Fashion Week month is here, and Mandi Keighran finds the spirit of Paris, Milan, London, and New York is expressed not only on the runway, but in their most stylish luxury homes
Twice a year, the fashion industry elite pack their bags and embark on a four-city tour of runway shows across the globe. From New York to London, Milan to Paris, the “Big Four” fashion weeks set the agenda for the season ahead—this September, it’s Spring/Summer 2026—and each city has its own story to tell, both on the catwalk and on the streets.
When it comes to fashion capitals, Paris is perhaps the most iconic. Home of haute couture and legendary designers such as Coco Chanel and Christian Dior, the city’s identity blends timeless elegance with avant-garde edge.
“Paris is the OG when it comes to fashion and the typical Parisian style is incredibly chic, quite classic and cool,” says Hannah Marriott, journalist and former fashion editor of The Guardian. “There’s also a bit of a dishevelled edge—like a stylish woman with bed hair.” The same could be said of its grand residences, where centuries-old craftsmanship and a patina of age create an atmosphere of confidence that can’t be manufactured.
Take this early-18th-century Rive Gauche home tucked away behind a flowery, artfully overgrown courtyard in Paris’ prestigious 7th arrondissement. Its terracotta-tiled floors, panelled walls, ornate fireplaces and original post-and-beam framing are an inimitable expression of the city’s casual cool.
The other major player in the world of fashion is Milan, where high style is woven into daily life, from billboard-lined streets to the Italian palazzi that host glittering shows. “Fashion is so embedded within the culture in Milan and you see it in the way people dress on the street,” says Marriott. “There’s a certain old-school glamour that is very elegant.”
That refined glamour defines an exquisite 4,187-square-foot apartment on Via Telesio, in the Pagano district of Milan, where a quadruple-length lounge with intricately decorated ceilings, metalwork bannisters depicting floral motifs, and walls just made to showcase choice art and design, communicate a sense of elegance to rival any runway show.
London, by contrast, thrives on experimentation. “London has birthed amazing designers. The scene is very experimental and often riffs off British history and tradition,” says Marriott. “Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood are two great examples who have drawn inspiration from the past, from 17th-century corseted gowns to ceremonial motifs and tartan.”
London’s fearless spirit can be found in a striking contemporary villa in Kensington—one of the city’s most desirable addresses—by Powell Tuck Associates. Behind the discreet façade lies a dramatic floating staircase, bespoke straight-grain oak joinery and a secret, fern-filled courtyard designed by Chelsea Flower Show award-winner Stuart Craine. The result is a home that rewrites tradition, much like London’s catwalks.
And across the Atlantic, there’s New York, which is perhaps even more boundary-pushing. “Anything goes in New York—it’s very vibrant and there’s a lot of creativity,” says Marriott, who is Brooklyn-based herself. “New York Fashion Week is great as it introduces diverse, under-the-radar designers and gives them space to explore interesting points of view.”
Architect Cary Tamarkin captures that feeling in The Solarium, a light-filled, warehouse-style penthouse in a former school gymnasium on the Upper West Side. With 19-foot arched ceilings, an enormous skylight and a terrace large enough for a dinner party under the stars, this 3,420-square-foot residence celebrates the city’s fabric in steel, brick and marble.
Just as their respective fashion weeks prove the Big Four can tell very different stories on the runway, these extraordinary homes show that architecture and interior design, too, are also an expression of identity. Whether you lean towards Parisian chic or New York boldness, the most fashionable choice is always the one that you make your own.
