2025 is not just another year in fashion—it’s a pivotal one. While the major debuts are slated for September, the cruise, menswear, and couture shows this summer are setting the stage for a generational shift in creative leadership. With houses like Gucci, Chanel, Dior, and Celine in transition, the months between May and July are brimming with anticipation, drama, and directional shifts that promise to redefine the look and language of fashion as we head toward Spring/Summer 2026.
A quiet storm before September
You’ve heard it before, but this time it’s real: 2025 is fashion’s year of reinvention. Nearly every major luxury house is experiencing creative turnover. From legacy giants like Chanel and Givenchy to directional houses like Tom Ford and Dries Van Noten, the carousel of talent is spinning fast and furiously. But while September promises a new wave of debuts and declarations, the real groundwork is being laid now—in the summer. What makes this summer different is the sheer density of high-profile moments unfolding across cruise, menswear, and couture calendars. Some collections mark farewells. Others introduce new creative leads. Many signal what lies ahead in the post-pandemic, post-trend, post-hype era of fashion.
Here’s your guide to the most important shows shaping the future before the Fall/Winter 2025 season officially begins.
Gucci: Archive Before the Arrival
Date: 15 May | Location: Florence, Italy | Season: Resort 2026
Designed by: Gucci Studio
Held at the historic Palazzo Settimanni—home to Gucci’s archives—the show marked the final chapter before Demna steps in this fall. The in-house studio led this resort collection, just as it did the co-ed AW25 runway in February. No menswear show is expected from Gucci this June, so this cruise presentation was effectively the last glimpse of Gucci pre-Demna. It was a poignant setting, rich with history, and symbolic of the brand’s transitional pause—a breath before the storm of transformation.
Louis Vuitton: Heritage as High Fashion
Date: 22 May | Location: Palais des Papes, Avignon, France | Season: Resort 2026
Designed by: Nicolas Ghesquière
Ghesquière, the stable captain of Vuitton’s womenswear for over a decade, staged his latest cruise collection at the awe-inspiring Palais des Papes. It’s the first time the 14th-century Unesco World Heritage site hosted a fashion show. The venue choice reinforces Ghesquière’s ongoing exploration of architecture, history, and cultural symbolism—his way of making fashion a form of heritage storytelling.
Dior: A Rumored Farewell?
Date: 27 May | Location: Rome, Italy | Season: Resort 2026
Designed by: Maria Grazia Chiuri
The show in Rome—Chiuri’s hometown—has sparked speculation. With Jonathan Anderson recently appointed to Dior Men, many believe Chiuri could be next to exit. Rome was both intimate and symbolic. If it’s indeed her swan song at Dior, this resort collection will be remembered as a graceful parting gesture: personal, elegant, and infused with the feminist signatures that defined her tenure.
Max Mara: Quiet Consistency
Date: 17 June | Location: Royal Palace of Caserta, Italy | Season: Resort 2026
Designed by: Ian Griffiths
In a world of revolving doors, Ian Griffiths is the exception. His long tenure at Max Mara brings consistency to a summer full of disruption. The Royal Palace of Caserta provided a majestic backdrop, echoing the brand’s quiet luxury ethos. Unlike the dramatic reinventions elsewhere, Max Mara’s cruise show offered continuity—a celebration of timeless Italian elegance rather than a recalibration.
Dior Men: Anderson’s Grand Entrance
Date: 27 June | Location: Paris, France | Season: SS26 Menswear
Designed by: Jonathan Anderson (Debut)
Jonathan Anderson’s debut at Dior Men is arguably the most anticipated event of the menswear season. Announced in an LVMH shareholders meeting, his appointment already sent shockwaves across the industry. Will he eventually unify Dior’s menswear and womenswear lines? Time will tell. But for now, all eyes are on Paris in late June to witness how Anderson reshapes Dior’s masculine codes through his uniquely conceptual lens.
Celine: A Return to Real Life
Date: 6 July | Location: Paris, France | Season: SS26
Designed by: Michael Rider (Debut)
Michael Rider’s return to Celine—where he once worked under Phoebe Philo—is being positioned as a nostalgic yet progressive moment. His debut will be the house’s first live show post-Hedi Slimane, whose film-based format had become the norm. Scheduled just ahead of Couture Week, the off-calendar timing suggests that Celine is ready to re-enter the cultural dialogue in real time. Expectations are high for a collection that reclaims Celine’s Philo-era minimalism while forging a new identity for the brand.
Maison Margiela: Martens’s Moment
Date: 7–10 July (Couture Week) | Location: Paris, France | Season: AW25 Couture
Designed by: Glenn Martens (Debut)
Martens’s debut for Margiela could not come at a more charged moment. After John Galliano’s critically acclaimed Spring 2024 Artisanal show, the pressure is on—but Martens is well-positioned to meet the moment. Choosing to unveil his vision during Couture Week instead of September’s ready-to-wear cycle is a strategic masterstroke. It grants him space, attention, and artistic gravitas—a signal that this isn’t just a new chapter, but a reinvestment in Margiela’s experimental DNA.
Balenciaga: The End of an Era
Date: TBC (Couture Week) | Location: Paris, France | Season: AW25 Couture
Designed by: Demna (Final Collection)
Demna’s final collection for Balenciaga is set to close out his era at the house where he revived couture after Cristóbal Balenciaga’s original legacy. His exit has not yet been followed by an announcement of a successor, heightening the suspense. While his future lies at Gucci, his final Balenciaga couture show promises to be both retrospective and prophetic—one last artistic statement from a designer who polarized and reshaped 21st-century fashion.
What this all means
This summer isn’t just a pit stop before fashion’s September rush. It’s a proving ground, a chessboard, and in many cases, a swan lake of creative transition. The resort, menswear, and couture shows from May to July 2025 are functioning as previews—unveiling not only new collections but new eras, identities, and trajectories for some of the world’s most influential fashion houses. With each show, we’re witnessing the evolving DNA of heritage brands. We’re seeing how history, legacy, sustainability, commerce, and craft are being rebalanced by a fresh generation of creatives who aren’t just designing clothes—they’re rewriting the rules.
So while the headlines in September will certainly buzz with big names and bigger debuts, don’t underestimate the slow, intentional moves of this summer. The revolution isn’t coming—it’s already begun.
