Fashion Month concluded on 7 October in Paris. Over four weeks, journalists and buyers discovered the new collections from the major brands in the fashion capitals. A notable fact: only one of these collections was designed by a woman, British designer Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta.
In 2025, it is hard to believe that there are still so few female designers leading global designer brands. In Belgium, there’s a new wave of fashion talents taking over the industry which includes female designers mostly, a significant change that is highly welcome and appreciated. Trotter’s first collection for the Italian brand was a triumph, offering newness while respecting the DNA of the brand. All the other designers showing debut collections were men.
In her brilliant review of fashion month written for the New York Times, American journalist Vanessa Friedman deplored the fact that designers felt the need to constrict female bodies, while sometimes hiding their faces or putting braces in their mouths. She was referring to Maison Margiela’s debut collection designed by Glenn Martens, as well as Nicolas Di Felice’s latest show for Courrèges, which included a few veiled women.
Both Glenn Martens and Nicolas Di Felice are talented designers, but it was brave -and relevant- of Friedman to remind us that portraying women in a certain way on the catwalk is not innocent and does have consequences. In 2025, women’s bodies should no longer be constricted in silly corsets, or ridiculed with gimmicky accessories. Shouldn’t fashion be empowering them, instead of fetishizing them?
In many ways, it is Marine Serre who paved the way for a new generation of female talents to come to the fore and launch their own brands. One remembers how Serre’s graduation collection for la Cambre Mode[s] was picked up and sold by Opening Ceremony, which means she already had visibility -and an industry following- as a young female graduate. Marine Serre is an international designer brand now, and I really believe she gave confidence to her female peers to just go for it and take a leap of faith.
Today, a new generation of female designers coming from Belgium understands that women want to feel fashionable, without looking like caricatures. Marie Adam-Leenaerdt showed a great collection in the rehearsal space of Opéra Bastille, a significant landmark for French people. Adam-Leenaerdt’s clothes are playful, intelligent and elegant, which means she can dress teenagers, mothers and their mothers, too. Inspired by travel, the Brussels-based designer introduced cabin bags with multiple compartments and clothing sets that could be transformed depending on your needs, a perfect way to solve packing anxieties before one leaves the house. While displaying an ironic sense of humor -and featuring hints to Belgian surrealism- Adam-Leenaerdt’s clothes are functional and easy to wear. This emphasis on practicality, combined with the right amount of fantasy, is definitely something female designers know how to do well, although striking such a fine balance can be rather challenging.
For Meryll Rogge, keeping a sense of reality matters, too, and she closed Paris Fashion Week with a dynamic and youthful collection, inspired by Goth, Rock and Punk. Rogge’s following has been growing every year and she won the prestigious ANDAM Prize last July, before being officially announced as Marni’s new Creative Director. Rogge moved to Milan with her family last summer, but still travels to Belgium to work on her own line. She also showed great menswear looks inspired by the 1970s and Ska culture. What makes her work Belgian is its emphasis on quality, character and authenticity. Everything can be worn, even the most audacious pieces. Highlights included colorful lace and satin dresses, roomy leather blousons and folded quilted skirts, which referenced hiking gear. Rogge mixed it all up to give the collection a fresh and spontaneous appeal, and it was nice to see her acting less controlled than usual.
Julie Kegels is another Belgian designer who is gathering more fans every season with her playful take on a woman’s wardrobe that really needs to work harder for her. She explored the idea of everyday transformation, taking her women from breakfast to evening. While some pieces deliberately looked undone, with bra straps exposed and shapes stretched out, the overall effect was more flirty than provocative. There’s a prettiness in Kegels’ clothes many women can relate to, and it will be interesting to see how her voice grows and develops.
Of course, one could not talk about Paris Fashion Week without mentioning the Chanel show and how French-Belgian designer Matthieu Blazy won over his audience with a collection that updated Chanel codes for a new era. Blazy wanted to bring slouchiness and a relaxed attitude to the Chanel suit, which he did mostly thanks to his use of innovative textiles and subdued embellishments. Some of his offerings, such as curved jackets inspired by American football, will be harder to wear and less flattering. In general, the simplest pieces were the best, such as elegant men’s shirts made in collaboration with Charvet, or a draped evening gown in cream satin that looked like flowing water on the body. Overall, it was a strong proposal from the graduate of La Cambre Mode[s] who previously worked for Bottega Veneta in Milan.
Anthony Vaccarello knows how to deliver dramatic shows, and his last Saint Laurent collection was no exception. Once again, he zoomed in on the 80s and early 90s with big leather biker jackets, oversized outerwear and spectacular flamenco-inspired evening dresses. While the execution of his pieces was flawless, Vaccarello’s recipe for the French House started becoming a little predictable. In fact, I’m not sure that women will want to wear massive 80s shoulders in 2026. We all appreciate a bit of nostalgia, but perhaps it is time for fashion to move forward and embrace the future, regardless of all its concerns.
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Title picture: Dries Van Noten ss26 (c) Catwalkpictures