The China Mail - Men's Fashion Week kicks off in Paris with tributes for Valentino

The first day of the men's Fall/Winter 2026 edition in Paris is set to be dominated by the latest mega-production from Louis Vuitton's celebrity designer Pharrell Williams.

Louis Vuitton owner Bernard Arnault was among many in the design world to pay tribute to Valentino's "refined, radiant and sumptuous fashion" after his death aged 93 on Monday.

Williams will unveil his collection at Louis Vuitton's glitzy gallery space in western Paris at the end of day one, which also featured a debut show by French newcomer designer Jeanne Friot.

The young couturier told AFP it was "quite an unusual joy and stress" to take part.

The six days of Men's Fashion Week, which will help set the trends for the end of the year, will also feature a final farewell for Veronique Nichanian, who is stepping down at Hermes after 37 years of designing their men's collections.

The 71-year-old Parisian -- one of the few women designing in menswear -- will leave behind a brand in tremendous financial shape with an image of timeless, refined masculinity.

Her successor, London designer Grace Wales Bonner, who is of English and Jamaican heritage, represents a generational and stylistic shift for the classic family-run French house.

- Fresh faces -

Many fashionistas will be casting an eye on the Christian Louboutin show on day two where Jaden Smith -- son of US rapper-actor Will Smith -- will present his debut collection.

The model and musician, 27, was unveiled as the creative director of the famed French brand last September by founder Louboutin, who appears to be preparing to hand over the reins to the Gen Z trendsetter.

The choice is seen as a bold bet on relatively inexperienced youth by the veteran maker of red-soled stilettos, whose ready-to-wear menswear and accessories are estimated by analysts to account for about a quarter of his sales.

Also on Wednesday, much-hyped Dior designer Jonathan Anderson will unveil his second Homme collection, having made his debut in June last year with a widely praised unisex show.

But the 41-year-old's womenswear collection in September didn't convince everyone, and some observers expect him to put a more decisive mark on Dior and cement the new identity he's begun sketching out.

"There's a lot of anticipation," Alice Feillard, men's buying director at Paris department store Galeries Lafayette, told AFP.

The luxury fashion industry has undergone a wave of changes over the last 12 months at a time of weak international growth following the bumper buying frenzy of the post-Covid period.

Slowing demand from China, US tariffs on imports and uncertainty about the global economy have all weighed on sales of European brands.

- Kenzo house -

New faces such as Anderson, Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Demna at Gucci or Sarah Burton at Givenchy signal a new stable of couturiers who look set to dominate the major houses over the next decade.

Elsewhere over the week, Japanese brands from Yohji Yamamoto and Issey Miyake to Mihara Yasuhiro will be out in force.

LVMH-owned Kenzo, will hold a presentation instead of a runway show on Tuesday inside the vast Parisian house of late founder Kenzo Takada in the French capital's trendy 11th district.

The four-storey modernist building, which features a Japanese garden, will host a day-long gathering of design, food and music curated by chief creative Nigo.

US designer Willy Chavarria, who is one of a handful unafraid to express political views, also returns for his third season in Paris and might have something to say about Donald Trump's presidency on Friday.

He meanwhile paid tribute to Valentino, saying in a statement reported by the WWD fashion website that "the fashion world will be quieter" with his passing.

N.Wan--ThChM