Paris Fashion Week, the annual global celebration of women’s spring and summer ready-to-wear collections, kicked off in unforgettable fashion this year, with global music icon Celine Dion delivering a showstopping surprise performance beneath the iconic Eiffel Tower that has captured the attention of fashion and music fans worldwide.
The Canadian superstar, who revealed her diagnosis of the rare neurological disorder stiff person syndrome in 2022, closed out L’Oreal Paris’s highly anticipated opening show with a powerful rendition of her 2002 hit single *I’m Alive* — a performance that carries extra weight given Dion’s long road back to the stage after years of health struggles. Clad in an elegant, ruched full-length black velvet gown, Dion was later joined on the runway by an all-star lineup of the brand’s global ambassadors, including Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis, *Bridgerton* star Simone Ashley, *How to Get Away With Murder* actress Aja Naomi King, and producer and actor Eva Longoria, all of whom greeted the returning star with visible excitement and support.
Dion’s surprise Paris Fashion Week appearance comes just weeks after she staged her first public comeback performance earlier this month in Paris, her first full live show since her 2020 concert in New Jersey. That 2020 performance was cut short when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down live entertainment worldwide and forced Dion to pause her world tour, as her health challenges later forced her to step back from performing entirely for multiple years.
The L’Oreal opening show also featured a host of top modeling talent walking the runway: reality star turned supermodel Kendall Jenner turned heads in a sheer black halterneck gown with a high thigh split layered over an ivory corset, while British model and actress Cara Delevingne commanded the runway in a dramatic, sparkling red sheer gown finished with a flowing train. Elsewhere on day one of the week-long event, music icon and fashion entrepreneur Rihanna brought her signature bold style to the front row of the Matières Fécales show, wearing a glamorous shimmering copper two-piece set layered over sheer black undergarments. Matières Fécales, the buzzy brand behind the viral angel wing gown Zendaya wore to the *Odyssey* premiere in New York earlier this summer, has become one of the most anticipated shows of the season. Other A-list attendees on opening day included *Wicked* star Cynthia Erivo, who attended a joint event hosted by luxury jewelry brand Tiffany & Co. and Paris’s Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
Paris Fashion Week 2026 runs through October 6, with more than a dozen of the world’s most influential luxury labels set to unveil their new spring and summer collections over the coming days. Scheduled shows include presentations from legacy houses Louis Vuitton, Tom Ford, Schiaparelli, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Balenciaga, and Loewe. But all eyes in the global fashion industry will be on two iconic brands in particular: Dior and Chanel. Both houses appointed new artistic directors in 2025, and this week’s presentations will mark a key moment for the new leaders to cement their creative visions for the legacy labels. Matthieu Blazy stepped into the role of Chanel’s creative director in early 2025, while Jonathan Anderson took the same position at Dior last summer. Industry observers are already expecting a captivating clash of creative aesthetics as the two new leaders show the fashion world what they have planned for their respective brands.