Fashion Week Day One Today + Strike at 7pm: Guide

Today Paris opens its nine-day fashion marathon. And tonight, at 7pm, the metro starts its indefinite strike. Day one belongs to the newcomers: a Belgian opener worn by pop stars, a South African debut dressed by icons, eight shows across the afternoon. Then the evening commute becomes the week’s first logistics test. The opening-day guide: what’s on today, what the week holds. And how to move through both.

From the field — Elena Marsh: calendar via FHCM/LA FORMA/Grazia (101 houses, 68 + 33). Strike via striketracker/lebonbon/Sortiraparis. Bureau via The Bureau. Companion: strike survival guide.

Today: day one, show by show

2:30pm — Julie Kegels (show + digital). The opener: an emerging Belgian label favoured by Dua Lipa and Charli XCX, back after Fall/Winter 2026–27. Openers set the week’s temperature — watch the silhouette for the season’s first signal. 3:00–6:30pm — presentations: Fidan Novruzova (3:00–6:30), Kimhekim (3:30–6:00), Vautrait (4:30–7:00) — the slow format, buyers and press drifting through. 4:00pm — Weinsanto (show). 5:00pm — Maxhosa Africa (show): the debut that matters — first time on the calendar for Laduma Ngxokolo’s South African label, worn by Beyoncé and Michelle Obama, regional representation at fashion’s top table. 6:00pm — Hodakova (show). 7:00pm — Matières Fécales (show): the closing slot, provocateurs by name and nature. Eight houses, one afternoon, the season’s overture. Most shows carry digital or livestream versions. The public watches online what the front row sees in person.

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The week: the appointments that matter

The nine days at a glance (busiest women’s edition of the season, closing the Big Four after New York, London, Milan): Tuesday Sept 29. Ester Manas 10am, Marie Adam-Leenaerdt 11:20am, Mame Kurogouchi 1pm, Dior 2:30pm, Bürc Akyol 4pm, Margiela 5:30pm, Anrealage 7pm, Saint Laurent 9pm (the dominance play, high replay value). Wednesday Sept 30 — The Row 12pm (no livestream, all discipline), Balmain 1:30pm, Dries 3pm, Stella McCartney 4pm, Vaquera 5:30pm, Acne 6:30pm, Tom Ford 8pm (Ackermann’s third act). Thursday Oct 1 — Chloé 10am (the bohemian temperature), Loewe 11:30am (the object conversation), Balenciaga 2pm, Rick Owens 5:30pm, Schiaparelli 7pm, Isabel Marant 8pm. Friday Oct 2 — Loewe 11:30am, Issey Miyake 1pm, Givenchy 5:30pm, Yohji 7pm, Victoria Beckham 8pm. Saturday Oct 3 — Celine 12pm, Vivienne Westwood 2pm, Hermès 3pm, Elie Saab 4:30pm, Comme des Garçons 5:30pm, Alaïa 6–8:30pm. Sunday Oct 4 — Miu Miu 1pm, Valentino 3:30pm (Michele’s baroque, back from Rome), Mugler 6:30pm. Monday Oct 5 — Chanel 8pm (film from 9pm, engineered image delivery). Tuesday Oct 6 — Louis Vuitton 6:30pm closes the week, as tradition demands. Slightly less packed than SS26 (74 shows) — no less decisive.

How to watch today (no invitation)

The public’s day-one playbook. Livestreams: most houses run digital or livestream versions alongside the physical show. Kegels’ 2:30pm opener streams live; check each house page (FHCM links every format). The Row excepted (no livestream, word-of-mouth only). Street style: the Sentier, Rue de Cléry and Palais de Tokyo forecourt from noon. Photographers outnumber guests, and the looks are free. Showrooms: Galerie Joseph’s Marais spaces host press days and pop-ups all week (buyers’ access varies, windows always open). Screens: fashion bars and concept stores (Le Marais, Saint-Germain) screen the big shows live. Walk in, order coffee, watch Dior tomorrow like a local. Social: houses drop first looks within the hour. Follow the official accounts, not the aggregators, for the real images. Day one is the most democratic day of the nine. Everything visible, nothing decided, nobody checking credentials on the pavement. And when the shows end and the strike begins, the street keeps its own runway going. Paris after dark, in fashion week, on foot, is the real front row. Day one done right echoes all week.

Tomorrow: Dior day

Tonight 7pm: the strike starts

The CGT-RATP indefinite notice takes effect tonight at 7pm — all staff, pay dispute, unlimited duration. Today is unaffected (arrive, watch, dine normally); from tomorrow expect reduced metro, RER A/B, bus and tram. The weekend’s disruptions (Sept 26–27 works) were the warm-up. Line 2’s autumn works (seven stations closed) run underneath everything. Practical for tonight: finish day-one venues by 6pm, dine in your own arrondissement. And check the RATP app Tuesday dawn for walkout rates per line. Automated lines (1, 14) hold best; the rest varies daily. The strike is a notice, not a shutdown. But fashion week’s evening calendar (Saint Laurent 9pm Tuesday, Tom Ford 8pm Wednesday, Chanel 8pm Monday) now negotiates with picket lines. Front-load every day; the evenings belong to whoever walks.

Eating through fashion week

Fashion week runs on lunch formulas and dinner bookings. Lunch: the Marais and Sentier bistros do the week’s best value. Formule midday menus near the venues (order the plat du jour, eat in 45 minutes, back to the shows). The 8th-arrondissement lunch traps charge double for half the food. Walk ten minutes east and prices halve. Snacks: bakery stops between shows (the Sentier’s boulangeries know the week — grab, walk, shoot). Dinner: book ahead, and book in your own arrondissement during strike week. The evening commute is the week’s known unknown. The classic move: early dinner near the last venue (7pm), then walk home through the dressed windows. Terraces: café terraces double as front rows for street style. Palais-Royal, Place des Vosges, the Tuileries edges. Order coffee, watch the week walk past. The rule: lunch light and fast (shows wait for no one), dinner booked and local (strikes forgive no one). Fashion week feeds those who plan it — and photographs those who don’t. End day one with a terrace coffee where the week walks past. Tomorrow the turnstiles thin and the real marathon starts. Nine days, one city, every look that matters. Walk it all, see everything.