Louis Vuitton’s Paris fashion show is a moving masterpiece

PARIS (AP) — Screaming fans jammed the gates before the Louvre pyramid, blocking entrances and snarling traffic. They weren’t there for the Mona Lisa. They came for Louis Vuitton — and for the front row.

Emma Stone sat with Zendaya, Jennifer Connelly, Jaden Smith, Ana de Armas and Sophie Turner, a casting flex that says as much about Paris Fashion Week today as any silhouette. The runway is no longer the only stage; the front row is the second show, shaping the brand’s message in real time.

Inside gilded salons, with fall light pouring through 17th-century windows once used by Anne of Austria, Nicolas Ghesquière staged another jump through time. His Spring–Summer 2026 collection fused past and present, with corseted waists, Juliette sleeves, tubular arms, giant silk turbans. Feathered collars mimicked fur, while baggy, sultan-style trousers added an Eastern beat. A striped, ruffled coat winked like Pierrot as a bejeweled gown flashed back at the murals.

“The collection is a celebration of intimacy and the boundless freedom of the private sphere,” Ghesquière said — “an exploration of archetypes of genre” and the “ultimate luxury of dressing for oneself.” The set, styled as a contemporary apartment inside the Louvre, pushed the idea of private elegance into public spectacle, while Cate Blanchett’s reading of David Byrne lyrics kept the mood reflective.

Ghesquière’s signatures were clear. He blends eras with ease — Renaissance echoes snapped into modern attitude. Structure felt light: corsetry that moved, tailoring that floated. The apartment-in-a-museum also nodded to travel — Vuitton’s core DNA — and to the designer’s habit of crossing centuries. Surfaces were couture-level with feathers, crystals and rich washes that blurred costume and ready-to-wear.

But familiar critiques surfaced. The storytelling dazzles in scenes rather than as one arc: Pierrot styles, Ottoman trousers and silk turbans landed like vivid chapters, not always a single book. And despite talk of intimacy, little felt everyday. With Ghesquière, concept and embellishment often outrun repeatable wardrobe.

On this sunny Paris day, the Louvre wasn’t about one masterpiece on a wall. It was a moving one — Vuitton at full power, arguing that fashion can be both spectacle and a “manifesto of individuality.”