Haute Couture: FHCM releases Paris show calendar for January 2021

By

Godfrey Deeny

Published
Dec 24, 2020

The Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM), French fashion’s governing body, has released the show calendar for the next haute couture season in Paris, and despite the pandemic it’s going to be a pretty busy week.

Paris’s next haute couture season will be staged from Monday, Jan. 25 to Thursday, Jan. 28. Though, as yet, it remains unclear how many houses will stage live shows, presentations or online videos. A final decision will be made depending on whether French lockdown rules change in the new year.
 
All told, a total of 32 couture houses are listed on the official calendar, which will debut with Schiaparelli on the Monday morning and finish with the couture debut of American fine artist Sterling Ruby on Thursday evening.

The season will feature three other major debuts. On Tuesday evening the highly acclaimed former Lanvin designer Albert Elbaz will unveil his first collection for his fledgling new project AZ Factory, which is being financed by the giant luxury group Richemont.

While the next day, it is the turn of debutant Kim Jones to make his start as creative director of womenswear at Fendi. With a show inside the Borse, the former stock market of Paris. And later on Wednesday, comes the moment when Sacai’s Chitose Abe becomes the first guest designer to create a collection for Jean Paul Gaultier, since the founder’s retirement last year.
 
In a pretty packed four days, the calendar also includes mega fashion labels such as Christian Dior, Chanel, Valentino and Giorgio Armani Privé; and hyper avant garde stars or cool insiders – such as Iris Van Herpen, Julie De Libran and Charles de Vilmorin.