The Best Runway Sets of 2025

Kenneth Richard's Top Picks

The best runway sets of the year functioned as more than visual backdrops; they were extensions of the designer’s intent. At their strongest, these environments deepened the narrative of the collection, offering insight into a house’s intellectual framework as much as its aesthetic one. Runway sets became tools of interpretation—guiding how collections were read, felt, and remembered—while quietly signaling both creative ambition and financial confidence.

Too often dismissed as decorative, the runway set is, in fact, an emotive pillar of storytelling. The most compelling examples of 2025 pushed beyond surface-level beauty to make a clear statement about identity, values, and direction. These were not sets designed to impress alone, but to articulate a point of view—proving that when executed with intention, the runway itself becomes part of the collection’s lasting impact.


Alaia

Set Designer | BUREAU BETAK
Creative Director | Pieter Mulier


Chanel


Set Designer | BUREAU BETAK

Dior

Set Designer | BUREAU BETAK – With Adam Curtis, Luca Guadagnino, & Stefano Baisi


YSL Paris


Set Designer | BUREAU BETAK
Creative Director | Anthony Vaccarello

Valentino

Set Designer | BUREAU BETAK

Louis Vuitton

Set Designer | BUREAU BETAK – with Bijoy Jain


Dior

Set Designer | BUREAU BETAK – with Robert Wilson & The Watermill Center



Khaite

Set Designer | PRODJECT
Creative Director | Catherine Holstein