Fall 2025 Haute Couture Trend: Metallics

While black was the color du jour at the Paris couture this season, a number of designers added razzle-dazzle to their collections, lifting the mood by way of metallics.

Newcomer Kevin Germanier closed the week on a bright spot underneath the IRCAM building, which he outfitted with a mountain of iridescent balloons that seemed to increase the voltage on his zany embellishments. The first model out was half-naked, her body covered in silver glitter, save for a mixed-metal pom-pom skirt. “I thought it was quite a somber, heavy couture week,” the designer told WWD’s Joelle Diderich backstage, adding that he wanted to bring “energy” and “optimism.” Check and check.

Iris Van Herpen too offered a jolt of electric creativity with shimmering Japanese “air” fabric suspended from metal wires, which drifted around her models like amorphous jellyfish, observed Miles Socha. Then there was the dress made of loosely woven brass wires that were licked with flames to create reef-like patterns, and then handstitched onto a tailored bodysuit, also made of brass wires, which is seen above.

More classic, but no less eye-catching, Zuhair Murad celebrated legends from Hollywood’s golden age — specifically Katherine Hepburn — quite literally by showering his runway in golden evening wear. “One sequined column shimmered like a freshly polished Oscar,” observed Rhonda Richford. 

Gold was also a winner at Rahul Mishra, whose show opened with a minidress sculpted like a human heart decked-out in gold sequins. “I was trying to explore the idea of love through philosophy, through art, through literature,” he explained. It came across via mosaic embroideries on a few equally theatrical catsuits and more straight-forward pant looks mimicking gilded paintings by Gustav Klimt.

Meanwhile, the gold-flecked tweed at Chanel referenced wheat. One of Coco Chanel‘s lucky charms, it was thought to bring about good fortune — something Julie De Libran certainly had a bit of. The designer was lucky enough to snag some handwoven jacquard with gold thread from a Venetian palazzo, whipping it into a one-of-a-kind lampshade skirt. Additional upcycled metallic looks in her collection included a lace-trimmed slip and a flared trouser suit. 

According to de Libran, working with deadstock material is “a way of giving a new life to things.” Talk about spinning trash into couture gold.