Paris Fashion Week Review with Olga Leffers
"Being Parisian doesn't mean being born in Paris. It means to be born there again."
These words by French writer and director Alexandre Guitry describe what was happening in Paris during the last week of September. The whole meaning of the modern fashion industry is invisibly imprinted in them. Fashion that is created in different corners of the world is being reborn in Paris.
Welcome to the capital of the fashion universe!
The most anticipated and perhaps most famous closing event of the "big four" Fashion Weeks.This platform is full of opportunities not only for brands but also for producers, art directors, designers, and influencers. Meetings of different formats, planning and forming new collaborations, exchanging valuable contacts, and networking. It's all about Paris Fashion Week. From shoe and jewelry manufacturers to industry giants and streetwear designers, they all head to Paris to strengthen their networking and guarantee future sales.
The excitement is easy to explain, with more people traveling to the "City of Light" than any other of the "Big Four" Fashion Weeks.
No less noise is observed in street fashion, which in Paris appears in all its beauty and in multiple variations. Here, against the background of elegant and minimalistic Parisian style, the guests of Fashion Week really look unusual and very bright.
Paris. The legendary city where the catwalk concept itself was born in the 70s. A place where almost every show is held in some historical monument, including LeGrand Palais, Louvre, Le Musee Rodin and even the Eiffel Tower. Paris is a city that has left an indelible and permanent mark on the history of the cult thanks to its Fashion Week.
There were so many events and moments that I would like to tell about that it is impossible to fit them into one article. But still, I will try to tell you about the main ones!
WHAT'S WITH THE FASHION?
YVES SAINT LAURENT
The main event of the first days was definitely the Yves Saint Laurent show under the direction of Anthony Vaccarello. A show that had an absolutely fantastic front row.
Judge for yourself, Demi Moore, Diane Kruger, Austin Butler, Rossy De Palma, Soo Ju Park, Zoe Kravitz, Natasha Lyonne, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kate Moss and others.
The show was held under the shadow of the legendary symbol of Paris, the Eiffel Tower, with all the accompanying pomp and uniqueness expressed by the original 1961 brand logo on the facade.
Heredity and continuity have been preserved not only in the logo but also in the approach. This year, Vaccarello did not stray from the military safari style and presented jackets, overalls, pants, and raincoats with a fitted silhouette in sandy tones.
There was no shortage of large accessories: earrings, dark glasses, scarves, and even leather balaclavas.
Anthony definitely remained loyal in his devotion to the brand's DNA, if I may say so.
It is obvious that Vaccarello stays in his comfort zone, not trying to please anyone; he keeps the format, shape, and color scheme of the legendary fashion house.
MARNI
In Paris, Marni presented its new collection in the surroundings of a chic old mansion of special importance to Francesco Risso. 51 Rue de l'Universite—this address is familiar to the fans of the great Karl Lagerfeld because this is the apartment where the great master of fashion once lived next door to Risso.
The beauty that framed everything around was complemented by special, meditative music, suddenly replaced by energetic singing and the live playing of musicians. Even before the show began, it was obvious that today's event would be not only about fashion but about art in general.
"I just demand of myself that I have the most passionate time in my career."
It should be noted that Francesco Risso did not lie when he said that. This season, he clearly did not shy away from new and bold experiments while maintaining the basis of his recognizable style (flowers of different shapes and sizes, the ever-living plaid, and stripes).
We saw a lot of things cut from dense cotton, including various oversize models, which, due to the specific cut, perfectly kept their shape. There were also bright prints, translucent t-shirt dresses, and long skirts on male models.
In general, it is worth noting the presence of a certain androgyny. And this does not only apply to Marni. More and more often, I notice men on the catwalk during women's shows, which in itself is more of a norm than a trend or a tendency.
Almost all models chosen by the brand had very unusual and memorable looks, strikingly different from the exquisitely beautiful and sexy women of Dolce and Gabbana.
The epicenter of the show, which caused a storm of applause, were the dresses cut from numerous elements and supplemented with painted aluminum flowers sticking out in different directions.
Also memorable were the huge, ultra-large bags, the size of which sometimes made it impossible for the models to pass each other.
Marni showed perfectly executed work with different types of leather.
There was a subtle hint of the 1960s in everything we saw. It was very eccentric, but still in the practical range. A great collection overall.
BALMAIN
Oh, the edgy world of fashion!
Sometimes events in the fashion industry are so unexpected that you can hardly believe their authenticity.
At Paris Fashion Week, the unexpected happened to Balmain. Early Saturday morning, less than two weeks before the triumphant moment when Oliver Rousteing was to officially present to the world his new vision of the brand, an absolutely daring robbery happened.
At least according to the official version, a truck carrying almost 70 percent of the new Balmain collection was robbed on its way out of Charles De Gaulle airport.
Upon hearing the news, the whole world froze. How will Oliver manage to get out of this situation without checkmating himself?
And it must be said that the young and ambitious 36-year-old designer found a way out of the problem and even exceeded all our expectations.
"This collection is dedicated to the following: I will die tomorrow; I just want people to remember that I was convinced that Balmain is a "French Luxury House". And what is French? I think that's the big question."
It was with such a light and yet straightforward attitude to his work, to an original soundtrack by Björk, that Oliver presented to the world the absolute antipode of all stated trends.
The unchanged DNA of the brand in the form of a black color base did not go anywhere, but there appeared catchy and bright colors, unique prints, and the incredible beauty of handmade elements in the form of flowers and all kinds of birds.
Lacquer dresses, translucent recycled plastic, and rubber. An immensely labor-intensive, delicate, and literally filigree show from the master (fortunately, this very part of the collection escaped the fatal fate of being stolen). Dazzlingly bright, stylish, and overall magnificent work by Oliver! Bravo!
The show itself saw some real legends. The ageless Queen, 77-year-old Cher, with her young lover Alexander Edwards and Sex and the City star Kim Cattrall looked truly stunning in a crocodile skirt suit. Besides them, Anna Dello Russo, Taylor Hill, Lena Mahfouf, and Kelly Gale shone among the audience.
Summing up what we saw, it's definitely a feminine collection, full of bright colors and a fusion of practicality with abstraction.
SCHIAPARELLI's "Ode to Youth."
That's what Daniel Roseberry called his new collection.
The fashionable surrealism and permanent reference to DalĂ and his collaboration with Elsa Schiaparelli were quite obvious.
In addition to the classics from the brand in the form of recognizable black and white and the usual gold elements, we saw other colors, brighter and more saturated, which looked great on supermodels Irina Shayk and Shalom Harlow.
At one time, being an art historian and studying the history of jewelry, I discovered their division into two categories. The jewelry in the first category could be considered separately from the costume, but without the jewelry in the second category, the costume could not exist.
Schiaparelli today is just about the second category of jewelry. Unique and charismatic, it becomes a part of the whole image, merging with it into a single whole.
And if it seemed to someone that last-season accessories reached the limit of their size, it was an erroneous judgment.
The Schiaparelli showed absolutely stunning bracelets and clips, as well as necklaces that took up a large part of the body, for example, a huge fish or a lobster dress (another reference to the joint work of Dali and Elsa).
Daniel did a great job with knitwear, a lot of very fine details, harmonious (yes, it happens too!) asymmetry, new models of unusual bags, and clutches of strange but practical shapes (for example, a clutch in the shape of a keyhole).
Despite their unconventional looks, all the bags are perfectly combined with the brand's jewelry and can be mixed with almost any look without any problems.
After what we have seen, it is very interesting to find out what the debut collection of Schiaparelli eyewear will be like.
A boundless flight of fancy and bizarre things full of details and aesthetics.
Daniel Roseberry's unconventional approach to fashion can be described by the mere appearance of Kendall Jenner. What at first glance looked like a scarlet dress embroidered with sequins turned out to be decorated with acrylic nails.
Daniel's approach is wildly interesting, not only for fashion historians but also for people looking for more from the fashion industry.
Bravo, the Dali of the fashion world!
DIOR
A collection that managed to convert even those who have never been fans of the brand.
Absolute and, most importantly, restrained femininity from Maria Grazia Chiurri.
Feminism in its bright yet soft and gentle manifestation. Affirming female power slogans and video installation by Elena Ballantoni. Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, and Kim Jisoo illuminated the front row with their presence, and flickering strobe lights filled the Tuileries gardens with light. The perfect atmosphere was created to showcase the brand's new ideas.
Inspired by witches of the Middle Ages, the collection was predominantly in monochrome colors that merged past and present.
There were nuances of mixing masculinity and femininity, sometimes giving a sense of androgyny inscribed in a kind of controlled destruction, to which the crumpled and artificially torn styles of some of the looks referred.
There was an almost complete absence of prints and a subtle influence of mysticism. The designs represented "phases of the moon and sun, the change of seasons, medicinal herbs, and miraculous animals."
It was definitely a Gothic phase of life for Dior fans. Unusual and refreshing one.
I even think it's safe to say, "Hello, new Dior!"
CHLOE
Perhaps it was impossible to think of a better background for Gabriela Hirst's farewell show. It turned out to be very cheerful, with Brazilian music and incendiary dances, with waiters serving caperinha to the guests and a view of the Seine. The perfect tone for the whole event.
Hirst's final collection for Chloe turned out to be really wonderful and probably one of the best of all the years of her work for the brand.
On trend as expected were floral motifs, delicately incorporated into the overall entourage, quietly and without any bright and garish prints.
The focus was on the shapes of flowers themselves, which eventually led to the birth of practical and very feminine things.
Tight skirts, dresses, and outerwear were inspired by the image of the lily, while orchids became the basis for wide sleeves and seams.
The collection was the culmination of the gradual transformation of Chloe and Hirst herself, as well as a solemn song dedicated to the brand's roots. This was evident in the craftsmanship and reinterpretation of the classic clutch created by Gaby Agnon.
From the accessories, we can safely highlight shoes and light floral sandals. Lightness was the key element of the show and the collection as a whole.
ZIMMERMANN
The debut show of the Zimmermann sisters in Paris was extremely successful. The feminine and airy collection in pastel colors looked very dignified, harmonious, and even noble.
As always, there was a rich palette of colors, camellias, and straps in the form of bells, sundresses, tops, and various dresses in gradient tones. A lot of flowing silhouettes, flounces, and ruffles, as well as lace details.
I must say that success really follows the Zimmermann sisters. Not taking into account the fact that it is one of the favorite brands of many celebrities, the brand first debuted on the European catwalks in 2022 and, in a very short time, managed to reach unimaginable heights by being bought by a large American investor, Advent International, for a cosmic sum of 1.3 billion dollars.
Sincere congratulations to the sisters on a real victory. A beautiful collection, a beautiful brand, and a beautiful take on femininity!
COPERNI
Every season, Coperni uses it as an opportunity to renew and find new ways of communication and ways of interaction between the brand and us, the people wearing the brand's clothes.
Sebastien Meiret and Arnaud Vaillant presented their new collection in the IRCAM (Institute for Research and Coordination of Music and Acoustics) hall, a place that has become legendary for its cutting-edge and unconventional experiments with sound.
This year, Coperni themselves have focused on experimentation, clearly setting themselves the task of voicing or even literally teaching their collection to speak.
Amazing musical (or rather sound) accompaniment created by a friend of the designers, u.r.trax, sounded in the walls of IRCAM and really amazed me. The music, assembled from sounds that had something to do with clothes, was surprisingly unusual. The metallic sounds of clasps and zippers, the rustle of fabrics of different styles, and the clicks of scissors. Combined with visual images created by designers, it turned out to be a fashion version of IMAX movie theater.
Technology was traced in everything, from the cut to the urban hall chosen for the show. Sporty, ultramodern style in combination with technological hairpins with built-in artificial intelligence on the chests of models replaced leather dresses and Boston Dynamics robot dogs from the March show.
Everything seen can be dubbed a kind of catharsis of brevity and practicality.
Shirts with unconventionally long sleeves, transparent light dresses made of chiffon, sports tops, and overalls (very well executed collab with Puma). All this is perfectly combined with each other in any variation. Isn't this the apogee of practicality?
The main trend of the whole Fashion Week was flowers, images of which were seen on many dresses.
Coperni is always pleased with its unconventional approach, attention to detail, and emphasis on technology.
MUGLER
The show of Casey Cadwallader's new collection for Mugler was a kind of crowning achievement of Paris Fashion Week. Insanely beautiful location with an entrance on the territory of the Louvre, huge size of the hall, and no less impressive size of the celebrity list that outnumbered all the shows in Paris. Models of completely different generations (including my favorite Helena Christenson) and calibers came out on the catwalk; even influencers from different parts of the world took part in the show.
Just look at the list of those who participated in the show: Irina Shayk, Paloma Elsesser, Esther Cañadas, Paris Hilton, Mariacarla Boscono, Helena Christensen, Natasha Poly, and more. There were an incredible number of runway legends.
The show itself impressed with its images. An intriguing beginning in semi-darkness with spectacular backlight, a huge number of symmetrically arranged fans working at full power, and of course, the appearance of models dressed in outfits with moving and developing from the wind plumes.
The collection was filled to the brim with Mugler DNA—sexy silhouettes and transparent plastic corsets from George Michael's legendary "Too Funky" video.
Despite a lot of experimentation, this collection didn't feel funky at all. It was very beautiful and, in many ways, practical and sophisticated.
The staging of the show should be noted. It was so great that it was more about impressions and feelings than about fashion and looks. People who came to this show saw a real performance from the brilliant Casey.
CHANEL
This season, Virginie Viard, like most of her colleagues, was impressed by nature. Staying in the floral trend, she presented her new collection, showing images against the backdrop of huge flowers.
Classic tones and shades, lots of floral prints, checks and stripes, suits, and dresses made of light linen and cotton.
Chanel showed an airy and, most importantly, feminine collection. The presence of asymmetry, models in flip-flops and glasses with thick frames, capes over bathing suits, jeans, and bright colors. It was beautiful, but unfortunately, very standard.
The show was attended by stars Penelope Cruz, Usher, Jenny Kim, and others.
In general, Chanel did not surprise or disappoint. Everything shown remained within the limits of being understandable and familiar. Perhaps it should have happened so, because constancy is also a form of success.
WHAT'S IN THE TOTAL
Started in New York and incredible in its intensity, the "fashion race" ended in Paris. It is time to summarize the results.
There were a huge number of impressions, new discoveries, and, in some cases, disappointments. Paris Fashion Week, in comparison with Milan Fashion Week, did not have an increased concentration of street style, because the Italian fashion capital is much smaller in size and people gathered as a rule in one area of the city, while Paris "scattered" guests in different areas.
Everything that happened in Paris was bigger, brighter, and stronger in terms of emotions. Crowds of photographers, chic composition in the front row, and of course, an incredible number of different boutiques and stores. However, I could not call them stores. They are rather some kind of fashion museum, with an opportunity to buy the exhibits presented in them. Stunningly decorated showcases, the best things from the collections of brands, a huge selection, and an inexpressible atmosphere.
And of course, Paris always remains Paris. The city museum, filled with art and history, has an incredible number of interesting events and exhibitions. It often happened that one of the shows took place right in front of the museum building, offering to visit an interesting exhibition. At such moments, I was literally torn between the museum and the catwalk.
Well, what about the trends in the end, because they finally got their shapes and forms.
We are definitely expecting a lot of knitted things in different styles and materials, which, by the way, are perfectly combined with the "naked" trend and fringe.
I also noticed another detail: gloves of all styles and cuts. From high and lace to leather and short.
Oversize models are not going anywhere and will stay with us in the form of dresses, shirts and even shoes. Asymmetrical shapes, torn cuts, and, in general, various strange and bizarre shapes will also be present. And we will not stay without micro-shorts in combinations with capes and coats of different styles—not the most practical, but as it turned out to be a stable trend.
I sincerely thank everyone involved in this magical Fashion Week for all the impressions I received!
And a special mercie to the eternal "City of Love."
Paris, you were magnificent!
