We chat to music maestro Frédéric Sanchez, plus our top 20 soundtracks from the A/W 2015 women’s shows

Azealia Banks performs 'Heavy Metal' and 'Reflective' live at Philipp Plein's Milan A/W 2015 women's show
Azealia Banks performs 'Heavy Metal' and 'Reflective' live at Philipp Plein's Milan A/W 2015 women's show
(Image credit: press)

In the case of today's fashion week show system there are numerous ways to make an impression. Of course, there's the clothes, but it's often hard to separate them from the spectacle: the venues, the sets within said spectacular world-class locations, the It girl models, all-star front row and cutting-edge soundtrack.

Speak to any fashion week professional and they're bound to tell you they were blown away by one aspect of the above, but it's often the music that makes show goers crack a smile or even shed a tear.

The former happened at Miu Miu's Paris show, when fashion's go-to producer Frédéric Sanchez worked those 1990s L'Oréal Studio Line hair gel ads into his mix, and the latter during the crisp vocals of Dries Van Noten's a cappella track list that united some of the world's most influential female artists - all of which have touched the designer's life. The effect was as haunting as it was charmingly real, thanks to the clopping of the models' shoes in between each vocalist's pause to breathe.

To get the lowdown on the season's sound codes we caught up with Frédéric Sanchez who devised the playlists for Alexander Wang and Victoria Beckham in New York, Mary Katranzou and Thomas Tait in London, Prada and Missoni in Milan and  Balmain, Balenciaga, Comme des Garçons and Acne Studios in Paris, among many others...

Wallpaper*: What were the season's music movements for you?
Frédéric Sanchez: I do not try to follow any trends. I try as much as possible to follow my own instinct and make very personal soundtracks. But looking back at what I have done I see that some key elements came back: digital primitive sounds mix with an analogue urban soundscape - sometimes poetic and sometimes aggressive.

W*: Was there a particular musical genre that appealed?
FS: No particular genre but maybe more than other season this time I went back to what is the signature of my work, which means a lot of collage and a way to edit music very roughly.

W*: Which artists were of most interest this season?
FS: David Byrne, Eliane Radigue, Alice Coltrane, Holly Herndon....

W*: Was there one musical 'moment' that stood out?
FS: I don't know if it was musical but I got a lot of emotion at Comme Des Garçons and at Miu Miu - it was almost like if you freeze a moment of your life in your memories.

Wallpaper*'s Top 20 of the Season...

Acne Studios
'Garde Le Pour Toi' by Paradis
Music production: Frédéric Sanchez

Boss
'Go' by Moby; 'Fleeting Beauty' by Terence Fixmer; 'Little Hands' by Endless Melancholy; 'Cvalda' by Björk; 'Here She Comes Again' by Röyksopp and Jamie Irrepressible

Burberry Prorsum
'Give Me' by Clare Maquire; 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow' by Clare Maquire; 'House Of The Rising Sun' by Clare Maquire; 'My Sweet Lord' by Clare Maquire

Céline
'Cucurrucucu Paloma' by Caetano Veloso; 'Kodiak' by Boozoo Bajou

Comme Des Garçons
'The Trees' by Max Richter; 'Arboretum' by Max Richter; 'Iconography' by Max Richter; 'On The Nature Of The Daylight' by Max Richter
Music production: Frédéric Sanchez

Dior
'The Apartment' by Giorgio Moroder; 'Erstes Buch: Desterieh l'Remm' by Oake; 'Hot On The Heels Of Love' by Throbbing Gristle; 'Title' by Disasterpeace; 'Cherry Red' by Barnt

Dries Van Noten
'Teardrops (a capella)' by Massive Attack; 'Rapture (a capella)' by Blondie; 'My Baby Shot Me Down (a capella)' by Nancy Sinatra; 'La Javanaise (a capella)' by Jane Birkin; 'Glory Box (a capella)' by Portishead; 'White Rabbid (a capella)' by Jefferson Airplane; 'Celebrity Skin (a capella)' by Hole; 'Independent Women Pt 1 (a capella)' by Destiny's Child; 'Rude Boy (a capella)' by Rihanna; 'Get Ur Freak On (a capella)' by Missy Elliott; 'All the Lovers (a capella)' by Kylie Minogue; 'Who'd Have Known (a capella)' by Lily Allen; 'Hidden Place (a capella)' by Björk; 'Teardrops' by Massive Attack

Dsquared2
'Frog Darts' by James Horner; 'Ball' by Craig Armstrong; 'Drumming Circle' by Professor Trance; 'Cum Dederit' by Armand Amar and Sandrine Piau; 'The Hanging Tree Rebel Remix' by James Newton Howard; 'American Dream' by Jakatta; 'Dead Already' by Thomas Newman; 'RA' by Nathan Lanier; 'Sand' by Nathan Lanier

Tommy Hilfiger
'Bootylicious' by Destiny's Child; 'Work It' by Missy Elliott; 'Mo Money Mo Problems' by Notorious BIG; 'OPP' by Naughty by Nature; 'I Want You Back' by Jackson 5; '1 Thing' by Amerie; 'Try Again' by Aaliyah; 'Crazy In Love' by Beyonce and Jay Z

Kenzo
'You Don't Own Me' by Saint Etienne; 'After The Rain' by Saint Etienne

Lacoste
'Nouveau Western' by Mc Solaar; 'Stash's Theme' by Jack Dice and Stash Marina; 'Seul Face A Lui' by IAM and RZA; 'Brye Ting' by Suicideyear and Honeycoma; '7/11' by Beyonce; 'Realla' by Tokimonsta and Anderson Paak
Music production: Michel Gaubert

Louis Vuitton
'Desert Of The Soul' by Andy Garbi; 'Genesis' by Grimes; 'I Had This Thing (Surkin Remix)' by Röyksopp
Music production: Leopold Ross and Michel Gaubert

Marc Jacobs
'Children Of The Revolution' by T-Rex; 'Fight The Power' by Public Enemy; 'Born Free' by M.I.A; 'I Fought The Law' by The Clash; 'Instant Karma' by John Lennon

Marni
'Night (Zola Jesus and Dean Hurley Remix)' by John Carpenter; 'Lost Themes' by John Carpenter; 'Mechanical Ballet' by Arnaud De Buchy
Music production: Frédéric Sanchez

Mary Katrantzou
'Foil' by Autechre; 'Halloween Main Theme-Mix 1' by Gareth Williams; 'Teartear' by Autchre; 'Gloria Eterna' by Nana Mouskouri
Music production: Frédéric Sanchez

Miu Miu
'Mea Culpa' by Brian Eno & David Byrne; 'America Is Waiting' by Brian Eno & David Byrne; 'The Jezebel Spirit' by Brian Eno & David Byrne; 'One In A Lifetime' by Talking Heads; 'Burning Down The House' by Talking Heads; 'Deep Sleep' by B 52's; 'Advertisement Tempo Magazine' by Sigue Sigue Sputnik; 'Advertisement Network 21' by Sigue Sigue Sputnik; 'Advertisement Pure Sex' by Sigue Sigue Sputnik; 'Advertisement The Sputnik corporation' by Sigue Sigue Sputnik; 'Advertisement ID Magazine' by Sigue Sigue Sputnik; 'Advertisement Studio Line From L'Oréal' by Sigue Sigue Sputnik; 'Advertisement EMI records' by Sigue Sigue Sputnik; 'Advertisement Love Missile F1-11' by Sigue Sigue Sputnik
Music production: Frédéric Sanchez

Philipp Plein
'Heavy Metal' by Azealia Banks; 'Reflective' by Azealia Banks'; Sympathy For The Devil' by The Rolling Stones; 'My Sharona' by The Knack; 'Blitzkrieg Bop' by The Ramones; 'Surfin' Bird' by The Trashmen; 'Blue Orchid' by The White Stripes

Rodarte
'The Rip' by Portishead; 'Blind' by Michael Gira; 'Run To Me' by Bee Gees; 'Louise' by Clan of Xymox

Saint Laurent
'Pretty Boy' by The Felines

Stella McCartney
'Running Behind' by Holychild; 'Version 2.0' by Hannah V and Ama Schreyer; 'Goldteeth' by Red Light; 'We Go To Work' by Snappy Jit; 'Little Lotto' by Alo Wala and Nucleya; 'Baiana' by Barbatuques