Gabriela Hearst, Ludovic de Saint Sernin and Y/Project will return to Paris Fashion Week catwalk with positions on its provisional runway schedule, the Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode announced Monday.

French fashion’s governing body, the Federation noted that the eight-day season will feature 108 events – a total of 70 shows along with 38 presentations. A season that will also witness the runway debut of Alessandro Michele at Valentino; while other fledgling designer house AlainPaul and Niccolò Pasqualetti will make Paris Fashion Week runway debuts.
 
Five happening marques – Abra, Julie Kegels, Magda Butrym, Vaillant and Vautrait – will all stage debut independent presentations, according to the provisional calendar. While three brands will mark their return to the Paris season with by appointment presentations – Aigle, Heliot Emil and Christopher Esber, the recent winner of the latest prestigious Andam award.

The Paris Fashion Week season is due to run from Monday September 23 to Tuesday, October 1, opening with six shows on the Monday, led by fashion forward label Weinsanto. While the final day will climax with three mega influential labels: Chanel, Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton.
 

The Chanel show will be the first since the departure of its creative director Virginie Viard after five years at the helm and will also mark the return of Chanel to the Grand Palais. That superb late 19th glass and cut stone exhibition space has undergone extensive renovation for the Olympics and will only be free for public events after the two-week-long Paralympics, due to finish on Sunday, September 8.

Though the season’s final show by Coperni is not listed on the schedule as the Federation considers it a separate event. In a novel move, Coperni will hold its next catwalk show outside of Paris at Disneyland Europe.
 
Other important labels that will stage shows include Saint Laurent, Courrèges, The Row, Balmain, Chloé, Christian Dior, Schiaparelli, Loewe, Yohji Yamamoto, Hermès, McQueen, Akris and Zimmermann.
 
Insiders will note a couple of surprises on the calendar, notably Balenciaga’s switch from its traditional first Monday evening at 7pm slot to the second Monday.
 
There is no show listing for Maison Margiela, which has not shown in Paris ready-to-wear since last October. With the news that its creative director John Galliano is planning to depart the house, Maison Margiela informed the Federation that it will stage “an event in October,” though for the moment it is not clear what and where.