Today, Mark Thomas’s excellent sophomore show was also an outing, as we relocated to the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers from the brand’s headquarters on the Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, the same building where founder Marie-Louise Carven once lived and made her studio.

Sunlight streamed into what was once the conservatory’s vast textile room—the walls boasting an enviable patina—as the models walked straight up and down a runway rather than the smaller configuration of rooms that we had become used to at the label’s base. “Home was great…” Thomas had said in a preview. “And then you leave home, you grow up.”

While it would be convenient to say the collection was also more grown-up, that would be a disservice to Thomas, who is a highly skilled designer with a solid instinct for how a certain kind of style-conscious woman might add to her already-impressive wardrobe. Yet there was certainly something more assured to this lineup, which toggled between generous tailoring and looser looks; monochromatic layers and gauzy organza slips incrusted with lace; tiers of tufted fil coupé and smooth surfaces of satin and leather.

Carven Fall 2026 Ready-to-Wear Show