PARIS — Italian designer Luca Magliano is bringing his namesake label to Paris Fashion Week for the first time this season, marking a symbolic shift for a brand that has spent nearly a decade rooted in Milan while quietly building an international following.
According to Magliano, the move is less about prestige than perspective. “We didn’t want to be geographic anymore,” he said, noting how Italian brands are often viewed through a local lens. Showing in Paris reflects his desire “to meet new people, create new communities,” and to place the brand in what he described as a broader professional landscape that the brand is ready for.
Still, the decision did not come lightly. Milan has been central to Magliano’s identity and storytelling, and the designer said he’s feeling the emotional impact of leaving. “I’m also kind of sad about it,” he said. “I’m super nostalgic by nature, so this is something that is not happening easily. But I feel that it’s time to do something bold and to face new things.”
Magliano, spring 2026
Courtesy of Magliano
Founded eight years ago, Magliano has built a reputation for collections that explore masculinity through a distinctly Italian lens, blending classic tailoring with queer references and subversive details. Those codes will not change this season. “We didn’t want it to look Parisian all at once,” Magliano said of the new collection. Instead he focused on “the very essence of Magliano…a conversation between classic and queer.”
The designer frames the higher visibility of Paris as both daunting and necessary. “Of course, Paris is bringing a lot of new people to look at it,” he said. “That might sound intimidating, but this is also what we are looking for, to tell our story to new people.” It’s a mix of confidence and caution. “Everything is happening very easily from one side and from the other we are scared,” he said. “Both excited and nervous — and terrified, sometimes — but also very happy.”
The new location sets the stage for growth of the brand. Magliano remains strong in Asia, particularly in China, Japan and Korea, but is now looking for “more mature markets,” he said.
“Lately, the USA has been quite a discovery for us,” he said, adding that conversations there are “going well.” The brand is embarking on a strategy of long-term stability rather than rapid expansion.
That focus comes amid broader uncertainty in fashion. “The fashion industry is facing a very big crisis,” Magliano said. “But we’re resisting to it very well.”
The Paris move is partly about ensuring the brand does not stagnate or become pigeonholed at a moment when many independent labels are under pressure, he added.
Despite the runway move to Paris, Magliano is not relocating his operations. Production remains firmly in Italy, split between Milan and Bologna, the designer’s hometown. “Magliano is kind of an ambassador of ‘Made in Italy,’” he said. “It’s more about organic processes [and to be able] to visit the factory where things are produced, to see the processes, to have a relationship with the craftsmen.”
Expect the collection to draw on “classic, simple shapes” with influences ranging from “cinematic beauties from the late ’70s” to 1990s minimalism “seen through super color.”
