You probably would've thought that with 2025 being a year of major changes for fashion, the upcoming Autumn/Winter 2026 menswear show season would be more or less stable. Well, you thought wrong. Somewhat.
Milan Fashion Week Men's is scheduled for 16 to 20 January, immediately followed by Paris Fashion Week Men's which will conclude with Jacquemus in the evening of 25 January. It's a noticeably more compact schedule with a number of big fashion houses opting for co-ed runway shows during the womenswear show season, but even so, there will be a number of noteworthy things to keep an eye out for.
After more than two decades of showcasing its menswear collections as pretty laid-back and thoroughly stylish presentations, Ralph Lauren will be staging a menswear runway show this season. Its last proper menswear runway show in Milan was back in 2002. The brand will be showcasing the Ralph Lauren Purple Label and Polo Ralph Lauren menswear collections on 16 January, and we already know that Mark Lee of NCT will be in attendance.
There will be a number of changes for Milan Fashion Week Men's. For starters, Zegna is back on the schedule after a one-off stint in Dubai last season. However, while it typically closes the show season in Milan, the brand will be showing on the first day at 3pm CET instead. Notably absent from this season's schedule will be Fendi, and Emporio Armani. The former's newly installed chief creative officer, Maria Grazia Chiuri, will make her debut during women's, while Emporio Armani's new strategy will now see it pivoting to co-ed runway shows during the womenswear slot.
The Giorgio Armani Autumn/Winter 2026 menswear show will be the first since the passing of the House's founder. It will still be a two-session runway show with creative direction being overseen by Armani's right-hand, Leo Dell’Orco.
Over in Paris, Véronique Nichanian is slated to take her final bow as the artistic director of the Hermes men's universe—a massive deal given her almost-four-decade-long tenure. Details of the show itself is already shaping to be a departure from her typical runway shows of seasons past. Hermès will stick to its usual Saturday schedule but in the evening instead. The show will also be relocated to Palais Brongniart, a building built in the early 19th century at the behest of Napoloen to house the Paris stock exchange, and will continue on with a party. The Maison will then only pass on the reins over to Grace Wales Bonner for her debut show in January 2027.
Kenzo is bringing it home this season, quite literally. In place of a runway show, the brand has opted for a presentation format to be held at La Maison de Kenzo. Founder Kenzo Takada built the house in 1993 in the 11th arrondissement of Paris and it was updated in 2018 by architect Kengo Kuma, two years before Takada's passing. This will mark the first time in more than a decade that the brand will not be showing a runway show for its men's collection.
For all the first-person encounters during Paris Fashion Week Men's for the Autumn/Winter 2026 show season, follow @esquiresg.
