Alaïa Spring 2027

Alaïa entered a new chapter in Paris without making too much noise about it. For its first runway collection since Pieter Mulier's departure, the house returned to the old Fondation Cartier on Boulevard Raspail, the same Jean Nouvel-designed building where Mulier presented his final collection. This time, editors lined the glass walls of the former art museum as models moved through projections across its curved surfaces. It was a setting that carried its own sense of continuity, even as the brand found itself in a period of transition.

There was no attempt to reinvent Alaïa overnight. Instead, the collection leaned into the codes that have made the house so immediately recognisable, while loosening them in subtle ways. Taut black Spencer jackets arrived with tightly spaced rows of buttons, alongside sexy leather skater skirts whose pleats spiralled downwards like a peeled apple. The iconic knit skater dress returned in softer, pretty shades including butter yellow, while other signatures were handled with a lighter touch. A burgundy leather dressmaker coat, for example, was pin-tucked through the midriff into a softly constructed bustier. Jersey dresses and skirts were pulled upwards and rolled towards the hips, creating the suggestion of panniers, while generous slits exposed the legs. These were among the collection's most interesting moments, because they pushed Alaïa's familiar sculptural language somewhere slightly less expected.

The show did not have quite the electricity of Mulier's swan song last March, but that perhaps made sense. Alaïa is taking its time before deciding what comes next, relying for now on its formidable atelier and the design talent already working within the house, including studio director Boaz Eli, who joined in 2024 after roles at Acne Studios, Loewe and Burberry. In a Paris season crowded with speculation over who will take over where, Alaïa's deliberately low-key approach felt almost refreshing. There was no dramatic statement about succession, no attempt to force a new identity before one had arrived. Just clothes that looked unmistakably Alaïa, executed with the precision the house demands. Mulier will make his Versace debut early next year; for Alaïa, the next chapter can wait.