Chet Lo’s Capri-Sun bag, Caroline Hu Crocs: Fall 2026 in collabs

Paris Fashion Week closed on Tuesday with a Miu Miu finale, capping a Fall/Winter 2026 womenswear season replete with Chinese talent. Budgets have tightened, with several Chinese designers stepping back from the runway circuit. Didu, Rui Zhou of Ruibuilt and Susan Fang all skipped the four fashion capitals this season — the latter two choosing to present at Shanghai Fashion Week (March 24-31) instead. Against this more cautious backdrop, collaborations emerged as a defining feature of the season. From established brands partnering with emerging designers to footwear labels seeking fresh creative direction, the strategy offered both sides a platform and a profile boost. The season’s collaborative energy extended beyond the runway. Feng Chen Wang’s recently announced collection with Lee Jeans — marking the 101st anniversary of the brand’s iconic 101 series — reflected a broader appetite for Chinese designer partnerships, as did the wave of Chinese New Year capsule collections released industry-wide to mark the Year of the Horse. New York Chinese designers maintained a steady presence at New York Fashion Week. Kim Shui drew inspiration from the legacy of Genghis Khan, while Private Policy continued its Gen Z rebellion aesthetic merging East and West cultural references. Akki x Helena Mar and Bang Olufsen Headphones: The brainchild of Akki Zhao, New York-based brand Akki partnered with leather Made-in-Portugal footwear brand Helena Mar to introduce a high-heel offering to the collection, with handcrafted styles accessorising bold ready-to-wear looks defined by florals, clashing prints and varied silhouettes. The collection also featured co-designed Bang & Olufsen headphones. Along with that, the collection also featured customized Puma sneakers. London Collaborations were especially prominent at London Fashion Week, where emerging designers used partnerships to extend both their creative reach and their resources. Oscar Ouyang x New Balance: Beijing-born, London-based designer Oscar Ouyang partnered with New Balance for the first time, with the sportswear brand contributing custom sneakers and hybrid loafers to his FW26 runway — clean, versatile styles that grounded his sharply tailored, knitwear-led collection. Chet Lo x Capri-Sun: Chet Lo brought a playful edge to his Night Market show through a collaboration with Capri-Sun. The German drinks brand — long associated with British school culture — partnered with Lo on a limited-edition spiked-knit bag designed to carry its new mango and passionfruit flavour pouch, merging his signature texture with consumer lifestyle branding. Simone Rocha x Adidas: Simone Rocha used her FW26 show to announce a debut collaboration with Adidas Originals — a full collection spanning apparel, footwear, accessories and jewelry. Pearl-encrusted track jackets, ruffled Three Stripes tops and ballerina-style sneakers characterized the range, blending the brand’s sporting heritage with Rocha's signature romantic aesthetic Milan The most prominent Chinese designer presence at Milan Fashion Week came from Hui Milano, founded by Hui Zhou Zhao, though the label did not present a collaboration this season. Chinese influence was instead felt most strongly through celebrity and ambassador activations Chinese influence at Milan Fashion Week was felt most strongly through celebrity and ambassador activations. Tod’s featured Chinese brand ambassador Xiao Zhan prominently around its show, generating substantial attention on Chinese social media. Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Prada and Fendi similarly brought in Chinese celebrities, influencers and buyers to raise their profile with China market audiences. Fila China returned to the Milan Fashion Week schedule for the first time in several seasons with its FW26 global collection, titled “Milano in Motion.” Designed by creative director Alistair Carr under parent company Misto Holdings, the show blended the brand’s Italian heritage with metropolitan sportswear. Its China relevance came through the campaign, which featured Chinese supermodels Chen Yu and Zhao Lei — a deliberate choice for a brand with significant exposure in the Greater China market. The brand’s global business is controlled by Anta Sports, making it an example of a Chinese-run sportswear brand leveraging the Milan fashion stage Paris Collaborations continued to surface in creative ways at Paris Fashion Week. Caroline Hu x Crocs: Having stepped back from her run of Adidas Originals collaborations, Caroline Hu debuted a partnership with Crocs at her FW26 Paris show — effectively trading places with Simone Rocha, who was simultaneously unveiling her own debut Adidas Originals collection in London. The collab reimagined the brand’s Bae Clog with cracked knitted uppers and hand-embroidered silk ribbon flowers, a characteristically tactile reworking that sat at the emotional centre of a presentation performed entirely by dancers rather than models. Lùchen x Body Amplification Services: New York-based Chinese brand Lùchen collaborated with Body Amplification Services to explore artistically experimental garment construction, and body-focused performance design. The result? Beautiful, transparent footwear that doubles as art pieces. Moynat x Kasing Lung: LVMH-owned leather house Moynat released the final chapter of its collaboration with Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, timed to coincide with Paris Fashion Week. The limited-edition capsule features Lung’s Monsters characters — Labubu, Zimomo and King Mon — across the maison’s signature M Canvas bags and small leather goods. Lung attended a meet-and-greet at the brand’s Rue Saint-Honoré boutique to mark the Paris launch Taken together, the season’s collaborations reflect how Chinese designers and brands are adapting to a more cautious fashion environment — using partnerships to access new platforms, extend creative reach and maintain visibility across all four fashion capitals.

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Chet Lo’s Capri-Sun bag, Caroline Hu Crocs: Fall 2026 in collabs