Paris Fashion Week, for all its glitz and peacocking, is still a business event. Don’t let the viral moments and fancy outfits distract you from the fact that this is just another cycle in the business of selling clothes and, despite what Instagram may show, most of the action happens off the runway. Hundreds of brands show their collections in showrooms peppered across the city. The largest showrooms can host as many as 120 brands or more in large convention centers, while independent labels often pool their resources to rent pop-up spaces for their own DIY presentations. And then there are the lone wolves who either have the following and the capital to go solo, or simply have the hutzpah to do it out of an Airbnb (or even a box truck). And those are just the brands that make clothes—PFW is also a time for brand pop-ups and parties, which also drive the fashion convo in other ways.
Showrooms don’t usually have the pizzazz or drama of a high-production runway, but they do offer an up-close look at the clothes themselves. There, buyers and editors can touch the garments, scrutinize them, even try them on for size. You can gab with the designers themselves and nerd out on all of the microscopic nuances of the product and the processes that got them there. If the runway is a movie, then the showroom is a video game.
As my colleagues whipped across town from runway to runway, covering big-tent shows like Louis Vuitton and Willy Chavarria, I scuttled between as many showrooms as my body would allow to see what the hell was happening on the ground floor. For the spring 2027 season, I’d expected plenty of crispy lightweight fabrics in open weaves and loose silhouettes, yet the throughlines that emerged were exciting and surprising. From dusty rose hues dominating everything from outerwear to footwear, to a million takes on seersucker, to constant experimentation with collars, here’s an insider’s look into the best things I saw at the other fashion week.
Carter Young’s Fire-Engine Red Swing Jacket
Carter Young’s latest collection felt transatlantic, with a clear Americana foundation filtered through more British sensibilities. Makes sense for the Michigan-born ex-pat who’s now based in London. This season featured silky plaid shirts thin enough to be translucent, loose-gauge knits with vintage-style necklines, and soft tailoring. The stand out was this red-hot jacket which was good enough to make me consider layering up—even as Paris broiled in record heat.
Chris Fenimore
