At the Spring/Summer ‘26 couture season, the natural world is an endless source of inspiration.

Robert Wun’s Spring 2026 couture collection (Photo: Getty Images)

Paris Couture Week saw stunning debuts by Matthieu Blazy and Jonathan Anderson for Chanel and Dior respectively. And while the shows by these established fashion houses were incredible to watch, what stood out was also the triumph of smaller, independent Asian designers, such as Miss Sohee, Robert Wun, and Vietnamese newcomer Phan Huy. Together, these designers up the ante in craftsmanship, creativity, and theatricality. 

Read BAZAAR’s round-up of the best Spring 2026 creations at Paris Couture Week.

Floral Fantasy

Among the most anticipated shows at Paris Couture Week was Jonathan Anderson’s debut couture collection for Dior. And it was a true coup de maître in every aspect. Staged in a spectacular mirrored hall softened with a ceiling of moss and flowers, his curved, anthropomorphic silhouettes–inspired by the ceramic vases of Magdalene Odundo–were accompanied by hand-dyed silk bouquets of cyclamen, cascading orchid blooms, and fringed tapestries resembling moss. In the same vein, there were also close studies of flowers in Miss Sohee and Georges Hobeika’s glittering floral embroidery. 

Fine Feathers

Matthieu Blazy also makes his couture debut at Chanel on a powder pink set in the Grand Palais with fluttering leaves and giant mushrooms. His show plays out like a dream sequence, where an aviary of domestic and exotic birds glides down the runway, from the simple grey pigeon and black raven to flamboyant cockatoos and spoonbills. 

As birds of a feather flock together, Schiaparelli’s Daniel Roseberry also draws inspiration from these airborne creatures. Fans of feathers transform collars into sharp wings, an ostrich bustle is made from white tulle embroidered with black mimosas, and the heads of birds appear on shoes, painstakingly crafted from foam and resin with a leather beak acting as the pointed toe.

High Drama

Robert Wun (Photo: Getty Images)

What interests these designers are the stories of humanity. At Valentino’s Specula Mundi show, creative director Alessandro Michele interrogates our innate desire for entertainment, while paying tribute to the late Valentino Garavani’s love of cinema; we peer into the lens of a modern kaiserpanorama to see his theatrical masterpieces. Another examination of human rituals is the beauty of grief found in Mohammed Ashi’s couture creations; Victorian mourning rituals and memento mori find their way into his corseted gowns. 

Broadening the perspective, Rahul Mishra and Robert Wun’s existentialist collections celebrate the human body as it has existed over thousands of years; the former looks to the elements that sustain us while the latter draws inspiration from Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam.

Threads of Gold

Tamara Ralph (Photo: Getty Images)

The Vietnamese designer behind Phan Huy makes his well-deserved entrance into the Paris Couture Week line-up with Cành Vàng Lá Ngọc (which translates to ‘The Golden Branch and Jade Leaf’). Regal opulence permeates through the collection as he channels the ceremonial fabrics and historic silhouettes from imperial aesthetics of the Nguyen Dynasty. Equally delicate and light, Japanese designer Yuima Nakazato recreates the bark of ancient Yakusugi cedar trees found in Yakushima, while Australian designer Tamara Ralph pays homage to age-old Asian folding crafts.