Depending on your algorithm‭, ‬and it really does depend on your algorithm‭ (‬think twice about engaging with online content that you're not prepared to see a whole lot more of‭), ‬you may have noticed that it's been Paris Fashion Week‭. ‬

Paris is the most Fashion of all the Fashion Weeks‭, ‬far out-fashioning the rest‭. ‬Which can be crudely‭, ‬and often unfairly‭, ‬summed up as‭: ‬New York‭ (‬too commercial to be fashion‭), ‬London‭ (‬too avant-garde to be commercial‭) ‬and Milan‭ (‬too flamboyant to be avant-garde‭*). ‬Paris‭, ‬though‭; ‬that's where creativity and commerce collide in a light show to rival the Eiffel Tower on its twinkliest night‭. ‬And the most recent edition of PFW‭, ‬as industry insiders refer to the nine-day event‭, ‬was billed as the most important of our lifetimes‭. (‬Whether you‭ ‬place import on that kind of thing or not‭, ‬fashion is a massive employer and cultural pied piper‭.) ‬Why‭? ‬Because three of the biggest brands in the French capital debuted new creative direction for spring/summer 2026‭ ‬under designers who had previously worked their magic for rival houses‭. ‬

At Dior‭, ‬Jonathan Anderson joined from a starry‭, ‬11-year stint at Loewe that revolutionised the‭ ‬Spanish brand‭. ‬For Chanel‭, ‬Matthieu Blazy brought the material magic he previously wove through Bottega Veneta‭. ‬And at Balenciaga‭, ‬Internet-breaker Demna‭ (‬now at Gucci‭) ‬was replaced by former Valentino maestro Pierpaolo Piccioli‭. ‬For those in the industry‭, ‬this is earth-shattering stuff‭. ‬

For the rest of us‭, ‬PFW might be reduced to a brief debate over WhatsApp as to whether the pixie cut debuted by Kim Kardashian at the Alaïa show is a wig or not‭. ‬One chic friend messaged me to enthuse over Chanel's shirting collaboration with 187-year-old house Charvet‭, ‬the three show styles weighted with a chain at the hem and embroidered‭ ‬with the legend Tissu et technique par Charvet‭.

‬Far more pings‭, ‬though‭, ‬as multiple 40-something friends expressed awe at 58-year-old Nicole Kidman's appearance on the Chanel front row‭, ‬and the announcement that she rejoins the House as an ambassador‭, ‬more than 20‭ ‬years after‭ ‬starring in a short film directed by Baz Luhrman to promote Chanel's No.5‭ ‬fragrance‭. ‬The best of which simply read‭, ‬'Have you seen Nicole Kidman at Chanel‭? ‬We're not old‭, ‬just poor'‭, ‬referencing the fact that Kidman has barely aged a day since appearing in front of Luhrman's lens two decades ago‭. ‬

Meghan Markle in stateswoman-like white at Balenciaga also raised a ripple of mentions‭. ‬But deeper engagement is arguably driven by our homegrown heroes repping the region in the fashion capital of the world‭. ‬To wit‭: ‬Saudi's most glamorous expat‭, ‬Georgina Rodriguez‭, ‬wife of Al Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo‭, ‬showed up at Balenciaga‭, ‬along with former Dubai schoolgirls‭, ‬and now LA-DJs and beauty entrepreneurs‭, ‬the Palestinian twins Simi and Haza Khadra‭.

‬Dubai's most famous fashionista-in-residence‭, ‬Karen Wazen‭, ‬was there too‭. ‬Wazen also attended Anderson's debut show at Dior‭, ‬along with Saudi fashion influencer and entrepreneur Nojoud Alrumaihi‭, ‬and Lebanese actor Razane Jammal‭. ‬At Saint Laurent‭, ‬no new designer‭, ‬but a new GCC makeup ambassador for Yves Saint Laurent Beauté in the form of Lebanese singer Dana Hournai‭. ‬From Dubai with love‭, ‬en effet‭.‬

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