Paris Fashion Week’s Fall/Winter 2025 Trends Are All Over The Place

Paris Fashion Week caps off a month’s worth of runway shows — and, if you’ve been following, it can feel like, by this point, you’ve seen it all. But designers presenting their collection in the City of Light make sure we’re still paying attention by surprising, innovating, and adding to a conversation about trends that’s already three weeks deep.

Aside from the continuation of themes we’ve seen explored in New York, London, and Milan (nostalgia plays well, as does any suggestion of escapism), the Fall 2025 shows in Paris were underlined by a feeling of anticipation. The industry seems to be holding its breath for what many anticipate to be a cataclysmic shift: Julian Klausner and Haider Ackermann made debuts at Dries van Noten and Tom Ford, respectively; the rumor that this was Jonathan Anderson’s final season at Loewe — and that the Proenza Schouler boys are waiting in the wings — has all but solidified into fact; Matthieu Blazy is presumably in the studio preparing to usher in a new era at Chanel imminently. Then, there are the shifting economic policies in the U.S., with European brands unsure of what the threat of tariffs might mean for their businesses.

Still, fashion isn’t a field known to stop and wait. The seasonal cycle moves forward, with trends that reflect how we’re feeling (see: the topsy-turvy styling) and that you can translate into your wardrobe immediately (double up on belts, why don’t you?). Ahead, read about some of the biggest takeaways from the Paris Fashion Week Fall 2025 runways.

Giving Midriff

You generally expect more layers and less skin in fall collections — this season in Paris, though, designers are eschewing seasonality. Building upon the ongoing low-rise revival, brands are embracing the midriff in many different ways. At Chloé, Chemena Kamali pairs a lacy, see-through long-sleeved top cropped above the waist with a tiered maxi skirt that sits low on the hip, while at Alaïa, Pieter Mulier cuts the hem of a jacket so that each side curved upwards and meets at the floral embellishment at the neck, creating a window that exposes the stomach.

Topsy Turvy

If you’ve been looking for a trend that matches how it feels to live in this day and age, Paris has just the thing. The Fall 2025 runways are laden with looks that are upside down, right-side up, pulled in unexpected directions, or just generally worn in a way that feels… wrong. It isn’t just the avant-garde designers letting this freak flag fly, either: Christopher Esber has a one-shoulder mini with a draped drop sleeve that almost looks like a collar, while Sarah Burton’s debut at Givenchy includes a structured blazer dress made to seem like it’s backwards.

Hello, Lovergirl

Blame it on the proximity to Valentine’s Day, or the fact that Paris Fashion Week is closing out Pisces season, but designers are feeling the love — at least, that’s what the pink and red color-blocking at CFCL, Julie Kegels, and Issey Miyake suggests. It stands out among the typically brown, black, navy, and burgundy-heavy fall collections, and offers outfit inspiration you can start copping now.

On The Shoulder

Over the past few months, people have been talking about an ascendant aesthetic, dubbed “Boom Boom” by trend forecaster Sean Monahan, which romanticizes the look of ‘80s corporate bosses, resulting in an uptick in tailoring, pinstripes, and white button-downs. You can certainly see its influence across the Fall 2025 runways; in Paris, it’s especially prominent in the strong shoulders at Vaquera, Rick Owens, and Junya Watanabe (which have already established them as part of their design languages), as well as Zomer, Julie Kegels, and Stella McCartney.

Swing Low

Something we can count on every fall season is a bevy of outerwear. In Paris, designers are rallying around a handful of silhouettes for the next wave of cold weather — one of them being jackets with belts attached and cinched at the bottom, right at the hip. Isabel Marant, Christopher Esber, and Junya Watanabe adopt the style in their latest leather moto offerings. Hodakova, meanwhile, translates it into a cropped trench, while Stella McCartney renders it in olive wool.

Buccaneer-Core

There’s always a “-core” emerging from the depths of the internet, and brands in Paris are only adding fuel to the flame with looks we can only describe as pirate-adjacent — featuring big-sleeved white ruffled shirts over black vests and jackets, worn either with form-fitting trousers or billowy skirts — at McQueen, Ann Demeulemeester, and Dior.

Do The Duffle

Yourself Cultured’s Jalil Johnson has been ringing the bell for duffle coats for some time now, and the Fall 2025 collections across New York, London, Milan, and Paris have proved him right. On the last leg of fashion month, we see them cropped and mint green at Kenzo, with an attached oversized scarf at Julie Kegels, in black leather at Duran Lantink, and long and hooded at Marie Adam-Leenaerdt.

Wrapped Up

Designers find inspiration in the most unexpected — and, sometimes, mundane — places. The thin layers of see-through plastic over runway looks at Julie Kegels, Rabanne, and Pressiat suggest, maybe, they’re borrowing from couch protectors seen at many an elderly relative’s house. At least you know your clothes will be safe from the elements.

Elizabethan Vibes

Stiff, ruffled collars may call to mind the Elizabethan era, but the ones we’re seeing on the Fall 2025 runways draw from a broad range of source material. Maria Grazia Chiuri is the only one truly inspired by the period: Her latest for Dior references Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, which is set over 300 years, beginning in the early 1600s. At McQueen, Seán McGirr looks to London dandyism and Oscar Wilde. Kunihiko Morinaga, meanwhile, mimics the block-by-block look of characters on gaming platforms like Minecraft and Roblox at Anrealage.