PARIS - Men's Fashion Week kicked off in Paris on Tuesday with a celeb-heavy Louis Vuitton show as designers and industry leaders mourned the loss of Italian maestro Valentino.
Celebrity designer Pharrell Williams sent out models wearing long wool coats, loose-fitting suits --sometimes with Bermuda shorts -- short jackets, or fitted parkas with fur-trimmed hoods.
A guestlist heavy in US performers included Usher, John Legend, SZA and Joe Keery who took their places on the front row alongside Louis Vuitton owner and tycoon Bernard Arnault.
Arnault was one of many leading industry lights to pay tribute to Italian designer Valentino Garavani's "refined, radiant and sumptuous fashion" after his death aged 93 on Monday.
Designers, supermodels and actresses have publicly mourned the loss of another Italian style legend, just four months after the passing of Giorgio Armani.
The Fall-Winter 2026 Paris Fashion Week follows on from Milan where trend-spotters say the recent fad for large oversized tailoring appears to have peaked.
Designers seem to be reverting to more classic, regular tailoring, either as a response to geopolitical uncertainty or as a bankable commercial move at a time when the luxury clothing industry faces a slowdown.
As well as setting the trends for the end of the year, the six days of Men's Fashion Week will also feature a final farewell for Veronique Nichanian, who is stepping down at Hermes after 37 years of designing their men's collections.
The 71-year-old Parisian -- one of the few women designing in menswear -- will leave behind a brand in tremendous financial shape with an image of timeless, refined masculinity.
Her successor, London designer Grace Wales Bonner, who is of English and Jamaican heritage, represents a generational and stylistic shift for the classic family-run French house.
On Wednesday, fashionistas have been vying for spots at the debut Christian Louboutin show by Jaden Smith -- son of US rapper-actor Will Smith -- who will present his debut collection.
The model and musician was unveiled as the creative director of the famed French brand last September by founder Louboutin, who appears to be preparing to hand over the reins to the Gen Z trendsetter.
The choice is seen as a bold bet on relatively inexperienced youth by the veteran maker of red-soled stilettos, whose ready-to-wear menswear and accessories are estimated by analysts to account for about a quarter of his sales.