A recap of this PFW

On Monday afternoon Paris Fashion Week started with a bang. Three of the most awaited shows of this season were presenting. Dior went first, followed by Jacquemus and Gucci. Jacquemus followed his usual guidelines with a show called «La Riviera», a ethnically diverse cast and a front row full of French It-girls. The collection’s strongest pieces were for sure the XXL bags in earthy tones. Gucci then followed, starting its show with an horror movie projection. The show was held in Paris’ equivalent of Studio 54 and it included a performance by Jane Birkin. The collection was more sexually loaded than at usual, including references to Dolly Parton and Janis Joplin. But the real bang happened at Dior. With a ballerina inspired collection, Dior overdid itself by turning the Hippodrome de Longchamp in a ballet dance floor with wooden floors and quotes of Isadora Duncan and Pina Bausch. In case this was not enough to impress the A-list guests, a performance was also on the menu with ballet dancers presenting a coregraphy prepared by Sharon Eyal on the dimly lit parquet flooring. Maria Grazia Chiuri did what she does best: embellishments, tulle and delicate feminine dresses.

Tuesday was Marine Serre, Afterhomework and Saint Laurent’s turn. Starting well with Marine Serre offered us a taste of Couture Futurism with (for the first time) some menswear looks as well. The show was held outside, on a elevated walkway of Paris. Amongst the show stopping looks were diving suits and utility jackets. Saint Laurent followed suit, using the Eiffel Tower (all lighted up in white) as background once again. But the eyes were surprisingly not on this decor element but rather on the 0.8cm tall water flooring at the feet of the models giving a new interpretation to walking on water. The show started with a few 80s inspired dresses, mixing gold and black sparkling pieces. Animal prints and big shoulders drew the silhouettes of rebellious young women. As the show went on, the inspiration shifted to the previous decade, the 70s.

Wednesday was for Maison Margiela, Mugler and Kenzo. For Margiela, Galliano presented a real unisex collection with male models wearing dresses and vice versa. Deconstructed garments, the brand’s trademark, were still at the center of the collection. The designer played with office wear as well as more frivolous garments like lacy slip dresses. Mugler mixed structure and fluidity, offering us a variety of textures and colors. Finally Kenzo was a clash of prints and colors, with futuristic vibes coming through the accessories. The show included womenswear and menswear presented in two different line-ups.

Chloé, Off-White and Isabel Marant all had their shows on Thursday 28. At Chloé, Natacha Ramzay-Levi offered us her vision of a hippie free-spirited women creating the perfect Coachella wardrobe with the usual flowy dresses. The last looks of the show were Greek goddess inspired and if there is one thing to remember it is the jewelry. Off-White was flooding with monochromatic looks centered around three colors: neon yellow, clean white and black. Abloh also followed the animal print trend with a few yellow and black python total looks. Isabel Marant left us with party outfits envies with all of her shiny playsuits and jumpsuits. Embroideries and denim were not left out of the loop and made the perfect casual boho outfits.

Loewe, Balmain and Céline collectively presented on Friday. The fil rouge at Loewe was fluidity, mixing cotton and satin, bohemian and classy, the collection was very much grown up but still relaxed. JW Anderson also showed us that straw bags were here to stay. As for Balmain, Rousteing gifted us with a Cara Delevigne runway comeback and an army of supermodels dressed like Egyptian goddesses. It’s Cleopatra meets Paris’ gloriousness in the 80s, with a collection inspired by Parisian monuments such as The Louvre’s Pyramid or the Luxor Obelisk. However, what made Friday one of the most awaited days of this fashion month were not these shows. It was Hedi Slimane’s first Céline show. After a month of hyping up the show, the International audience finally had a look at Céline’s future. The collection was called Paris La Nuit, it was presented in a new venue, male models wore unisex outfits while women had puffy dresses on and future It-bags at the tip of their fingers.

On Saturday, we had the pleasure of discovering the collections of Altuzarra, Hermès and Sonia Rykiel. Altuzarra was a breeze of Italian summer with movie Call Me By Your Name as part of the show inspiration. With bright colors and prints, the designer reminded us of what a summer in Positano should look like. Hermès was sporty and casual with structured garments. If we had to describe the looks in three words it would be canvas, leather and neutrals. Sonia Rykiel’s show was a bit more special this season, seeing as the brand unveiled the naming of a Parisian allée after the designer. Models strutted down the allée, wearing Rykiel’s trademarks: knits and stripes. Julie De Libran definitely kept the spirit of the late designer alive in this collection.

Sunday was Balenciaga, Valentino and Givenchy’s time to shine. Balenciaga took set design to another level with a digital tunnel surrounding the catwalk. Gvasalia started a new trend which he defines as «neo-tailoring» in response to this new generation’s suits expectations. At Valentino, the show started with an army of black looks, followed by colorful printed elegant ones inspired by painters like Gauguin and Matisse. Givenchy was the last show of the day, Claire Weight Keller created the perfect wardrobe for strong powerful women while including sophisticated menswear looks, jumping on the «unisex» boat as well. Although she did not forget her roots, with 1930s inspired evening wear perfect to satisfy her most famous customer: Meghan Markle.

Stella McCartney, Giambattista Valli and Alexander McQueen had their shows on Monday. Stella McCartney was the first to go, with a feminine and effortlessly chic collection presented in Paris Opera House. Later that day, at Giambattista Valli’s, the looks were inspired by Marrakech, the 60s and 70s without leaving aside the brand’s essence with ruffles, mesh and floral looks. At the end of the day, Alexander McQueen’s lovers found themselves in the middle of the standing stones of Avebury in Paris. Sarah Burton mixed tailoring and romanticism, with a lot of leather structured pieces and Victorian dresses.

Closing off four intense weeks of fashion, Tuesday started with Chanel, followed by Miu Miu and finished off with Louis Vuitton. Karl Lagerfeld introduced Chanel’s new line Coco Beach by setting up a beach in the middle of Paris to recreate the landscape of German island Sylt. Provencal hats and models holding shoes in their hands brought a relaxed vibe to the brand’s sophisticated aesthetic. At Miu Miu, the collection was full of grown up evening wear but always with vintage quirky vibes brought by sequins and denim. Finally, for Louis Vuitton the main feature of its 80s/sci-fi collection was the massive sleeves.

All image courtesy of Vogue

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