Everything To Know From Paris Fashion Week So Far
On Tuesday, Paris Fashion Week kicked off with two of the biggest French names on the schedule: Christian Dior, which merged high fashion with performance art, courtesy of artist-archer Sagg Napoli, and Saint Laurent, whose display of power-suiting was the most talked about collection early in the week.
But while heritage megabrands anchored day one, sandwiched between them were a crop of younger faces just starting to make their mark in Paris, among them Marie Adam-Leenaerdt, an LVMH prize finalist this year who served up clothes alongside lunch at a classic Art Deco Parisian brasserie near Gare du Nord; and Luis de Javier, mentee of star designer Riccardo Tisci, who turned models into couture-wearing demons.
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One not so new newcomer was Ganni, which made its PFW debut after years of showing in its Copenhagen homebase. The collection was titled 'The Craft', intended to highlight how the Danish brand is focused on crafting and utilising new kinds of innovative materials, creative director Ditte Reffstrup told ELLE UK. On the runway, Ganni debuted a range of next-gen materials and innovative fabrics: a leather-looking ruffled dress, for example, was actually made from Oleatex, a new leather-alternative made from olive oil waste. Leopard print bubble hem dresses and delicate sheer skirts layered over jeans brought Ganni’s classic brand of joyful quirkiness. For Reffstrup, the idea ‘was very much to bring the Ganni woman to Paris,’ she said ‘not to try to be someone that we're not; to show our vision of what we think is cool.’
The following day, fellow Copenhagen export Cecilie Bahnsen similarly presented her signature whimsical fashions grounded by cool-girl styling. This season, the designer was influenced by mountains and explorers, mixing her instantly recognisable baby-doll silhouettes and delicate, overtly feminine dresses with practical gorp-wear: hiking shoes, as well as rain parkas and duffle bags, courtesy of a new collaboration with The North Face, which made its surprise debut during the show alongside the latest iteration of the brand’s hit tie-up with Asics. Models — a handful of pro-rock climbers among them — floated along the catwalk to a dream-like live soundtrack performed by Japanese artist and photographer Takashi Homma, who is known for his images of mountain vistas.
Also on Wednesday, Courrèges' Nicolas Di Felice showcased a contemporary space age wardrobe for the minimalist, with a sleek monochrome collection. At Rabanne, Julien Dossena wrapped up his models, some like sweets in candy-hued dresses with foil-like accents, others layered up like boxes with layers of paper inside. Shoes were wrapped in cellophane, while candy-striped cottons were given delicate overlays and finished with a bow. There was plenty of signature Rabbane glam, too: one dress was finished with gold leaf, teamed with a matching 18 carat gold bag that will set shoppers back €250,000 (approximately £208,461).
The starting point for the collection was the 1995 thriller Safe, starring Julianne Moore, but it evolved into a concept of packaging, he explained backstage after the show. 'What does it mean for clothes and packaging on the body,' he said. 'I really like to think about clothes in a really naive way, but also a little bit protective, which goes with the movie Safe and the Paco Rabanne feeling from the beginning, with chainmail and armour,' he continued. '[There's] a toughness, but a toughness filled with tenderness.'
At Balmain, Olivier Rousteing blended fashion and beauty to highlight the heritage house’s 21st century identity, taking inspiration from his early collections when he first took over the near-80-year-old brand 13 years ago. This meant a myriad of power shoulders and embellishments, like pearl detailing. Statement dresses printed with face motifs were, on closer inspection, actually constructed with intricate beading, while recreations of perfume bottles and eyeshadow palettes were reimagined as clutch bags and bangles and shoes had lipsticks and nail-polish bottles for heels.
And then, there was Dries Van Noten — the brand’s first show without Dries Van Noten, following the designer’s June retirement after 38 years. The question for many was could there be a Dries Van Noten without the man himself? The brand very much is the designer, who amassed a die-hard fanbase enamoured with his vibrant prints, his bold use of colour, and his firm grasp on what it is women want to wear. It’s hard to imagine anyone else taking the helm, particularly when there’s so much pressure on designers to both instantly make their own mark creatively on a brand. No successor has been named yet.
Someone will have to step up to the role eventually (its owner, Puig, still has bold ambitions for the brand), but, in the interim, Van Noten’s design studio is holding down the fort. Their collection on Wednesday was a medley of vibrant colours, prints and textures all clashed together, with jacquard and cloqué mixed in with silk, chiffon. Sheer latex-like leopard pieces and snake-printed outerwear clashed with studded skirts and ornately embellished tailored blazers. It was, essentially, a tribute from a design team to their former boss, honouring his legacy. Van Noten, who himself attended the show, must have been proud.
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