Paris Fashion Week

The annual Fashion Week is a six-week dash which sends buyers around the globe to capture all the catwalk styles and make sure they stock up on the new trends for the Autumn/Winter season of the following year. 

Paris is the last stop after a week each in New York, London and Milan, with just one day's break between each show. 

Paris Fashion Week usually takes place during the last few days of February into the first week of March.

Most of the catwalk displays are held at the Carrousel du Louvre, below the Louvre Museum with hourly shows from 10:00 to 19:00. Shows also take place at several other venues throughout the city. There are also Catwalk Calendar Off events for the newer/alternative designers. Admittance is strictly reserved for fashion professionals only. 

During this annual event the designer's Women's Ready to Wear Fall/Winter collections are shown. The new trends, colours and must-haves are reported on avidly in the press, on French television, and subsequently by the world's press.

Paris' restaurants, hotels and watering-holes are filled with the world's models, photographers, journalists and fashion editors. It is very difficult to find accommodation in Paris during Fashion Week.

Although the event is closed to members of the public, the excitement of the event definitely adds to the glamour of living in Paris.

Open to the public

Weekly fashion shows, which are open to the public, are held in the large department stores along Boulevard Haussman. For reservation details contact Printemps department store and Galeries Lafayette. 

You can avoid all the bustle of the fashion shows and go straight to the source, by just going shopping, in the boutiques  and department stores all over Paris. Most of the world's designers have a presence in Paris.

Other annual fashion events in Paris

• The Men's Spring-Summer collections, which are shown in June or July.
• The Haute Couture collections for Fall-Winter, which are shown in July.