BEHIND THE SCENES IN CANNES FASHION DAYS 2026 AT CARLTON HOTEL
Cannes · May 17, 2026
During the Cannes Film Festival, the French Riviera becomes a meeting point for fashion, cinema and international creative talent. This year, one of the fashion events taking its place in that landscape is Cannes Fashion Days, founded and led by Ukrainian designer Zoriana Semeniuk, founder of AKEL Couture.
On May 20, Semeniuk will bring the event to the legendary Carlton Cannes, where the Grand Salon will become a runway for an international group of designers and emerging fashion brands, followed by the Cannes Fashion Awards.
Semeniuk’s own AKEL Couture will be among the participating houses, presenting Kids Like Crystals in collaboration with international production centre Babyphotostars — a collection built around shimmer, delicate embroidery and a fairytale approach to children's couture. Her work as a designer will also be recognised during the awards, where she is set to receive the Best Fashion Designer distinction.
The wider programme brings together Maison Fatim, by Vel, Aerial x Serazelle, Paroma À La Mode, ELAW, PC The Label, Ciresel, Ishikaa Jain, BMatchy Label and Merita Couture, creating a deliberately international mix of couture, contemporary fashion, children's design and cultural craftsmanship.
Among the collections attracting attention is Maison Fatim, bringing Moroccan couture and richly embroidered kaftans inspired by royal heritage to the Carlton. Ukrainian label by Vel continues its Secret Garden story with Alice Through the Looking Glass, while Aerial x Serazelle will present ten signature dresses centred on femininity, fluidity and contemporary couture.
The afternoon will culminate in the Cannes Fashion Awards, recognising figures across fashion, modelling and beauty, including international top model Karolina Budka and Paris-based beauty professional Natalya Hemelsdael.
For Semeniuk, however, Cannes Fashion Days is about more than placing another runway on the Festival calendar. Her stated ambition is to build a trusted international platform on the French Riviera where designers can present their vision, share their stories and use fashion as a language of beauty, culture and identity.
And in Cannes, during the world's most watched film festival, that is a particularly powerful setting: a fashion platform built not around a single aesthetic or country, but around the movement of designers and ideas across borders.