Two of Paris's smaller but historically loaded fashion houses handed their runways to new designers this week, giving Courrèges and Carven their first real tests under creative directors installed earlier this year. Drew Henry showed his debut collection for Courrèges on September 30, and Kai Nesselrath followed with his first outing for Carven on October 1, both as part of the nine-day Spring/Summer 2027 ready-to-wear calendar, which runs through October 6.
Henry, 38, arrives at Courrèges after stints at Céline, JW Anderson and, most recently, Burberry, where he served as senior design director under Daniel Lee. He replaces Nicolas Di Felice, who departed the brand to "focus on personal projects" after six years that had restored Courrèges to commercial relevance through a sharp, body-conscious take on the house's 1960s space-age codes.
Nesselrath takes over at Carven after nearly a decade at Saint Laurent, most recently as womenswear head designer, with earlier stints at Chanel. He succeeds Mark Thomas, who left after a single year in the role — the latest in a run of creative-director changes that has made Carven, under ICCF Group ownership, one of the more volatile addresses on the official calendar.
Heritage Versus Reinvention
Both appointments were framed by their companies as a bet on continuity dressed up as reinvention. Artémis chairman François-Henri Pinault called Henry "a strong creative talent with a clear point of view," while Courrèges chief executive Marie Leblanc said the goal was to "accelerate its international expansion and amplify its global reach, while remaining true to the brand's French heritage." Henry himself has leaned on the house's founder for his own framing of the job: "André Courrèges believed in clothes that make sense for how people live. That matters to me. I have always been drawn to work that feels modern, useful, and direct."
At Carven, chief executive Shawna Tao struck a similar note about generational change, saying "a new generation's perspective on the world feels especially important today." Nesselrath's own description of his approach was more atmospheric than tactical: "I love clothes, spaces and conversations that encourage breathing. It's an honor to keep Madame Carven's values alive."
Neither show has yet produced the kind of settled critical verdict that takes a few days to form, and this week's reporting from Paris has stuck mostly to descriptions of intent rather than a finished read on either collection. What is already clear is the shape of the wager each house is making: Courrèges is betting that a designer schooled under three of the decade's most commercially minded creative directors can keep its cult following while widening its customer base, and Carven is betting that bringing in a Saint Laurent-trained womenswear specialist will finally settle a revolving door that has cost it momentum.
Both collections will reach stores in spring 2027, which is when the more consequential verdict — sell-through at retail — will actually arrive. Paris Fashion Week continues through October 6, when Louis Vuitton closes out the ready-to-wear calendar.
