Paris Fashion Week SS27: A Comprehensive Review of the Season’s Most Striking Collections

Congratulations—you have made it to the finish line of the SS27 season, and Paris Fashion Week has proven to be quite a ride. Across the French capital, designers responded to the extreme heat of the summer months by embracing garments with light, airy, and breathable qualities. From provocative manifestos in public squares to literary donations and gold-drenched statements, the spring-summer 2027 collections captured a fascinating dichotomy of raw emotion, tactile experimentation, and high-fashion theater.

Matières Fécales grabbed immediate attention with a provocative celebration of The Ninety Nine Percent, turning the Place de la République into a manifesto-driven runway show that set a rebellious tone for the week. Elsewhere, Anthony Vaccarello delivered a gold-drenched masterpiece at Saint Laurent, while Alessandro Michele tackled the ongoing literary crisis by inviting Valentino guests to donate books to Paris’s prestigious Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève. Drew Henry also made a colorful and celebrated debut at Courrèges. Across the board at major houses like Dior, Vivienne Westwood, Issey Miyake, and Hermès, designers gravitated toward lightweight fabrics designed to combat soaring temperatures.

Yet, beneath this overarching climatic adaptation, individual fashion houses forged their own distinct narratives. A closer look at the standout presentations reveals the true breadth of creativity that defined Paris Fashion Week SS27.

JEAN PAUL GAULTIER

Duran Lantink has officially reached his first anniversary at Jean Paul Gaultier. The Dutch designer entered the SS26 cohort of new creative directors with a provocative debut collection that tended to offend as much as it titillated. Now, after a year at the helm, the overdramatic reactions from the traditionalist corners of the industry have calmed down considerably, but the designer’s radical approach to his work remains as thrilling as ever.

"With now a full-circle calendar of shows under his belt, Lantink presses his team to retain a sense of curiosity and naivety," noted this season’s show notes, summarizing the ethos in seven concise words: "Always look for something that excites you."

With global cultural figures such as Shygirl, SZA, and Jean Paul Gaultier himself sitting front row, the runway presentation brought this philosophy to life. Models emerged in stark white coats featuring comically broad shoulders, a hulking black leather jacket, and a brown leather vest whose shoulder pads had slipped forward to resemble an oddly angular, avant-garde bust. Elsewhere, Lantink worked with lines that dipped and scooped in unexpected directions. Typically demure nightgowns featured giant keyhole necklines that plunged deeply to expose conical leather bras. The rigid fabric of a spotted monokini curved dramatically off the wearer’s body, while trench coats were constructed with their own protruding breast cups, continuing the designer’s signature exploration of corporeal architecture.

TELFAR

For the SS27 season, Telfar Clemens delivered a major surprise to the international fashion industry by announcing he would show his famously New York-centric namesake label in Paris instead of his home turf. Clemens had not debuted a collection in Europe for seven years, not since his Paris Fashion Week SS20 presentation back in September 2019. Consequently, the international fashion community anticipated his arrival with bated breath—but, as is always the case with Telfar Clemens, things are rarely as straightforward as they appear on paper.

Guests arriving at the Paris venue were greeted by French DJ Crystallmess, who opened the presentation wearing a hooded, snow leopard mini dress and matching opaque tights. However, before another look could physically grace the runway, the curtains on the stage drew back to reveal a giant screen. The real show began livestreaming directly from New York City. Clemens had successfully trolled the Paris fashion elite, transforming his highly anticipated PFW comeback into a brilliant, tongue-in-cheek conceptual performance. What was entirely genuine, however, was the clothing. The collection featured seriously sexy garments ranging from slinky eveningwear to slouchy streetwear, all imbued with that signature New York nightlife edge that Clemens executes with unmatched precision.

GANNI

What would you wear if you never had to grow up? For Ditte Reffstrup, the creative mind behind Ganni, the answer is deeply rooted in the uninhibited freedom of play. Long before we develop a codified personal style, clothing serves as a personal playground. It is found in the experimentation of wearing your older sibling’s oversized jumpers or teetering around the house in a pair of your mother’s oversized kitten heels. There is an unabashed joy in getting dressed when you are simply too young to care what anyone else thinks.

At this season’s Ganni presentation, Reffstrup interpreted this chaotic, formative process through shrunken knits and exaggerated, oversized sweaters. These pieces deliberately recreated that distinct childhood feeling of wearing clothes you have already outgrown, or conversely, garments you are meant to grow into later. Denim jeans were intentionally ripped and then patched back together in mismatched panels. Midi skirts ballooned outward into voluminous bloomers tied together to create dramatic, sculptural ruffles.

The color palette darted wildly from fresh lilacs and mint greens to neon yellows and fire-engine reds, giving the impression that a giant crayon factory had exploded across the runway. This playful naivety emerged further through oversized floppy hats, candy-colored micro bags, and a cropped baseball T-shirt that cheekily demanded "Ask My Mum" in bright red lettering.

"There’s a freedom and joy that reminds me why I fell in love with dressing up," Reffstrup reflected in the official show notes. "It feels like coming home."

BALMAIN

The opening chords of The Doors’ classic track "Riders on the Storm" rumbled through the venue as real rain beat down on the pavements outside, perfectly setting the moody, atmospheric tone for Antonin Tron’s glamorous trip back in time to 1970s California. This era represented the ultimate cultural playground for icons like Jim Morrison, Joan Didion, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Michel Foucault.

Tron’s garments for Balmain were characterized by fluidity and ease—a rock-idol loucheness rendered expertly in draped jersey, skinny leather trousers, and lashings of leopard print. Iridescent coppers, golds, oranges, and pale yellows shimmered under the lights like a fading Los Angeles sunset. Meanwhile, wet-look hair and skin-hugging fabrics gave the impression that the models were staggering home from one of Didion’s famed literary parties at dawn. It was California dreamin’ at its most sophisticated.

TOM FORD

We are all familiar with the classical myth of Narcissus and what happened when he fell too deeply in love with his own reflection. But at Tom Ford this season, the models did not merely fall in love with the mirror; they practically made love to it. Glass mirrors lined the perimeter of the runway walls as models slinked past in tailored pinstripe suits worn with very little underneath, alongside full ensembles crafted from fetishistic black leather.

This presentation served as a masterclass in fantasy, drawing directly from the classic codes of seduction: stark red lips, matching red nails, and razor-sharp stilettos. Designer Haider Ackermann took Ford’s historical rich sensuality and dialed it up to maximum capacity, introducing fishnet shirts, sheer midi skirts, and intricate bra tops that left very little to the imagination. If there was ever any lingering question regarding the explicit nature of the inspiration, the runway soundtrack—brimming with heavy breathing and sensual moans—quickly put those doubts to rest. Literally.

ISSEY MIYAKE

It began with a simple piece of lightweight fabric wafting weightlessly through the air. Designer Satoshi Kondo wanted to observe firsthand how it reacted and felt against the skin before his team even began the garment-making process. He wanted to explore the airy, breathing spaces that exist between fabric and the human body.

This tangible sense of weightless ease floated effortlessly through Issey Miyake’s SS27 collection, featuring billowing crinkled silks and ballooning trench coats that trailed fluidly behind models as they walked. Each of these breezy ensembles created a voluminous effect, giving the uncanny impression that the clothes themselves were living, breathing organisms.

Staged at Paris’s historic Judo Institute, the presentation opened with eleven dancers contorting beneath a massive, billowing blue fabric that rolled across the floor like an ocean wave. As the wave parted, the first model stepped through in a bright, cornflower-blue bodice that looked precisely like a plaster-of-Paris mold fused directly to her skin. More sculptural bodices followed in stark black and butter-yellow, providing a sharp contrast to the free-floating fabrics that accompanied them: fluttering trousers, artful draping, and delicate silk scarves spilling gracefully out from tailored suits. It was a sublime celebration of movement, physical ease, and the pure art of being alive.

GIVENCHY

Sarah Burton wants to cut through the aesthetic noise. In her fourth women’s collection for Givenchy, her overarching vision avoids tired caricatures of traditional femininity, offering instead a practical, no-nonsense wardrobe tailored for the modern woman who is just as likely to command a boardroom as she is to unwind at a bar.

The opening look expressed this versatility immediately: a classic black leather shift dress with a clever twist. Zips running up the sides were deliberately left open to reveal flashes of vibrant yellow beneath. These biker motifs echoed throughout the presentation, with the collection’s raciest and most daring moments arriving via leather zippered micro-shorts, zippered knee-high boots, and a traditional biker jacket ingeniously reimagined as a sleek bodysuit.

The famously divisive peplum made a notable return in jewel-toned satin blazers paired with straight-leg denim, straight out of the quintessential millennial "jeans-and-a-nice-top" playbook. Elsewhere, ribbed cotton vest tops were styled with washed blue denim, and structured power suits arrived with razor-sharp shoulders and asymmetric fastenings.

However, Burton saved her finest statement for the finale. An evening gown heavily embellished with tapestry-like beadwork evoked a living impressionist painting, shimmering and swirling with moving brushstrokes whenever it caught the light. Proving her exceptional range, Burton demonstrated that beneath all the practical, highly wearable elements of a collection, she always leaves ample room for pure fantasy.

MARGARET HOWELL

Autumn’s first crisp breeze evokes a multitude of comforting associations: the start of a new school year, comfort-watch television shows like Gilmore Girls, and planning costumes for the autumn festivities. For anyone genuinely serious about fashion, however, the arrival of autumn brings a profound sigh of relief, marking the season when true, layered dressing can finally commence.

Margaret Howell understands precisely what it means to dress with intention. Her design philosophy is firmly rooted in clarity—consisting of well-made, timeless pieces crafted exclusively from natural fibers. This season, she constructed an archetypal autumnal wardrobe drawn from the classic codes of British heritage dressing. Soft, unstructured tailoring, breezy cottons, and knee-length pleated skirts felt heavily infused with a scholarly, autumn-academia aesthetic.

The color palette remained predominantly neutral, though sharp flashes of red broke through via a polo shirt peeking out from beneath a blazer or a jumper casually draped over the shoulders. These academic staples were subtly underscored by a literary, vagabond mood, expressed through lopsided bucket hats and lived-in, delightfully undone suiting. With durability remaining at the core of the construction, Howell delivered a functional uniform built to last for many semesters to come.

HERMÈS

According to Duolingo’s unexpected viral intervention earlier in the SS27 season, Hermès is pronounced "air-mess." While the ubiquitous green language-learning owl did not directly collaborate with the esteemed French luxury house, creative director Nadège Vanhée had air very much on her mind as well. Following a Paris summer spent desperately searching for any stray breeze to offer brief respite from the oppressive heatwaves, Hermès approached the season through gauzy, breathable knit dresses and modular zippers capable of transforming a single look from spring transitions to deep summer wear.

The first half of the collection explored a calming palette of pale colors designed to reflect the sun rather than absorb it—bluish whites, soft creams, and understated beige—while the latter half introduced vibrant flashes of primary colors like sunshine yellow and fiery orange-red. A classic silk scarf was cleverly repurposed into a top, while bandeau tops featured extreme cut-outs. It was a display of intelligent design, proving once and for all that functional luxury does not require heavy fabrics or uninspired silhouettes.

LACOSTE

In professional tennis, clay is widely considered the most physically demanding surface. It slows the frantic pace of the game down, making matches far more tactical—transforming tennis from a pure speed sport into something closer to a game of chess. For Lacoste’s SS27 collection, technical precision was concentrated in the granular details. Tennis balls were ingeniously embedded within the heels of mesh trainers, providing extra suspension and bounce. Meanwhile, the numerical motif "217" appeared repeatedly throughout the collection, honoring the blistering 217 km/h serve speed recorded by Novak Djokovic in Athens.

Designer Pelagia Kolotouros successfully served up all the elegance, grit, and physical endurance inherent to the sport, integrating movement and resilience directly into the final garments. White trainers and clothing hems were intentionally smudged with authentic clay dust. Crinkled, wet-look white polos transformed physical sweat into a badge of athletic pride.

Kolotouros sought to loosen conventional preppy standards by softening structured silhouettes and unveiling imperfect, washed silks. Cotton T-shirts appeared purposefully crumpled, while classic sportswear suits were cut loose and casually belted. The color palette remained anchored in rich red-clay and forest-green, punctuated by sudden flashes of tennis-ball yellow and wet-look cobalt blue shot through like a match-winning ace. Match, set, point.