Paris Men’s SS 2026, A Cultural Tapestry of Elegance, Identity, and Artistry

June 29 2025

Hermès runway at Paris Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026. (Image credit: by Bruno Staub. Courtesy of Hermès)

The final day of Paris Fashion Week Men’s Spring/Summer 2026 unfolded as a kaleidoscope of creativity and cultural resonance. Designers across the spectrum embraced themes of identity, heritage, craftsmanship, and urban ease, unspooling a six‑day narrative of sartorial expression and emotional depth.

Jonathan Anderson’s debut for Dior commanded attention with its bold reinvention. Mixing gilded coats, knits, layered cargo shorts, cravats, and precise tailoring, Anderson struck a harmony between the house’s storied elegance and his signature inventive flair. The show’s star-studded front row, Sabrina Carpenter, TXT, K‑pop idols, and Rihanna herself underscored its global cultural impact.

Meanwhile, Hermès offered an exercise in quiet opulence with a restrained yet luxurious display. Under Véronique Nichanian’s deft eye, high-waisted woven leather trousers, featherlight silks, and earthy tones of taupe and beige defined a collection built on craft and wearability. The minimalist design spoke volumes during an era of economic uncertainty, as Hermès once again demonstrated its steady hold on timeless sophistication.

Pharrell Williams’s Louis Vuitton spectacle broke conventional molds by staging a life‑size Snakes and Ladders set created by Studio Mumbai. The show bridged Indian visual motifs and playfully theatrical context, suggesting fashion can function as immersive cultural storytelling.

Saint Laurent, under Anthony Vaccarello, invoked nostalgia and liberation with a collection inspired by the queer art scene of Fire Island in the 1980s ,ethereal silks, streamlined tailoring, and subtle defiance in each silhouette.

Rick Owens’s “Temple of Love” retrospective melded performance and spiritual grandeur, while Acne Studios projected “geeky confidence” with intellectual detailing and assured simplicity.

Kiko Kostadinov transported guests to a dramatized fictional town set in a carpark, weaving a day‑in‑the‑life narrative through textured fabrics and unexpected utility pieces. Other luminaries like Wales Bonner, IM Men, Tatras, and Wooyoungmi layered cultural references from Black dandyism to East‑West fusion to sculptural silhouettes illuminating fashion’s evolving embrace of identity, heritage, and personal expression.

Beyond individual houses, Wallpaper* editors noted the event’s overarching blend of innovation, retrospection, and cultural homage. The season’s standout was its balance: theatrical statements juxtaposed with meticulously crafted minimalism, all underpinned by emotional storytelling through cloth.

The wave of star presence, Rihanna, Pharrell, K‑pop celebrities, plus high-profile photographers and editors reinforced the event’s role as a global cultural moment. Yet some shows, like Hermès’s, quietly reclaimed luxury’s power rooted in craft rather than spectacle .

By day’s end, Paris Men’s SS 2026 had affirmed fashion’s renewed mission: to reflect personal journeys, cultural narratives, and artistic heritage, while offering spaces for self‑expression, belonging, and quiet elegance. This season re-operationalized men’s fashion not merely as clothing but as conversation between past and future, craft and identity, art and everyday life.