Chappell Roan and Lola Young sit front row for Vivienne Westwood’s Paris show

Stockings, oversized headwear and 80s punk tailoring dominated the runway at the autumn/winter 2026 show for Vivienne Westwood during Paris Fashion Week, as creative director Andreas Kronthaler delivered a theatrical collection that continued the house’s legacy of deconstruction and norm-defying style.

Models emerged from dramatic lighting that cast long reflections across the runway floor, creating a stage-like atmosphere that suggested the show was as much performance as it was a fashion presentation, a hallmark of the Westwood house, long known for challenging conventions of class, gender and historical dress.

For autumn/winter 2026, those motifs were evident in a collection that fused historical references with exaggerated and subverting tailoring.

Broad-shouldered silhouettes dominated the runway, with plaid (another trend also seen at Chloe) overcoats layered over ruched pencil skirts and pussy-bow blouses.

The boxy tailoring echoed the Eighties power silhouette currently resurfacing across fashion month, but filtered through Westwood’s irreverent lens.

Elsewhere, peplum skirt suits reworked classic cuts into sculptural silhouettes that nipped dramatically at the waist before flaring outward.

The designer also leaned heavily into Westwood’s long-standing fascination with historical dress.

Platform heels and slouchy knee-high boots gave a nod to Westwood’s punk era, while stockings, another trend seen widely across the autumn/winter runways, created a provocative edge.

Headwear was particularly dramatic.

As with many Westwood collections, the show also questioned traditional ideas of gender in clothing.

The approach echoed Westwood’s long-standing exploration of clothing as both political and cultural commentary.

Born from the punk movement of the late 70s, Westwood’s designs frequently challenged the conventions of establishment fashion.

Over the decades she drew inspiration from historical garments, including corsets, bustles and crinolines, often reinterpreting them with a rebellious twist.

Kronthaler’s latest collection continued that dialogue, combining heritage tailoring with avant-garde construction.

The show’s finale delivered one of the most striking looks of the evening: the Vivienne Westwood bride.

The outfit itself consisted of a precise and tightly tailored two-piece with a cinched waist and long column skirt.

More than four decades after Westwood helped reshape British fashion, the house continues to explore the tension between history and rebellion.

And under Kronthaler’s direction, the label’s signature mix of historical references and theatrical flair remain firmly intact on the Paris runway.