Reading time: 5 minutes

06.10.2025

During Paris Fashion Week, the names of giants like Dior, Chanel, and Saint Laurent usually take the spotlight. But beyond the main runways, there’s a vibrant world where independent and local designers are showing where fashion is truly headed. Here are the ones to know right now.

Ruohan Nie, a designer from China based in Paris. His collection “Rhythmic Summer” is all about asymmetry, broken lines, and fabric that seems to live its own life.

In the old Bourdelle Museum, Ellen Hodakova Larsson once again proved that fashion can have a second life. In her SS26 collection, she literally reincarnates objects — umbrellas turn into corsets, leather scraps become shoes, and the everyday gains poetry. This is a story about transformation and the freedom to create from what already exists — not protest, but gentle alchemy.

Victor Weinsanto, with a theatrical background, turns the runway into a carnival. His collection bursts with club energy, drama, and vivid details that you can’t take your eyes off.

Julie Kegels works with fabric like a sculptor with clay. Her SS26 features soft forms, handcrafted details, and femininity unafraid of being contradictory.

Mossi Traoré connects aesthetics with social context. His collection presents clean lines, artisanal details, and clear elegance: clothing that is honest yet deeply beautiful.

A duo of French designers focusing on gender fluidity. Their pieces are always dramatic and sensual. In this collection, they mix transparency, slits, and soft silhouettes. The play between concealment and revelation — that’s their dialogue with fashion and society.

A designer of Turkish origin with a Parisian soul turns the night into a metaphor for desire and inner strength. Soft draping, oriental motifs, flowers — Burç Akyol transforms the night into a metaphor for longing and power within.

A Georgian brand by Irakli Rusadze. Known for strong, almost rebellious silhouettes. SS26 brings strict lines, monochrome tones, and an emphasis on personal independence.

A young brand from Belgium working with minimalist aesthetics. Distinguished by purity of lines and refined simplicity. In the SS26 collection, they continue exploring lightness through airy fabrics.

Paradoxical minimalism and rock glamour in one bottle. In SS26, he once again turns to leather, punk details, and bold forms. This collection is for those who want to look strict but not without character.

The Swiss brand by Albert Kriemler focuses on restrained luxury and practicality. Intellectual minimalism and innovative fabrics speak to the strength and elegance of the modern woman.

Alain Paul is a young French designer who plays with the grammar of tailoring. In SS26, he presents asymmetric jackets, layering, and a challenge to masculine norms.

A Belgian designer with a conceptual approach. Her brand studies everyday objects and transforms them into fashion. In SS26, she reinterprets the mundane: pleats, transformable elements, and ironic proportions.

Eddie Maitrepierr, a French designer. The brand is known for digital experiments and pop culture references. In SS26 — cyber-glamour, bright materials, and an ironic look at the future of fashion. In the SS26 collection, unofficially titled “Cyber Candy,” he combines vivid materials, plastic inserts, and cuts referencing the ’90s.

Duran Lantink — a master of upcycling and deconstruction from the Netherlands. In SS26, he once again showcases hybrid pieces made from scraps and unexpected forms with provocative prints.

These 10 local brands caught the eye of those who could wear anything. And they chose this.

Independent European artists are reimagining technology — from VR utopias to digital makeup.

Tired of sameness? Let’s look where stories live — in pieces made by hands, not machines. Choosing independent artists means wearing meaning.