Paris Haute Couture FW25: Demna’s farewell, Glenn Martens’ debut, and fashion’s finest, unprecedentedly compared to football’s epic moments
Paris Haute Couture FW25 in football terms? Think of it as the Champions League of fashion design. Four days of creative events and performances where top-tier players lit up the Parisian pitch with stunning performances. Critics will soon announce their picks for fashion’s Ballon d’Or, but honestly, every designer’s effort deserved a standing ovation. Here are some standout highlights—presented, of course, in football terms.
Why use this approach? Because we went all in: after previously dropping the best of Paris Fashion Week SS26 menswear in pure hip-hop style, we’re now raising the stakes even higher.
Glenn Martens’ Margiela Debut: A Couture Play in Romário’s Style
There was a lot of anticipation surrounding Glenn Martens’ debut at the legendary Belgian house, Maison Margiela. It was no small task—stepping into a role so closely associated with John Galliano’s formidable legacy was always going to invite numerous comparisons. But the Bruges-born designer embraced the challenge with fearless intent, starting with the toughest test of all: haute couture, known as Maison Margiela Artisanal within the OTB-owned maison.
Outfit featuring armored silver gown with jewel-encrusted mask. Courtesy of Maison Margiela.
A procession of models with covered faces—a clear nod to the maison’s founder, Martin Margiela—set the tone for a collection that was as visionary as it was eclectic. Drawing from Flemish heritage, a cultural touchstone for both the brand and Martens himself, the collection remained true to the house’s DNA. The result was an enigmatic, high-voltage showcase that flirted with chaos, featuring a whirlwind of materials ranging from plastic to leather. It incorporated a vast arsenal of techniques, including patchwork, hand-painting and layering, all channelled into a body of work that felt spooky, taunting, and impossible to pin down.
Ensemble featuring a sculptural molten wrap in crinkled velvet. Courtesy of Maison Margiela.
This same sense of unpredictability has long been the secret weapon of football’s most elusive dribblers—the ones who turn chaos into magic. Few exemplified this better than Romário. Often cited among the greatest strikers of all time, the Brazilian legend was a master of spontaneous invention in tight spaces and split-second decisions. Need proof? Think of his famous no-look feint against Uruguay in 1993, or the legendary “Cola de Vaca” move against Real Madrid—a swift body swerve at the edge of the box to get past the defender and score. His style was anything but conventional, and his endless repertoire of creative possibilities made him an enigmatic presence in the penalty area, leading to numerous trophies for the clubs he represented.
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Snapshot of Romário's iconic trick "Cola De Vaca" against Real Madrid.
Could Glenn Martens become Margiela’s equivalent of Romário? With each collection, he builds a creative enigma designed to surprise.
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Looks from Maison Margiela Artisanal FW25. Courtesy of Maison Margiela
Demna’s Last Balenciaga Couture Show: A José Mourinho-Style Farewell
But Paris wasn’t just about grand entrances—it also marked an unforgettable farewell. This Haute Couture Week FW25 officially closed the chapter on Demna’s time with Balenciaga, a partnership that will be analysed and admired for years to come. Demna’s final couture show felt like the climax of a decade-long journey, one that fused the house’s historical codes with his radical, avant-garde vision.
Look feauturing sculptural beige trench coat with exaggerated proportions. Courtesy of Balenciaga
The collection opened with a dark, gothic reimagining of classic bourgeois silhouettes. Tulip lapels, sculpted shoulders, and exaggerated collars created a tension between structure and release—between couture as armour and couture as rebellion. His technical prowess was on full display, from featherlight outerwear to show-stopping feats like trompe-l’œil corduroy made from 300 kilometres of embroidery. The runway moments hit with impact: a Marilyn Monroe–inspired gown, with Kim Kardashian transformed into a modern-day Elizabeth Taylor, dripping in feathers and diamonds, all reinforcing the show’s layered dialogue between past icons and contemporary provocation.
Black sharp tailored coat with feathered collar. Courtesy of Balenciaga
Demna’s time at Balenciaga was marked by relentless reinvention and intentional disruption, propelling the maison forward by challenging fashion’s norms—a journey not unlike that of José Mourinho during his iconic tenure at Inter Milan. Arriving from Chelsea in 2008, the self-proclaimed “Special One” made an immediate impact, ruffling feathers with bold statements, public confrontations with referees and journalists, and ensuring his presence dominated every back page. But he wasn’t all talk; in just two seasons, he secured back-to-back Serie A titles and a Coppa Italia.
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Jose Mourinho arrived at Inter Milan in 2008 after remarkable results at Porto and Chelsea.
His crowning achievement, however, was Inter’s remarkable Champions League run in 2010. Combining peak defensive football with lethal counter-attacks, Mourinho led his team past Europe’s elite and into the final against Bayern Munich. Rumours swirled that it would be his last match before moving to Real Madrid. Yet, like Demna, he had one last show to deliver—and he did just that, orchestrating a spectacular 2–0 victory that etched Inter’s name in football history.
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Snapshots from Inter Milan’s 2–0 triumph over Bayern Munich in the 2010 Champions League Final.
In both cases, what began with controversy and unconventional methods ended in legacy. A reminder that the road to the top doesn’t have to follow the usual playbook—sometimes, true brilliance lies in rewriting it.
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Looks from Balenciaga Haute Couture FW25
Robert Wun’s Surrealist Couture: Genius Moves Like Ronaldinho
This Paris Haute Couture Week also provided a platform for some bold creative statements, one of which certainly didn’t go unnoticed: Robert Wun. In a haunting show at the redesigned Théâtre du Châtelet—now transformed into a cavernous dreamscape—the London-based designer delivered pure magic. From blood-red handprints smeared across couture gowns to Baroque lace reimagined through sculptural, futuristic silhouettes, he sent out a series of refined yet razor-sharp creations, all wrapped in a surreal energy that kept the audience guessing at every turn.
Look featuring white sculptural gown marked by blood-red handprints. Courtesy of Robert Wun.
Robert Wun’s creative freedom and boldness allowed him to manipulate proportions and rethink the very functions of garments, sketching out a new design language where imagination, tension, and hallucination collided, earning him praise from critics who were clearly captivated.
Ensemble with splatter-painted coat, wide-brim hat, and mask. Courtesy of Robert Wun.
A similar level of radical inventiveness once graced the football pitch when a kid from Porto Alegre named Ronaldinho was at the peak of his powers. Widely regarded as one of the most gifted players ever to play the game, he built his legend on constantly defying logic and rewriting what was possible with a ball in tight spaces. During his prime at Barcelona, he dazzled fans with pure creative improvisation: ankle-breaking footwork, no-look passes from 40 metres, triple sombreros, and that now-iconic back assist against Osasuna.
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Highlists from Ronaldinho at Barcelona.
Ronaldinho’s genius lay in his ability to make the impossible feel effortless, flipping expectations and redefining the rules of play with every touch. Much like Wun on the Paris runway, he didn’t just display skill; he bent the entire context to his own creative will.
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Looks from Robert Wun's Haute Couture FW25. Courtesy of Robert Wun.
Iris van Herpen’s Ocean Couture and PSG’s Collective Brilliance
However, Wun’s wasn’t the only disruptive show of the week. Iris van Herpen also drew attention by proposing a captivating intersection of fashion design and science, exploring the delicate balance between nature and technology in a collection inspired by the oceans. Her Sympoiesis collection centres on the idea of co-creation between humans and nature, turning fashion into a living, breathing collaboration. Materials such as brewed protein shaped into coral-like forms and silk set in fluid resin reflect this fusion, suggesting a shared intelligence between the organic and technological worlds. Each look became a micro-ecosystem—like the jellyfish-like dress suspended on wires or the kinetic piece that moved with sculptural precision—demonstrating how design can emerge from partnership rather than domination.
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Just as Iris van Herpen’s Sympoiesis imagines creation as a shared act between human and nature, PSG’s historic 2024-25 season was a triumph of co-creation on the pitch. Under Luis Enrique, the team moved away from superstar individualism and embraced a collective identity, where no player was above the system and every contribution was valued. This transition—from ego to unity—mirrored the spirit of collaboration found in Van Herpen’s ecosystems of material and movement. Youth, depth, and shared purpose became PSG’s driving force, culminating in a breathtaking 5–0 victory in the Champions League final that proved greatness can come not from individual talent but from building something extraordinary together.
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Snapshot from 2025 Champions League Final when Paris Saint-German defeated Inter Milan winning its first European Trophy
Paris Haute Couture FW25 Takeaways: When Fashion Becomes the Beautiful Game
As the curtain falls on this season of Paris Haute Couture FW25, one thing is clear: the pitch has never looked so unpredictable, so electric, or alive. Whether through tactical mastery, raw flair, or visionary teamwork, every designer brought their own game—some with quiet precision, others with jaw-dropping moves. If fashion really is the beautiful game, then this week was its Champions League.
Edoardo Passacantando
Editor