Fashion agenda: Haute Couture shows open in Paris

(AFP PHOTO/ ANP/ CYNTHIA BOLL)

Here are some of the biggest international fashion events coming up over the next month.

Haute Couture
July 4-7
Paris, France

Apart from established maîtres including Dior and Chanel, official schedule newbies Giambattista Valli and Iris van Herpen will show their creations for the first time during the haute couture week, while Tunisian star designer Azzedine Alaia will make a runway comeback. On the occasion of the fashion week, Paris museum Les Arts Décoratifs will dedicate a retrospective to Hussein Chalayan that opens July 5.
http://www.modeaparis.com

Berlin Fashion Week
July 6-9
Berlin, Germany

Berlin's booming fashion week will showcase more designers than ever before this season at a new location opposite the Brandenburg Gate. The lineup includes Iris van Herpen - who also shows during Paris haute couture, A.F. Vandevorst, Wood Wood, Escada Sport, Hugo, and Strenesse Blue. US designer Marc Jacobs will preside the jury of young designer contest, Designers for Tomorrow.
http://www.mercedes-benzfashionweek.com

Barcelona Fashion Week
July 12-15
Barcelona, Spain

Celebrating its eighth edition, the fashion week will be headlined by local brands such as Mango. Around 50 national and international labels and designers will present their spring/summer 2012 collections in the 080 Barcelona showroom.
http://www.080barcelonafashion.com

Miami Swim
July 14-18
Miami, FL, USA

The biggest swimwear fashion week in the world is expanding this year, adding lingerie to the schedule for the first time. 2000 buyers from all over the world are expected to attend the annual SwimShow trade fair.
http://www.swimshow.com

Scandinavian fashion weeks
August 3-14
Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Oslo, Norway

While August is a calm month for fashion in general, the Scandinavian countries are using the gap in between seasons to build an alternative scene that attracts more and more visitors each year and that has local designers return from big international fashion cities to show in their home countries.

Copenhagen: August 3-7, http://www.copenhagenfashionweek.com
Stockholm: August 8-14 (Mercedes Benz Fashion Week: August 9-11), http://www.stockholmfashionweek.com
Oslo: August 8-14, http://www.oslofashionweek.com