamauzu’s Tokyo-based company Not a Hotel, which has created a series of architect-led vacation homes across Japan. It was another attempt to create something timeless: ‘Drophaus is my vision of the future – something that makes sense today or 20 years from now because it’s built on function, savoir-faire and real human need,’ Williams told Wallpaper*. ‘I’m not an architect. I’m a solution builder.’ Jack Moss
Auralee
With the festivities of December a distant memory and days as short as they are bracingly cold, January can feel like a spiritual affront. Last night in Paris (20 January), a day after ‘Blue Monday’ – the most depressing day of the year – one of the menswear calendar’s most sensitive designers, Ryota Iwai of Auralee, presented an affirming shot of life amid the gloom. Asking simply ‘What makes winter joyful?’, the collection found its starting point in moments of luminosity and seasonal calm, such as the feeling of crisp morning air on the skin or the delicate way that winter sun filters through cloud lines.
In practice, this resulted in a resolutely wearable co-ed collection, crafted with a deft elegance that has long been Auralee’s DNA (last year the brand celebrated a decade of business). Seeking ease in roomy shapes, the show opened with a series of looks that played with contrasting textures of comfort – reassuring deep piles of shearling hidden inside outerwear and warming textiles of nep yarn, tweed, and cashmere, which became wrap skirts edged with fringe that resembled classic scarves. Several looks harnessed the ease of throwing on a perfect pair of jeans on a winter Sunday, while lightness came in graceful silk georgette dresses and barely-there technical layers that mixed neutral tones with shocks of primary blue, yellow, and red. Ending with a series of sturdy, dark looks of timeless chic – an enveloping midnight-black duffle coat, a simple grey merino wool set – it was, as intended, a bid for joy in deepest, darkest winter. Orla Brennan
For more updates, read our live blog from Paris Fashion Week A/W Men’s 2026, where we’re covering everything from presentations to parties.