This evening (16 June 2026), guests will gather in the cloisters of Florence’s Santa Maria Novella Church for a dinner hosted by the Umbrian designer Brunello Cucinelli – a twice-yearly tradition that marks the opening of Pitti Uomo, the historic Florentine menswear fair. And with it, the beginning of Men’s Fashion Month: after Florence, there are stops in Milan and Paris across a 12-day schedule which will see S/S 2027 menswear offerings from fashion’s biggest houses – among them Prada, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent – as well as a raft of newer names. By the time Paris wraps up on 28 June 2026, we will have the blueprint of how menswear might look a year from now, and no doubt plenty to mull over: this looks to be a season of consolidation and world-building as relatively new creative directors settle into their tenures and others steady the ship amid the backdrop of a global luxury slowdown.

And, while the schedule is certainly lighter than its womenswear counterpart (the S/S 2027 women’s shows will take place in September, and traditionally have a busier line-up), plenty of intriguing moments remain – from Simone Rocha’s first dedicated menswear show (she will be a guest designer at Pitti Uomo, showing in the historic Teatro Della Pergola), to calendar shift-ups, designer returns and (a small handful) of debuts. We've picked the eight moments to look out for this Men’s Fashion Month S/S 2027 below.

Simone Rocha will be Pitti Uomo’s guest star

Historic menswear fair Pitti Uomo, taking place in Florence twice-yearly, marks the start of Men’s Fashion Month each season, centring around the 14th-century Fortezza da Basso. But alongside the main fair – where you will find stands from Brunello Cucinelli, Herno and the like – organisers invite a number of guest designers to show each season in locations around the city (previous guests have included Raf Simons, Martine Rose and Grace Wales Bonner, alongside numerous fashion houses). This time, it is the turn of Irish designer Simone Rocha, who will host her first dedicated menswear show on Thursday 18 June at the 17th-century Teatro Della Pergola, an opera house and theatre that is one of the oldest in Italy (previously she has presented menswear as part of her womenswear show, or via lookbook). ‘I would like to thank Pitti Uomo for their generous invitation to present my first independent menswear show on the men's calendar,’ she said when the news was announced, elucidating that she will use the moment to show ‘the length and breadth of [her] menswear proposition... [and] a new chapter in my work and world.’

Two menswear greats will return to Milan

Milan is well known for its sartorial prowess – particularly when it comes to men’s tailoring – something that has drawn two legendary international designers back to Milan Fashion Week Men’s this season. They are Paul Smith, who has shown in the city for a handful of seasons now, and Ralph Lauren, who returned to the Milan schedule in January of this year, marking the American designer’s first Italian menswear show in two decades. Both will show in their headquarters in the city: the former on Viale Umbria, the latter at Palazzo Ralph Lauren, which resides in an imposing 1941 Mino Fiocchi-designed building formerly known as Casa Campanini-Bonomi. Both will likely be celebratory affairs: particularly for Smith, who will turn 80 in July and use the latter half of the year to celebrate the landmark, including the release of an autobiography, Threads: My Life in Style, in September.

While Thom Browne will make his Milan Fashion Week Men’s debut

American designer Thom Browne has adopted something of a travelling schedule for his runway shows in recent seasons, showing between Paris and his native New York, as well as a one-off show in San Francisco earlier this year to coincide with the Super Bowl (Browne’s tailoring is a favourite among American athletes, and NFL players DeAndre Hopkins, Justin Jefferson and Steeler Marcus Allen walked the show). This season, though, he is breaking new ground: a runway show in Milan on Monday 22 June will mark his debut in the Italian city. Apart from the venue, the neoclassical Palazzo Serbelloni, little has been revealed about the show – though, if his previous outings are any indication, expect his usual eye for fantasy and play (his last menswear show, in Paris, for example, featured enormous glittering alien heads, worn by the models as masks).

Saint Laurent is back to opening Paris Fashion Week Men’s

Last June, Saint Laurent opened Men’s Fashion Week with a S/S 2026 collection that transported guests from ‘Paris to Fire Island’ amid a serene installation by French artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot at Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection (it comprised a circular pool on which a series of bowls floated across its glimmering blue surface). This season, the house will return to its first-day slot (for A/W 2026, in January, it ended proceedings) with a menswear show that is expected to take place in the contemporary art gallery. It will be followed that evening by another blockbuster show: the latest Louis Vuitton menswear collection by Pharrell Williams, which will take place at 9pm in an as-yet-undisclosed location.

All eyes will be on Jonathan Anderson’s Dior Men

Three seasons in, Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson has succeeded in making Dior one of fashion’s most talked-about houses: case in point, a Hollywood-inspired Cruise 2027 in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in May, which alongside a starry front row (Sabrina Carpenter, Miley Cyrus and Al Pacino were all in attendance), featured collaborations with artist Ed Ruscha and milliner Philip Treacy (fittingly, one of the headpieces spelt out ‘Buzz’ in feathers). On Wednesday 24 June, he will return to Dior’s home city for his S/S 2027 menswear show – arguably the most anticipated on the Paris Fashion Week Men’s schedule, following an acclaimed A/W 2026 show that drew inspiration from the outré stylings of couturier Paul Poiret and his infamous Belle Époque dinner parties.

Sarah Burton will reveal her vision for Givenchy menswear

Sarah Burton has shown three womenswear collections on the runway since the beginning of her tenure at Givenchy (she came to the house from Alexander McQueen, where she succeeded the eponymous designer as creative director); this season, in Paris, she will begin to expand her Givenchy universe with her first dedicated menswear presentation. Because, despite overseeing commercial collections – as well as dressing figures like Timothée Chalamet for the red carpet – she is yet to formerly introduce her menswear vision for the Parisian house. What to expect? Some great tailoring, no doubt – Burton is adept when it comes to a pin-sharp suit – alongside the bold flourishes of colour and print which defined her critically lauded A/W 2026 womenswear show last season.

At Celine, Michael Rider will host a dedicated menswear show

An intimate presentation of Michael Rider’s first dedicated menswear collection for Celine – presented earlier this year in the brand’s headquarters – was one of the highlights of the A/W 2026 season, despite a lack of models and runway (the clothing was instead staged in a series of playful tableaus, while guests snacked on Celine-branded popcorn). For S/S 2027, the American designer – formerly of Polo Ralph Lauren, as well as Celine during Phoebe Philo’s tenure – will host a dedicated menswear show on the final Sunday of Paris Fashion Week. Expect the infusion of Parisian insouciance and Ivy League stylings that have become his signature – and won him a devoted legion of fans, as well as thousands more aping the look in Instagram GRWMs, from colourful sweaters slung around the waist to rugby shirts and sliced-away ties.

London label Studio Nicholson will make its runway debut

This menswear season is suprisingly light on debuts, either from fledgling labels or major houses welcoming a new creative director. Studio Nicholson is an exception, though it also doesn’t fit into either camp: founded in 2010 by Nick Wakeman, the London-based label has already established itself as a cult destination for those who favour a simplicity of design and high-quality fabrications. But, while the brand has undertaken high-profile collaborations with the likes of Zara, it has never hosted a traditional runway show, something that will change this season: Wakeman has opted to present a collection during Paris Fashion Week Men‘s. Taking place on Friday 26 June at Hotel d’Evreux in Place Vendôme. Comprising her men’s and women’s collections for S/S 2027, it is a new addition to the Paris Fashion Week Men’s schedule – others include Meryll Rogge’s first menswear presentation, 2025 LVMH Prize winner Soshiotsuki and Australian brand Song for the Mute.

As seen in the June 2026 Travel Issue of Wallpaper* – a series of ‘horizon-expanding adventures and voyages of discovery’ – here’s how to stand out this summer with our pick of the season’s most eye-catching accessories, from the fantastical (Prada opera gloves; Givenchy feathered mules) to the functional (Mulberry denim sun hat; Celine oversized sunglasses). Each is primed to make a sartorial statement over the warmer months – a time for dressing with joy and abandon.

Prada opera gloves (above left)

A glove might not immediately call to mind the summer months, though the elongated opera glove was ubiquitous on the S/S 2026 runways, including this pink satin pair at Prada, where Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons mixed up the working uniform with flourishes of eveningwear (often in a single look). ‘There is the license to combine different elements, to compose,’ said the latter post-show.

Loewe’s ‘Amazona 180’ bag (above right)

A reinterpretation of the archival Amazona bag has become the hallmark accessory of Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez’s tenure at Loewe so far (they debuted for the S/S 2026 season). The ‘Amazona 180’ – referring to the 180th anniversary of the Spanish house this year – reimagines the boxy shape of the original with a slouchy new structure, designed to hang open when worn. Our favourite? This mini version in bold azure blue.

Celine sunglasses

Celine’s Michael Rider, who formerly worked at the house under Phoebe Philo before heading up Polo Ralph Lauren, marries his American roots – he was born in Washington D.C. and attended Brown University – with the house’s Parisian sensibility. Like these gleefully oversized sunglasses, which are a nod towards the bourgeois-inflected uniform of house founder Céline Vipiana in her 1970s heyday.

Givenchy’s ‘Boudoir’ mules

The summer months are primed for dressing with abandon – particularly this S/S 2026 season, where designers channelled a mood of colour, optimism and joy. These slip-on Givenchy ‘Boudoir Fringe’ mules – designed by creative director Sarah Burton – epitomise this liberated attitude, adorned with fronds of feathers.

Chanel’s resin necklace

Thanks to the stewardship of Belgian designer Matthieu Blazy, Chanel has fast become this year’s most sought-after brand – the arrival of his S/S 2026 collection in stores earlier this year sparked a much-documented shopping frenzy. This necklace, with an enormous resin charm recalling a black oyster shell, is a way to pledge your allegiance.

Fendi’s ‘Lui’ bag

Fendi has long been known for its colourful accessories which marry Made in Italy leathercraft with a sense of humour and play. Case in point: the Lui bag, a slouchy shoulder bag designed to slot neatly onto the body when worn cross-body. This version is finished with supersized leather topstitching.

Dior’s ‘Lady Dior by Sheila Hicks’ bag

At both his eponymous label, JW Anderson, and Loewe, where he was creative director for a decade, northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson has fostered a close relationship with the art world, often through collaboration. This continues with his new role as creative director of Dior, where his S/S 2026 collection featured this Lady Dior tasseled bag, a collaboration with American artist Sheila Hicks.

Limited-edition Hermès lipsticks

A trio of limited-edition Rouge Hermès lipsticks will add a flash of colour to your make-up bag, and not only in their rich pink and mauve shades. Because the real joy of these lipsticks is the Pierre Hardy-designed packaging, adorned with graphic motifs in eye-catching primary hues.

Bottega Veneta’s ‘Baby Veneta’ bag

Bottega Veneta’s intrecciato technique – which sees strands of leather woven together – is the house’s hallmark, eschewing the need for more overt logos and branding. The new ‘Baby Veneta’, a mini hobo bag, is crafted from padded intrecciato leather, here in vivid ‘Cardinal’ red.

Mulberry denim hat

A sun hat is a perennial summertime essential. This one, from British house Mulberry, combines function with flair: crafted from classic blue denim, it comes with a bright-yellow cord-fastening, like those you might find on hiking attire.

Louis Vuitton’s summer scents

This duo of Jacques Cavallier Belletrud-masterminded Louis Vuitton fragrances capture the scent of summer: the first, On The Beach, has citrus fruit yuzu at its centre, married with fresh neroli and woody cyprus (the idea was to capture the ‘ecstasy of sun and the warmth of sand’). The second, Sun Song, is a radiant mix of orange blossom, neroli and petitgrain, finished with a final touch of lemon.

Loro Piana’s ‘Just Bag’

Sometimes the summer months require simplicity: in the heat of the day, the last thing you want is complicated. Loro Piana’s effortless ‘Just’ bag is inspired by the simple proportions of a classic paper bag, though here rendered in the Italian house’s soft and lightweight ‘Silk Calf’ leather.

Fashion/set assistant: Alice Heluin-Afchain

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Paris Fashion Week culminated yesterday, marking the end of a month-long season of shows that has seen previous stops in New York, London and Milan.

With a nine-day schedule standing at nearly double the length of its counterparts, Paris remains the defining city of fashion month – not least because it comprises shows from fashion’s heavyweight houses, among them Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent (to name just a handful).

After last season’s debuts dominated the S/S headlines, A/W 2026 was about the sophomore show, as designers settled into their positions as creative directors. Without the weight of expectation, we saw some brilliant shows – notably Jonathan Anderson at Dior, Michael Rider at Celine, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez at Loewe, and Matthieu Blazy at Chanel (all were showing their second ready-to-wear collections).

Here, reported by Wallpaper* fashion & beauty features director Jack Moss and contributing writer India Jarvis, we pick the standout shows that defined the week.

The best of Paris Fashion Week A/W 2026

Dior

Jonathan Anderson staged his A/W 2026 runway show for Dior in Paris’ Jardin des Tuileries, constructing a circular show set around one of the park’s ponds (for the occasion, it had been populated with Monet-esque lily pads, meticulously constructed to look like the real thing), while the invitation comprised miniature versions of the park’s signature green metal chairs. Across the pond’s centre ran an elevated runway, echoing the line of the Tuileries’ Grand Allée, a historic promenade since the park opened to the public in 1667 after a renovation by Louis XIV. It led to a collection about ‘seeing and being seen’, a contemporary imagining of the promenade, ‘[where] a walk in the park becomes a performance’. Cue a ‘panoply of Parisians’ in eclectic, time-hopping attire, from the woozy ruffles of the Belle Époque (here transformed into mini dresses with bouncing trains) to plays on bourgeois tropes, such as fabrics that recalled heritage tweeds, blazers with golden buttons, and shearling jackets reimagined with wave-like hems. What was most striking, though, was a feeling of levity: lily-pad-adorned footwear, polka-dot motifs and crystallised denim were both playful and pretty. ‘Dior has this giant past, and I had to start there,’ Anderson said. ‘Now I feel free to release it from that.’ Jack Moss

READ: Jonathan Anderson’s latest Dior show was a walk in the park

Saint Laurent

A cinematic offering from Anthony Vaccarello unfolded in a simulacrum of a sleek, modernist home; at its centre, a sized-up recreation of a bust that lived in Yves Saint Laurent’s own apartment. Through it strode this season’s Saint Laurent heroine, her heavy-smoked eye and slick, side-parted hair a nod towards Helmut Newton’s Paris Vogue photograph of a model in Yves Saint Laurent’s ‘Le Smoking’ tuxedo on Rue Aubriot in 1975. Indeed, tailoring was central to the A/W 2026 collection: eight trouser suits opened the show, while various other iterations appeared throughout (including Vaccarello’s own riff on the tuxedo, worn by model Loli Bahia, who walked exclusively for Saint Laurent this season and closed the show). Here, the silhouette was sloped across the shoulder and narrowed at the waist – though not constricted – for a riff on the power suit that was more ‘insouciant shrug than swagger’. As a counterpoint, Vaccarello looked towards the ‘troubled heroines’ of Gore Vidal and Tennessee Williams, as well as Romy Schneider in the 1971 film Max et les Ferrailleurs (she was this season’s protagonist, he said), to capture an ‘elegance tinged with ennui… the beauty of intimacy and vulnerability’. To capture this mood, a series of slips and dresses came in lace coated in silicone, while enormous fur coats had a vivacious confidence. Jack Moss

Dries Van Noten

For many of us, the stylings of awkward adolescence are best not dwelt upon – after all, who looked or felt their best as a teenager? Evidently, Julian Klausner takes a more romantic view of this impressionable time, but, then again, Klausner was likely a more sophisticated brand of teenager than most. In any case, this was the impression given by his A/W 2026 collection for Dries Van Noten, which was inspired in part by a visit to Lycée Carnot, and the memories of being an adolescent ‘work-in-progress’. The Lycée is a Rive Droite public school with alumni including Gilles Deleuze, Guy Debord, and Daft Punk, and its Gustave Eiffel-designed great hall has been the backdrop for numerous Paris fashion shows over the years – in other words, a suitably rarefied and creatively rich starting point.

The 61 looks at Dries Van Noten asked that most teenage question: who am I going to be today? For the confident moment, a navel-bearing button-up knit with a vibrant silk skirt. When a suit of armour is required, a protective duffel coat that does the talking for you. Or maybe one day the mood might be scholastic – collegiate blazer and pleated skirt, but always, always customised, an embellishment here, a contrasting trim there. ‘Just like a pixelated picture, the more one gets far from that time of endless questioning, the clearer it becomes,’ Klausner said, a metaphor he extended through prints with digitally warped 17th-century Flemish still life paintings. Opulent, mature fabrics and finishings were styled with a youthful irreverence best summarised by the final lines from Gala Dragot’s vocal performance, which soundtracked the show: ‘Don’t be too serious... Wear a collar... Keep it blurry though.’ India Jarvis

Acne Studios

If Dries Van Noten was an homage to the experimental attitude of youth, then Acne Studios marked its 30th birthday year with a collection that declared (as one does at 30): I know exactly who I am. A/W 2026 was an affirmation of the house’s irreverent signatures, such as a revival of the particular 1996 cut of jean that made their name, and photographic elements that nod to the brand’s unconventional marketing style, including the bi-annual Acne Paper.

The setting for this season was a succession of intersecting cuboid rooms that, viewed simultaneously from the end of the runway, appeared like a Josef Albers work made three-dimensional. According to Jonny Johansson’s show notes, this was conceived ‘like an enfilade of salons … the portals marking what has come before, and what might follow’. Where a salon in the Parisian tradition might mean a bringing together of clashing or complementary ideas, at Acne Studios, the determination is to blur those boundaries as much as possible. Standout looks saw cropped aviator jackets worn with skin-tight jodhpurs and desirable point-toe pumps, Prince of Wales check jackets worn over one shoulder, and larger-than-life portraits of art school students, taken by Paul Kooiker, printed onto stiff pencil skirts and draped dresses.

Alaïa

Late last year, just after the completion of the Italian house’s sale to Prada, it was announced that Dario Vitale would be leaving his position as creative director of Versace (he lasted a single, but impactful season), to be replaced by Belgian designer Pieter Mulier. It meant that this season’s Alaïa show, watched by designers Matthieu Blazy and Raf Simons, was to be his last: the swansong of a five-year tenure defined by commercial expansion and critical success (he has also established a coterie of model muses, many of whom walked this final show, and will likely follow him to Versace). Held in an intimate showspace in the former Fondation Cartier – Mulier said he wanted it to recall a 1990s pre-iPhone runway show – the collection itself eschewed his more recent experimental silhouettes in favour of stripping things back to the essence of the house, from simple body-contouring tank dresses to lean tailored overcoats, stretch knits, and peplums and ruffles (the last flourishes rendered in Mulier’s contemporary, streamlined style).

‘This collection is about clothes to wear. What is a jacket? What is a dress?’ he said backstage after the show. ‘It’s basically a vocabulary of the last five years. It’s what I learned at Alaïa, that I’m giving to the next designer. It’s like leaving the keys on the table. At Alaïa, I learned precision, editing and [that] real luxury is not what we all think. It is a perfectly cut jacket.’ Jack Moss

READ: Pieter Mulier delivers a swansong collection at Alaïa: ‘It is a vocabulary of the last five years’

Rabanne

Of all the distinct fashions of the long 20th century, it could be argued that 1940s style is the hardest to reference without veering into the territory of costume. Perhaps it’s because boxy tailored silhouettes and victory rolls are so much associated with the vast canon of British war movies, or perhaps because austerity-driven ‘make do’ dressing is antithetical to contemporary fashion at either end of the high-low scale. It’s a testament to Julien Dossena’s eye, then, that for Rabanne A/W 2026 he incorporated patently 1940s-inspired styles – T-bar heels, tea-dress florals, and clashing knitwear – without evoking even a hint of reenactment.

After all, Rabanne has always been a house noted for its futuristic bent. Unconventional, industrial materials, like metal and plastic, are at its very heart, and remained so this season alongside those more vintage ideas – coming together in a collection that the brand called ‘a little louche’. This take on modernist femininity was told through blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glimpses of a slip through an unbuttoned blouse, a hint of lace underneath a more conservative skirt, and pussybows left suggestively undone. Dossena told Wallpaper* post-show that the character he wanted to build with these contrasts was that of ‘a resistant woman’, and that for him, there was a suggestion of retro-futurism with the 1940s-derived shapes (for example, hair pulled into sculptural pompadour styles was less Vera Lynn and more replicants in Blade Runner). India Jarvis

Rick Owens

What might the cyberpunk cousin of Marlene Dietrich wear for a night on the town? It’s a question that could only be answered by Rick Owens – whose A/W 2026 collection was an homage to the ‘dignified sequence of her life stages’, all shot through with classics from his own particular design language. Think body parts augmented through prosthetics and sci-fi silhouettes in a post-apocalyptic landscape heavy with dry ice and punctuated by magnesium-bright beams of light. Presenting the collection as the second part of ‘Tower’, which premiered during the men's collections, Owens drew from Dietrich’s qualities of ‘steeliness’ and ‘grit’, and interpreted them as sheath-like dresses, abundant piles of faux fur, and flight jackets.

Just as the German star’s enduring legacy was in part a product of her striking collaborations with Josef von Sternberg, Owens is an artist quick to credit the rich input his work receives from his creative partners. This season, much attention has been lovingly devoted to name-checking the hands through which his raw materials pass – from the third-generation, family-run mill in Como, Italy, which weaves a high-performance fibre called Kevlar (purportedly five-times stronger than steel), to the Veneto-region wash house committed to reducing water waste, which treats industrial indigo canvas. India Jarvis

Loewe

Presented on a bright-yellow runway populated by German artist Cosima Von Bonin’s plush figures of clams, octopi and dogs, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez’s sophomore Loewe collection was a welcome jolt of energy on the Friday morning of Paris Fashion Week. ‘What is fashion but an open field for endless creative play?’ said the American designers, whose poppy A/W 2026 collection translated their colourful beach-ready debut for the winter months, resulting in a riot of curvy dégradé shearling parkas, 3D-printed slips and shaggy-hemmed dresses with trailing trains. Other elements had a sporting feel – like face-shielding sunglasses, boldly coloured anoraks and chunky riffs on half-zip ski sweaters – while inflatable elements meant garments could be transformed in size and proportion (a lobster-claw-shaped pump, shown at the re-see the following day, will be sold separately).

Such experiments were made possible by the abilities of the Loewe atelier, particularly when it came to leather: bouclé overcoats were made from intricate loops of leather yarn, while the gradient shearlings were treated ‘in the same manner as poodle grooming’. ‘As we began [creating] our second collection, we were struck by a simple truth: for us, the act of making is, at its core, an expression of joy – an intellectual, process-driven pursuit charged with playfulness,’ said the designers. ‘The path taken matters as much as the end result. It is the idea of play as rigorous experimentation and problem-solving, moving between instinct and experience, between a devotion to craft and its endless opportunities for innovation.’ Jack Moss

Issey Miyake

For Satoshi Kondo, the role of designer is as much about relinquishing control as it is wielding it. Knowing when to hold back, not to overstep the mark, to let the materials speak for themselves. This was the credo he brought to the fore for Issey Miyake’s A/W 2026 offering – a characteristically Japanese recognition of innate, simple beauty.

Titled ‘Creating, Allowing’, the collection navigated this specific tension understood by designers through pieces where the artist’s hand was inserted sparingly, never tampering with the true essence of the fabrication, only enhancing. At its best, this looked like expanses of cloth cut with technical lines that left their impression on the negative space, like the wine-coloured single-breasted coat with inbuilt cape that the model held up over her shoulders to exaggerate its rectangular construction. The innate movement of the house-signature pleats was used only intermittently and, instead, dramatically inflexible lacquered washi paper was introduced through breast plates, bodices and belts – creating a contrast between motion and restriction. Kondo’s intention with this was that the most important impact was made through the human frame, by ‘minimising design intervention and leaving the form-making to the wearer's own body’.

As for the space itself, the Carrousel du Louvre was transformed with a layer of silvery sand and ‘finely shredded aluminum foil, [serving] as a device for the interaction between "material", "people", and "clothing"’. This surface became marked and patterned as the models moved across it, another allusion to Kondo’s metaphor of ‘considered disruption’. India Jarvis

Lanvin

This year marks the centenary of menswear at the house of Lanvin – a celebration that filtered into the season’s womenswear outing through nods to the boyish silhouettes that characterised interwar ladies’ fashion. It was a time when overtly feminine curves were flattened into straight lines from bust to waist, creating an elongated, athletic outline that came to epitomise the emancipated New Woman.

Peter Copping, who took the reins at Lanvin in late 2024, imagined ‘a dialogue between generations’, which came together beautifully to meld the concerns of Jeanne Lanvin’s customers in the 1920s with those who shop the brand in the present. What do they have in common? Evidently, a love of opera – gloves were cuffed and elbow-length, and belted opera coats were voluminous enough to be worn over an evening gown, and trimmed with faux fur. They wear hats (Jeanne Lanvin’s first foray into fashion was as an apprentice milliner), with A/W 2026’s borrowing from cloche shapes but with exaggerated sou’wester-style brims. They favour a dash of restrained glamour. If some of the cuts leaned slightly austere, they were countered with an opulence of fabric and finish: hand-embroidered bead droplets, inky velvets, laser-cut fringes.

Lanvin is the oldest French maison still in operation, its HQ still in its original site – therefore, the weight of its legacy must hang heavily over every designer who takes its helm. Its founder insisted on le chic ultime, a phrase that surely needs no translation, and which is no small order. It is a comfort that, for every moment of reinvention it undergoes, Lanvin is still a place that women can go to for guaranteed elegance. India Jarvis

Givenchy

The idea of individual style was a throughline of Paris Fashion Week, one expressed by Sarah Burton with her third collection for Givenchy – the former Alexander McQueen designer’s most liberated outing yet (and, as a result, her best). ‘How can we put ourselves back together in the world we’re living in?’ was the question Burton asked this season, elucidating after the show that she was thinking about the multiplicities of a contemporary woman’s life (as such, it found a companion with the Prada show in Milan, where Miuccia Prada asserted that ‘as a woman, your life is layered – each day demands not only a shifting of clothes, but a richness of identities within yourself’). So there was some typically brilliant tailoring (Burton is known for her prowess in the medium, and has recently brought over her tailoring team from Alexander McQueen), though also more vivid expressions of style – a dress, hanging from razor-thin straps, in bright yellow leather; shimmering leopard spots that burst into tassels; silk T-shirts that had been refashioned by Stephen Jones into headpieces – as well as oversized riffs on carpenter jeans, off-the-shoulder bombers, and high-collared white shirts. ‘I wanted to make it feel very personal,’ said Burton. ‘Each woman is her own person, each silhouette is her own character.’ Jack Moss

Junya Watanabe

Junya Watanabe lets the clothes do the talking. The A/W 2026 collection was accompanied by show notes that came to two single sentences: ‘The Art of Assemblage Couture explores form born from pure creative instinct, free from conventional notions of dressmaking. Through the direct presentation of raw materials, this approach expresses the surrounding social environment.’ This succinct summary belied a frenzy of ideas, which played out over one of the most entertaining shows of the week.

Classic couture silhouettes were fashioned from a mish-mash of consumer goods and mass-produced garments. The opening look, worn by Irina Shayk, comprised a gown in a 1950s prom style, constructed from gloves, with a mesh flounce. A puff-sleeved dress, with a squared neckline and a central slit that showed a silver interior, appeared to be made from a gold Mylar blanket – its creased folds still visible, like it had just been ripped from its packet. Another dress used kitschily patterned curtains, pinch pleats and all, for its full, trained skirt, while its bodice was made from – what else? – scrap number plates.

So far, so Watanabe, but this season offered more in the way of spectacle than just unconventional materials. In a more choreographed display than usual, Watanabe called in the services of Poland-born movement director Pat Boguslawski. He directed a languid yet melodramatic routine for Watanabe’s models, who threw garments onto chairs with tango-inspired passion, and turned their heads with the kind of simpering doe-eyed expressiveness of silent movie starlets. This reference was reinforced through Eugene Souleiman’s hair design, sculpted curls slicked to the foreheads and cheeks in the manner of Josephine Baker, and glam make-up by Isamaya Ffrench – winged, heavy-lashed and sometimes tear-streaked eyes. India Jarvis

Celine

It hasn’t taken long for Michael Rider to define a signature look at Celine: a preppy, uptown-inflected uniform that feels like a vision of Parisian style through American eyes (Rider had worked at Celine previously, under Phoebe Philo, though more recently headed up US label Polo Ralph Lauren). And it has worked: his collections thus far have felt like you could wear them off the runway and straight onto the street, full of clever riffs on quotidian pieces that will no doubt be much copied by lesser brands (they have also been full of great accessories, from abundant charm bracelets to colourful handbags and slipper-like loafers). For A/W 2026, Rider continued his upward trajectory with a show held at the Institut de France amid a series of beautiful modernist speakers in wood and metal, presenting a collection that favoured perennial style over ephemeral trends. ‘Celine is a style: a mix of old and new that feels urgent and dreamy,’ said Rider. ‘Making the things we all dream of finding and wearing.’ And in among this ready-to-wear wardrobe (in the truest sense), flourishes of the playful and the romantic emerged, from enormous sequins and flashes of animal print to feathered headpieces and bold punctuations of colour. ‘Putting on clothes, a look, can change the day – [it can] change how we walk and feel,’ said Rider. ‘I love that.’ Jack Moss

Hermès

Staged on a runway of moss and soil (strangely, a trend of the week, later seen at Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton), Nadège Vanhée’s latest outing for Hermès saw her conjure what she called a ‘liminal realm’ between dawn and dusk, earth and space. It lent the collection an alien, otherworldly feel: models emerged from glowing orbs and looped around the Garde Républicaine show space on an inky runway, which also inspired the clothing’s palette of deep blues, greys and black. Mashing up the equestrian codes that remain at the heart of Hermès – here, sliced-away jodhpurs-cum-cycling shorts, dressage blazers and knee-high leather boots – with lean, futuristic silhouettes, it was a clever hybrid of the past, present and future, a liminal realm of Vanhée’s own. Ostrich and leather jump suits, with contrasting knit sleeves, were the season’s show pieces – the result of the house’s superlative leather atelier, they straddled sex appeal and function – while visible zips added an almost sci-fi feel, running down the front of dresses or slicing across the chest of a jacket. Prints came via AM Cassandre, an art deco artist, and saw clouds intersected by a geometric structure – a reflection of Vanhée’s own juxtapositions between the graphic and the elemental. Jack Moss

Comme des Garçons

A strong Comme des Garçons collection saw Rei Kawakubo find solace in her favoured colour, black, which – save for a brief interlude in bright, candy pink – made up the majority of the A/W 2026 collection. And, while recent collections have seen Kawakubo grapple with tumultuous world affairs, the choice of the colour was not necessarily to represent grief or mourning – instead, the Japanese designer said it captured the expansiveness of the creative process. ‘I have come to realise that, after all, black is the colour for me,’ she said in a typically brief statement issued to the press. ‘It’s just the strongest, the best for creation, and the colour that embodies the rebellious spirit. And has the biggest meaning: the universe and the black hole.’ Indeed, the use of a single colour allowed Kawakubo’s typically provocative forms to come to the fore: this season, pillow-like constructions draped in semi-sheer black tulle, undulating pile-ups of shirred ruffles and tassels, or saucer-shaped protusions that looped around the upper body. Like any Comme collection, it was a Rorschach test – revelling in the unfamiliar, Kawakubo always challenges you to draw your own conclusions. Jack Moss

Balenciaga

Of all the creative directors at the nascent stages of new tenures, Pierpaolo Piccioli might have one of the steepest mountains to climb at Balenciaga. In the 16 years he spent at Valentino, prior to taking this new position in the spring of 2025, he demonstrated a Cristóbal Balenciaga-worthy approach to dressmaking that prioritised proportion and colour. But while Piccioli was sending out breathtaking confections of ballooning silk taffeta at Valentino, Balenciaga the brand was being injected with a new edge, at the hand of Vetements-founder Demna, whose zeitgeist-defining designs were laced with subversion and irony. How to bring the grandeur and romance that are Piccioli’s calling cards, without alienating the new demographic of customers who flocked to the brand under Demna?

For this season, his second collection, Piccioli pinned his hopes on a collaboration with Sam Levinson – the creator of Euphoria, the teen drama responsible for making internationally recognised stars out of its cast, which includes Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, and Hunter Schafer. Audiences at the Balenciaga A/W 2026 show were treated to a preview of clips from the HBO show’s third series (airing publicly in April), which played on screens across the venue; its interplay of light and dark was found running through the collection, which Piccioli had titled ‘ClairObscur’. The collection itself was a largely black affair, in light-catching high-gloss fabrics, punctuated by the occasional neon-toned print that harkened to Euphoria's colour-saturated visual style. If Euphoria – boundary-pushing, youth-orientated, and ever so slightly contentious – feels more spiritually within Demna’s wheelhouse than Piccioli’s, the High Renaissance references (‘ClairObscur’ is a play on clair-obscur or chiaroscuro, the artistic style beloved by Mannerist painters, which manifests as dramatically contrasting tones to create intense depth) brought proceedings firmly back into Piccioli’s world. India Jarvis

READ: Balenciaga taps Euphoria’s Sam Levinson for A/W 2026

Jean Paul Gaultier

After the shock factor of his debut last season – one which divided both critics and online commentators with its barely-there silhouettes and trompe l’oeil prints of nude bodies – Dutch designer Duran Lantink seemed to hit his stride this season, using his eye for the surreal and the sculptural to create a disruptive cast of archetypes, from the raver to the cowboy. Marlene Dietrich (or, more specifically, a treasured mesh T-shirt printed with the filmstar that Lantink had found in a vintage shop) was one figure on the moodboard, inspiring the clever opening tailoring, which came with jutting folds and sculpted lapels, while also being printed on a dress installed with dry ice (a nod to her favoured vice – cigarettes). The designer said she was a master in subverting tropes: ‘dominant, sexy and graceful, the ultimate hybrid’ – a mood that informed the shape-shifting collection. Tailoring metamorphosed into tech-y sportswear, trompe-l’oeil bodysuits of artist’s dummies were overlaid with lingerie, and puffer jackets became bodysuits. ‘It’s a spirit that suits the house of Gaultier, a place where the world is perpetually turned upside down,’ said Lantink via press notes. ‘Feminine and masculine, inside out, vintage and new, underwear as outerwear, technical and tailored all at once.’ Jack Moss

Chanel

Matthieu Blazy said that his sophomore ready-to-wear collection began with a quote from house founder Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel. ‘Fashion is both caterpillar and butterfly. Be a caterpillar by day and a butterfly by night,’ she said. ‘There is nothing more comfortable than a caterpillar and nothing more made for love than a butterfly. We need dresses that crawl and dresses that fly.’ It seemed an apt description for Blazy’s own vision for Chanel thus far, one which elevates the quotidien through expressive acts of craft, and finds joy in both the functional and the glamorous. These are special clothes, no doubt (as anyone who has had the chance to see them up close can attest), though they are designed to be worn, not simply exalted. As such, he will no doubt be satisfied by the busy shop floors earlier this week as his debut collection landed (it was an ongoing fashion-week talking point), and more so to see those purchases worn by attendees to the show on Monday evening (and not just by the usual high-spending customers, but editors and stylists alike).

Staged amid a series of vast primary-coloured cranes – Blazy is, after all, still in the process of constructing his Chanel – the designer’s A/W 2026 collection was a brilliant and comprehensive exercise in wardrobing, which, to borrow Coco Chanel’s categorisation spanned the ‘caterpillar’ (roomy blazers, tweeds reformulated into lumberjack-style overshirts, simple jersey dresses), but also the ‘butterfly’. The latter came in an extraordinary stream of lustrous, colour-sturated looks at the end of the show, loaded with embellishment – appliqué flowers, lace and beads – and matched with models’ pastel-coloured or metallic hair. Over the 78 looks, there was a multitude of iterations of the Chanel woman, and the accessories to match (from gleaming metallic court shorts, to squashy crescent-shaped bags that recalled croissants). ‘Chanel is day, Chanel is night. It represents the freedom to choose between the caterpillar and the butterfly whenever you want,’ said Blazy. ‘I wish to create a canvas for women to be unapologetically who they are and who they want to be.’ Jack Moss

READ: Matthieu Blazy’s sophomore Chanel collection is made for ‘women to be unapologetically who they are’

Louis Vuitton

Nicolas Ghesquière staged his A/W 2026 collection for Louis Vuitton amid a show set by Severance production designer Jeremy Hindle, seeing rolling green hills – like those found in pastoral landscapes – abstracted into a series of sharp, futuristic peaks. The collection itself had a similar rationale, drawing inspiration from nature – ‘mountains, forests, plains’, and the clothing traditionally used to live among such elemental landscapes – and reimagining them through a series of Ghesquière’s typically idiosyncratic, time-travelling silhouettes. The idea of expedition seemed a throughline – supersized-wide-shouldered jackets, shearling hats and furry-hooded duffel coats seemed primed for protection, while bags hung on leather staffs like bindles – though there was a ceremonial feel to garments, which recalled traditional rural dress (though, in Ghesquière style, they were mashed up in such a way that the references were hard to place). ‘It is not an escape from our realities, but an echo of them,’ said Ghesquière of the vivid collection, which also featured the ‘urban pastoral’ works of Ukrainian artist Nazar Strelyaev-Nazarko. ‘[It is] a new folklore, for the future.’ Jack Moss

Miu Miu

Miuccia Prada has long interrogated a woman’s place in the world: how they move through it, and a wardrobe that feels reflective of their needs. For A/W 2026, she was thinking about the ‘smallness of the body’ – not in its physical proportions, but in opposition with the vastness of the world around us. It feels like a response to our current era of overload: the runway at Palais d’Iéna was covered in a layer of soil and moss, a reminder that beyond the pomp and ceremony of luxury fashion, we are simply humans living in communion with the earth (as a seatmate commented, perhaps this was her instruction to ‘touch grass’). ‘I am obsessed with the smallness of the body – in a human sense, the contrast between ourselves, our bodies and the vastness of that which surrounds us,’ she said. ‘Who we are, and the scale and magnitude of what we have to face. This collection is not about fragility – there is a confidence, and a strength. But always about a confrontation between a human and the expansiveness of the world.’

As such, the collection segued between moments of strength and intimacy: for the former, enveloping trapper hats, hiking shoes and sporty shearling-lined parkas, for the latter, slip dresses, satin shoes and bejewelled embellishment. There felt something of the 1990s to it: not only in the more minimal looks, which intersected the middle of the show, but in that contrast between glamour and utility (a parka over a mini dress; a studded handbag; a block heel), and also the appearance of Chloë Sevigny, a longtime house muse who first walked for Miu Miu in 1996. She was joined by a coterie of ‘individuals’ on the runway, from models Gemma Ward and Kristen McMenamy to the actress Gillian Anderson, who closed the show. Jack Moss

READ: Miu Miu’s all-star cast for A/W 2026 featured Gillian Anderson and Chloë Sevigny

Optimism, colour and a sense of play are the order of the day as this season’s 12 standout looks and accessories spark a fresh start. As taken from the March 2026 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, we unpack S/S 2026’s defining trends.

Bold Texture

Above left.

For her Bottega Veneta debut, Louise Trotter channelled a feeling of ‘liberation’ through an expressive use of colour and texture, including a series of pieces constructed from strands of iridescent recycled fibreglass. In their dynamism, she sought to reflect the vibrant life of Laura Braggion, Bottega Veneta’s design director from 1985-2001, who was a member of Andy Warhol’s Factory before her time at the house.

Lucky charms

Above right.

The charm bracelet is an item of jewellery long said to bring luck andprotection. This season, the auspicious accessory enjoys a renaissance, thanks to Michael Rider at Celine: the designer’s debut ready-to-wear collection featured bracelets heavy with charms, from the house’s Triomphe monogram to heart-shaped padlocks, lockets and a helping hand, the latter a longtime symbol of prosperity and safety.

The 1990s slip

The 1990s’ mythic cool continues to be an influence on contemporary fashion (and looks set to carry on with the launch of Tate Britain’s blockbuster exhibition ‘The 90s’ in October). Few garments are more synonymous with the era than the slip dress, which had a rebirth on the runway this season, appearing at Victoria Beckham, Tom Ford and Wooyoungmi, where this negligee came edged in delicate fronds of lace.

A brand new bag

‘A study in intimacy’ is how Sarah Burton describes her first major bag launch for Givenchy. Titled the ‘Snatch’, its gently curved shape, which hooks over the shoulder and hugs neatly under the arm, is designed to echo Burton’s ready-to-wear, whether the cinched waist of a blazer or the curve of a bra top. The softness of the leather is an echo of this feeling of intimacy: ‘it pulls, cinches and embraces,’ she says.

Pyjama dressing

There is an undone elegance to the pyjama shirt, which appeared in various iterations this season – at Dries Van Noten, Dunhill and Dolce & Gabbana, among others. This striped offering, from Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello, is part of a collection of ‘ease and escapism’, in which Vaccarello sought to capture the inertia of a summer afternoon. ‘Everything feels light; shapes float rather than cling,’ he says.

Block colour

At Ferragamo, Maximilian Davis took inspiration from the dress codes of the 1920s, injecting modernity via vivid accessories – feathers sprouted from bags while mules came in luminous hues – and colour-blocked garments, like this graphic silk-panelled dress. Indeed, colour blocking was a throughline of the wider S/S 2026 season – collections from Celine, Jil Sander and Loewe all featured the expressive motif.

True blue

Blue provided a feeling of undeniable uplift this season, with the breezy hue colouring the runway at IM Men (part of a collection inspired by the work of ceramic artist Shoji Kamoda), Fendi, Tom Ford and Dolce & Gabbana. Over at Lanvin, Peter Copping paid homage to house founder Jeanne Lanvin’s love of the colour – a fascination that began with the vivid blue skies of Fra Angelico’s 15th-century frescoes.

A new summer shoe

Former Proenza Schouler designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez looked to artist Ellsworth Kelly for their debut collection for Loewe, channelling his ‘elemental colours’ and ‘chromatic intensity’ in a collection that sought a feeling of freedom and release. Sculpted leather dresses, flocked heels and vivid striped knits had a playful sensibility, injecting new energy into the Spanish house.

Extreme layering

Zane Li’s debut show for his eponymous New York label LII made a case for extreme layering, a playful theme that ran throughout the S/S 2026 season. At Issey Miyake, diaphanous layers of fabric were stretched over household objects to create surreal silhouettes, while rising Belgian designer Julie Kegels turned garments upside down and collaged them together, as if they had taken on a life of their own.

Shirt tales

Matthieu Blazy’s debut collection for Chanel featured a collaboration with Parisian shirtmaker Charvet. The designer drew inspiration from Coco Chanel’s love affair with polo player Boy Capel and the way she would purportedly share his clothing. Embroidered with ‘Chanel’ and crafted with a weighted hem, the poplin shirts capture Blazy’s knack for elevating the quotidian through meticulous acts of craft.

Standout specs

Sunglasses are for making a sartorial statement this season. Case in point: these goggle-like frames from Miu Miu, which appeared on the S/S 2026 runway in bright shades of yellow, orange and blue. Similar styles were seen at Loewe, Versace and Balenciaga, the latter presenting huge bug-eyed shades adorned with shimmering crystals and worn with gowns and opera gloves – a very modern proposition for eveningwear.

Vivid outerwear

Outerwear eschewed the usual hues of grey, brown and black for bold colours that befit spring. This red overcoat by Prada embodies the season’s optimism, appearing as part of a collection that was about capturing a mood of escapism. Colourful outerwear was also spotted at Auralee, Dries Van Noten and Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello, the latter inspired by hazy summer days on New York’s Fire Island.

Shop the story

A version of this story appears in the March 2026 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News + now. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

Models: Pascal Thulin at Next, Marrit Krikke at Platform Agency. Casting: Leila at Suun Consultancy. Hair: Paula McCash using Babylisspro and Evopro. Make-up: Claire Urquhart at Julian Watson Agency using Make Up For Ever. Manicure: Saffron Goddard using Chanel La Base Camélia and La Crème Main. Digi tech: Cameron Williamson. Photography assistant: Lucas Bullens. Fashion assistant: Nathan Fox. Production assistant: Danielle Quigley.

‘Alexander McQueen was all about the waistline,’ said Irish creative director Seán McGirr following his A/W 2025 collection for McQueen, which carved out the waist in dramatic fashion. It would be a trend that ran through the season: architectural tailoring was nipped at the waist or narrowed with wide-leather belts, suggesting not constriction but a new power silhouette (as such, it was often teamed with a wide shoulder, superhero-style). At Sarah Burton’s Givenchy debut, jackets were meticulously sculpted at the waistline (‘to cut, shape and proportion. It’s what I feel, how I work, and want to do,’ she said), while Kim Jones’ swansong at Dior Men looked towards the pinched-waist Bar Jacket for inspiration.

In keeping with this mood, the belt became the accessory of the season, with iterations at Prada, Jil Sander, Saint Laurent, Brioni and Sacai worn to reshape the body – whether over gowns or blazers, or cinching the waist of an overcoat. But the statement belt has been bubbling under for some time: at Miu Miu’s S/S 2025 show, looping and stacked-up chain belts were akin to strings of jewellery, while other designers – from Hodakova to August Barron and Craig Green – have created iterations that are studded, charm-adorned, painted with florals or furry to the touch. As such, they provide the perfect flourish to an otherwise simple outfit, channelling an au courant desire to adorn ourselves and our accessories (see: the unstoppable rise of the bag charm).

Here, as selected by the Wallpaper* style team, are ten statement-making belts to add drama to any outfit.

A wild, animalistic mood permeated the A/W 2025 collections, where a frenetic collage of clashing animal prints, slices of faux fur and shearling, and fronds of feathers suggested a need for escape and release. This was the starting point of the cover shoot for the September 2025 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, an exploration of the uninhibited, subversive glamour which ran through the season, where tropes of luxury were twisted, or turned on their head.

Photographed by Austrian image-maker Nicole Maria Winkler and styled by Wallpaper* fashion and creative director Jason Hughes, the shoot sees model Costanze Van Rosmalen – who made a memorable runway debut at Prada’s A/W 2025 show, titled ‘Raw Glamour’ – inhabit a surreal domestic scene, a hallmark of Winkler’s work (for Wallpaper’s March 2025 Style Issue, she created a liminal apartment complete with disorientating trompe l’oeil wall coverings, part of an ongoing collaboration with set designer Kim Harding).

‘What I find exciting is creating deconstructed settings which emphasise the model’s performance for the camera. It doesn’t feel like her natural habitat but a constructed scene,’ she says. ‘In this instance, the double-height stage resembled a domestic set-up – a living room complete with sofa and TV and a bed on top. In another setup our model Constanze casually speed-walked on a treadmill wearing thigh-high Acne Studios boots – one of my favourite moments.’

‘Faux animal furs and reptile skins were really prevalent this season,’ adds Hughes. ‘For this shoot, I liked this idea of clashing them to create these surreal hybrid combinations, layered up in a single look. They are also textures synonymous with traditional glamour and luxury – we wanted to play with them to create a modern way of dressing up.’

Explore the shoot below.

The September 2025 issue of Wallpaper* is available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

An imagined meeting between photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and couturier Yves Saint Laurent – two men responsible for honing the aesthetic of the 1980s – provided the inspiration for Anthony Vaccarello’s A/W 2025 menswear collection for Saint Laurent, presented in the Tadao Ando-designed rotunda of Paris’ Bourse de Commerce earlier this year. Hanging chandeliers – lowered to just a few feet from the floor – lent the space a moody half-light, inspired by those which hung in the ballroom of Paris’ Intercontinental Hotel, where Yves Saint Laurent held his couture shows from 1976 onwards.

Out of the darkness emerged his protagonist for the season: part-Yves Saint Laurent in ‘bookish’ houndstooth and flannel tailoring, a recreation of his distinctive Parisian uniform, part-Mapplethorpe in the thigh-high leather boots worn atop, inflected with the suggestion of kink that ran through his photographic oeuvre (Mapplethorpe remains best-known for his homoerotic male nudes, which often featured elements of fetish and BDSM-wear, from leather boots, chaps and harnesses to gimp masks and latex). Vaccarello described the collection as capturing ‘a menacing, seductive elegance’, further figured in hefty leather overcoats and flourishes of ‘fur’ (in fact, these pieces were constructed from thousands of meticulously placed feathers).

Dangerous elegance: A/W 2025’s new menswear mood

This feeling of ‘menacing elegance’ ran through the season, with 1980s-inflected designs capturing a mood of dangerous sensuality through moments of leather, denim and western-wear, often clashed with classical tailoring or corporate attire. At MM6 Maison Margiela, tasselled leather gilets and pants looked to have stepped out of a Karlheinz Weinberger photograph; at Versace, slick leather tailoring was worn with silk shirts adorned with animal prints and baroque motifs; while at Prada, an influence of western-wear came in cowboy boots tweaked upwards at the toe, and tailoring made from a patchwork of leather. Playing out amid a scaffold show set designed to evoke the intimacy of a nightclub, co-creative directors Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons called it a collection of ‘instinct and passion’.

Here, taken from the cover shoot of the September 2025 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, a series of these looks is captured by French photographic duo Melanie + Ramon and Wallpaper* fashion and creative director Jason Hughes. Together, they encapsulate the A/W 2025’s dangerous, sensual mood – an invitation to embrace a sense of risk when dressing for the season ahead. Our short film of the shoot, above, plays out to the voice of a young Marlon Brando, as recorded in an early screentest for Rebel Without a Cause (the part later went to James Dean).

Model: Colin O at Tomorrow Is Another Day. Casting: Noah Shelley at Streeters. Hair/grooming: Michael Harding at Blend Management using Davines. Digi tech: Grzegorz Stefanski. Photography assistants: Joe Conway, Jason Colledge. Fashion assistant: Anna Sweasey. Production assistant: Danielle Quigley. Retouching: Courtoisie.

A version of this story appears in the September 2025 Style Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

As is so often the case, it was fashion soothsayers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons who seemed to distill the mood of the season with their A/W 2025 collection for Prada, positing a ‘raw glamour’ – a subversive interrogation of the tropes of feminine elegance, from ‘fur’ coats to 1960s-style dresses, which Mrs Prada said chimed with a growing unease about the state of the world. ‘It is not my job to be political but when you open a newspaper – oh my God!’ Mrs Prada said after the show. ‘Our job is to think about what clothes a woman can wear, about what kind of femininity makes sense in this moment.’

Nostalgic glamour – largely twisted or disrupted – ran throughout the season in evocations of ’fur’ (almost exclusively faux, or cleverly manipulated shearling), bra tops and pussybow blouses, celebrating an unconventional, dishevelled beauty. The carved or sculpted waistline also emerged as a trend throughout the month – though in the hands of designers like Sarah Burton, who made her debut at Givenchy, the silhouette was stripped of connotations of confinement. ‘[It’s about] strength, vulnerability, emotional intelligence, feeling powerful or very sexy,’ she said. Elsewhere, cocooning and concealing silhouettes protected against the elements – whether real or existential – while upside-down and back-to-front silhouettes reflected our topsy-turvy moment.

Here, Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss selects the trends and takeaways from the A/W 2025 womenswear shows, which concluded earlier this week in Paris.

Designers explored a ‘raw glamour’

‘Raw glamour’ was the term coined by Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons to describe their A/W 2025 womenswear collection for Prada. ‘Glamour was something we were attracted to, instinctively, and its connection to femininity,’ said Mrs Prada on a show which interrogated notions of conventional beauty – all the way down to the dishevelled bed head hair by Guido Palau. Typically feminine silhouettes – like 1960s-style dresses – were blown up in size as if sizes too big, or came creased and sliced-away raw at the hem. Meanwhile tropes of feminine elegance – like fur coats or ladylike handbags – were subverted in provocative style, the former into strange forms with protusions around the neck or trapped under plastic (‘fur’ was actually shearling – more on that later). ‘It is not my job to be political but when you open a newspaper – oh my God!’ Mrs Prada said after the show. ‘Our job is to think about what clothes a woman can wear, about what kind of femininity makes sense in this moment.’

A similar mood was struck at Miu Miu – where Mrs Prada works solo – seeing the designer propose a wardrobe of undone Milanese glamour, where similar hallmarks of femininity, from the 1950s-pointed bra to ‘fur’ stoles and brooches, were warped and disrupted. ‘These accessories of femininity – bras, furs, brooches – they are things we have had forever. Are they relevant today? Do they lift us up?’ she said of the collection, which played out amid a set entirely covered in girlish yellow moiré. A similar mood ran throughout the season: at Valentino, Alessandro Michele’s louche, eclectic vision of glamour – sheer lace bodies, satin bra tops and bows, more ‘furs’ and feathers – played out amid a surreal ‘public bathroom’ (models tottered around the space, gussying themselves up in the toilet mirrors as if in a nightclub restroom), while Francesco Risso’s Marni playfully riffed on the salon show with high-colour faux furs, patchworked dresses and 3D flower adornment. At Acne Studios, pussybow bodysuits and slashed scarf dresses – straight out of a Helmut Newton photograph – were worn with fuzzy ‘fur’ coats, their construction inspired by that of teddy-bear limbs.

Textures and prints got animalistic

The proliferation of ‘fur’ this season was unavoidable, appearing in various iterations, from candy-striped at Gucci, two-toned at Marni, to mink-grey at Giorgio Armani. Almost exclusively faux or crafted from cleverly manipulated shearling, the by-product of meat and dairy farming (an exception was Gabriela Hearst, where the sustainably conscious designer had crafted a coat from second-hand mink to prevent waste), its use suggested both Prada’s ‘instinctual attraction to glamour’ and a desire for protection (indeed, some uses of the material were almost primitive in their cut). Highlights included a series of incredible ‘fur’ coats and stoles at Fendi’s 100th anniversary show which had the illusion of fox, mink or sable but were actually shearling – a paean to the house’s brand of Roman elegance – while at Rabanne, tassel-like ‘tails’ hung from coats and dresses. The animalistic mood extended into print, both Dolce & Gabbana and Saint Laurent featured leopard spots – the latter under a slick of transparent resin – while at Duran Lantink, zebra, cow, python and leopard prints met in an unconventional mélange (in a playful flourish, the model Leon Dame was entirely body-painted in black and white zebra stripes).

The waist was accentuated

‘McQueen is about a waist,’ said the Irish designer Séan McGirr at his A/W 2025 show for the British house, after a trip into the archive had drawn him towards Lee McQueen’s amped-up ‘hourglass’ silhouette – accentuated shoulder, narrow-waist – which captures the clash of power and eroticism which ran through his collections. McGirr’s riff was lithe and elongated, with extra-long sleeves, a corseted waistline and rounded, armour-like shoulders. ‘I took a lot of pieces from the archive, especially tailoring, and reworked them in a way that made sense for today.’

Meanwhile former McQueen designer Sarah Burton’s acclaimed debut at Givenchy – which also began with a return to the archive, inspired by a lost trove of Hubert de Givenchy’s 1952 sketches – saw her meticulous eye for tailoring create carved-waist blazers and overcoats with a wide, amplified shoulder line that was without constriction. ‘I want to address everything about modern women,’ she said. ‘[It’s about] strength, vulnerability, emotional intelligence, feeling powerful or very sexy. All of it.’ At Miu Miu, wool tailoring was cleverly constructed with a fold under the chest – the result was a narrowed, though not restrictive, waistline – while at Balenciaga, meticulous pattern-cutting saw ‘fur’-hooded nylon parkas whereby the quilted exterior had been reworked to recall a corset or bodice.

Things got turned back to front, or upside down

When Celine Dion wore a white John Galliano tuxedo to the Academy Awards in 1999, she landed on numerous worst dressed lists. Turns out the Canadian chanteuse was simply ahead of her time: this season, several designers turned garments back to front – a fitting uniform for our topsy-turvy times. Most committed were Paris-based duo Danial Aitouganov and Imruh Asha, whose A/W 2025 collection for fledgling brand Zomer saw almost every look turned upside-down or back-to-front resulting in a kind of opposites day in clothing form (even the run of the show went backwards, starting with the finale). At Givenchy, Burton presented a more refined take with a sculptural tailored jacket which fastened along its back, while at Hodakova – the buzzy LVMH Prize-winning label run by Ellen Hodakova Larsson – trousers were turned upside down and recut into dresses (belts still ran around the waistline, which was now the hem). Meanwhile at Issey Miyake, performers contorted themselves into surreal forms as part of a collaboration with Erwin Wurm and his ‘One Minute Sculptures’ – a reflection of the playfully surreal collection, in which shopping bags became tops and trompe l’oeil prints saw dresses printed on dresses.

Looks were cocooning, wrapped or concealing

The want for protection, to be covered up, wrapped and cocooned is nothing new for the winter season, though for A/W 2025 the current state of unease – referenced by numerous designers this season, from Miuccia Prada to Rei Kawakubo – no doubt contributed to a renewed desire to be protected against the elements (whether the everyday or the existential). Most strikingly, this came in the idea of concealment: several designers created silhouettes this season which obscured the hands, whether the jaunty kangaroo pockets on dresses at Issey Miyake – it made the models appear to be clutching their hands to their chests – or Rokh’s long, cape-like silhouettes which entirely enveloped the hands of the wearer.

At Hermès, Nadège Vanhée presented a collection which moved between a determined sensuality – she also carved the waist in sinuous leather dresses – and something softer and enveloping, figured in coats with enormous collars, or leather jackets with soft double-faced cashmere linings. A similar tenderness was struck at Sacai, whereby Chitose Abe said she was thinking about the act of wrapping: as such, the silk foulard became a motif, inspiring the cut or dresses or inset into a blazer. Meanwhile at Comme des Garçons, a liberated A/W 2025 collection – which Kawakubo said was a celebration of the ‘small but mighty’ – saw enormous sculptural ‘gloves’ wrapped around the hand like a boxer’s gloves or lobster claw. It spoke to the idea that concealment could be as much about armour as comfort – a mood reflected at Junya Watanabe, where leather jackets were cut with giant spikes or had a plate-like construction, like a beetle’s shell.

On a sunlit Friday morning in Paris, Sarah Burton revealed her vision for Givenchy in a debut collection which explored notions of contemporary glamour and personal style – a nod to house founder Hubert de Givenchy, whose garments found elegance in restraint, a way to highlight the wearer’s character. ‘He is far more than a couturier,’ said his perennial muse Audrey Hepburn, a client and friend of over four decades, who immortalised the Givenchy little black dress. ‘He is a creator of personality.’

Staging the show in the historic Givenchy salon on Avenue Georges V, the pared-back set – seats were made from piles of envelopes, like those used to store garment pattern pieces – provided something of a blank canvas for Burton’s debut, an intimate showcase with just a handful of guests in attendance. It was perhaps the most anticipated moment of fashion month so far: the award-winning British designer, who was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, was appointed by the Parisian house to replace Matthew M Williams in 2024 having left Alexander McQueen after close to three decades at the British house.

Inside Sarah Burton’s Givenchy debut

This, though, was a fresh start. It began, Burton said, the discovery of a rare cache of Hubert de Givenchy pattern pieces – like those which made up the show’s set – which had been long hidden at 8 Avenue de Vigny, the former Givenchy maison, after a recent renovation. ‘It’s my natural instinct to go back to pattern-cutting, to craftsmanship’ she explained, having built a reputation at Alexander McQueen for precise, sculpted tailoring which reflected the contours of the body (at Givenchy, each garment took at least three fittings to perfect). ‘To cut, shape and proportion. It’s what I feel, how I work, and want to do.’

Here, tailored jackets – drawing inspiration from the tuxedo – were broad at the shoulder with a narrow, carved waistline, while inside-out seams and raw edges suggested the act of construction. A similar approach ran through the collection’s outerwear, while a series of bodysuits, pleated at the neckline, showed a similar fascination with form. Sculpted bustiers, a signature of her tenure at Alexander McQueen, featured throughout, on pretty flared mini dresses or a strapless jumpsuit in tailoring wool.

Other silhouettes captured a feeling of flou: a bouncing gown came in in layers of lemon-yellow tulle, trapeze-shaped dresses opened to a square-shaped back, while asymmetric hemlines (shorter at the front, longer at the back) referenced a number of archival Givenchy designs. Suggestions of glamour came in garments constructed from a tangle of pearl and gem jewellery, or a collage of make-up and powder cases. Accessories, meanwhile, came stamped with ‘Givenchy Paris, 1952’. ‘To go forward, you have to go back to the beginning,’ Burton said. ‘To me, that’s about the atelier. It’s the heart and soul of Givenchy.’

But this was also a collection about contemporary femininity which, despite its relatively brief run time, saw Burton seek to establish a comprehensive, occasion-spanning wardrobe for the woman of today. ‘I want to address everything about modern women,’ she continued of the collection, which had both a striking clarity and more evocative undercurrent of romance. ‘[It’s about] Strength, vulnerability, emotional intelligence, feeling powerful or very sexy. All of it.’

Burton’s arrival at Givenchy comes after a formative tenure at Alexander McQueen, where she took over from the visionary British designer in the wake of his death in 2010, by which time Burton had already spent 15 years at the brand. She first stepped through its doors in 1996, taking up a placement during her studies at Central Saint Martins, and was appointed head of womenswear in 2000. Honouring Lee McQueen’s legacy, her vision for the house merged romance, folklore and forgotten modes of British craft – often plucked from the northern cities and villages surrounding her hometown of Macclesfield.

The news came that she would be leaving Alexander McQueen in September 2024, causing an outpouring of praise for Burton’s tenure and a lament for the lack of female designers in the big seat at luxury houses. She takes up the helm of Givenchy from Matthew M Williams, making her the brand’s fourth designer in the space of a decade – though a sensitive and steady track record makes Burton a shrewd choice on behalf of the house.

Fittingly, there’s still a connection to her mentor in the move. Burton was a young designer at McQueen during his lavish, controversial stint as Givenchy’s creative director between the years of 1996 and 2001, where he shook up the historic house with displays of twisted beauty and headline-grabbing spectacle. As evidenced this morning in Paris, though, Burton’s vision for Givenchy will be distinctly her own. ‘For me, there’s always a juxtaposition to what I do: you have the dress and the tailoring, and I love that this house has both of those things in its DNA,’ Burton said following her appointment. ‘It felt like it was a great place to be.’

Her arrival marks a changing of the tides in Paris – where houses had previously gambled on the ingenuity of young designers, they now seem to be seeking experienced hands. Recent appointments of Alessandro Michele at Valentino, Peter Copping at Lanvin, and Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford all point to a grasp for stability amid a market in flux.

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Paris Fashion Week A/W 2025 took over the French city this week with a packed schedule of runway shows from industry titans – among them Dior, Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent, Chanel and Givenchy, the last marking the much-anticipated debut of former Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton.

Her opening gambit for the storied Parisian house took place on Friday morning (7 March 2025), seeing Burton draw inspiration from a cache of long-hidden patterns by house founder Hubert de Givenchy, reimagining his signatures for the woman of today. ‘I want to address everything about modern women,’ she said. ‘Strength, vulnerability, emotional intelligence, feeling powerful or very sexy. All of it.’

Elsewhere, Haider Ackermann made his debut at Tom Ford on Wednesday evening (5 March), having succeeded Peter Hawkings earlier this year; Julian Klausner held his first show as creative director of Dries Van Noten at the Opéra Garnier (also on Wednesday), while Alessandro Michele unveiled his sophomore ready-to-wear collection for Valentino in a surreal, red-hued ‘public bathroom’ (those awaiting Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, though, will have to wait until September for his official arrival).

A handful of intriguing younger names also populated the schedule, including LVMH Prize-winning designers Duran Lantink and Hodakova, while the usual contingent of Japanese designers – among them Rei Kawakubo’s Comme des Garçons, Junya Watanabe and Noir Kei Ninomiya – presented typically thought-provoking collections on Saturday (8 March 2025).

Here, Wallpaper* fashion features editor Jack Moss – with additional reporting from Orla Brennan – unpacks the best of Paris Fashion Week A/W 2025.

Saint Laurent

A ‘simplicity of silhouette – as if created with a few pencil strokes’ is how Anthony Vaccarrello described his masterful A/W 2025 collection for Saint Laurent, which replaced Louis Vuitton this season as Paris Fashion Week’s finale. Now adept at visual spectacle – sleek, monolithic runway sets have become a hallmark of his tenure – Vaccarrello staged this season’s show on what he called ‘a grand onyx oval’, the oil-slick black runway surrounded by panels of mineral rock.

The collection itself was an exercise in singularity, the mining of a silhouette over and over: from the broad shoulder and raised neckline of the collection’s opening looks (this season achieved without use of padding, but instead through the garment’s construction) towards enormous full skirted-gowns, which despite their grandeur, recalled nighties or slips (‘I really liked this idea of elasticity, of movement—all to give a sense of freedom,’ he said). A richness of fabric and colour enlivened these singular looks, from guipere lace and richly-hued satin to a plasticky animal-print material achieved by dipping printed cigaline silk into resin. It made for a transfixing closing act. JM

Miu Miu

Earlier this month in Milan, Miuccia Prada – alongside co-creative director Raf Simons – presented an A/W 2025 Prada collection titled ‘Raw Glamour’. ‘We asked ourselves – what is feminine? What is feminine beauty?’ the designer said at the time, conjuring a dishevelled elegance which confronted notions of conventional beauty. At Miu Miu, the designer – here working solo – continued that interrogation of womanhood with a collection which saw her evoke the symbolic markers of feminine dress, from fur stoles and pointed bras to handbags and heels. ‘These accessories of femininity – bras, furs, brooches – they are things we have had forever. Are they relevant today? Do they lift us up?’

The resulting collection captured a mood of bourgeois Milanese glamour: oversized overcoats were worn with a ‘fur’ stole thrown over the arm and ladylike handbag nestled in its crook, delicate ribbed socks worn with shuffling brown loafers, while blazers were pinned with brooches on each side of the chest. ‘I don’t see these things as clichés,’ she asserted backstage, though they were presented here in disruptive manner: from the pointed bra tops which jutted outwards from beneath delicate, sugary knits, to the construction of the tailoring which was folded strangely at the chest or cut to fall purposely off the shoulder (other jackets were cropped as if sliced in half).

Played out in a surreal showspace covered in girlish yellow moiré on a cast which included actress Sarah Paulson and musician Cortisa Star, these ‘accessories of femininity’ were recast as objects of power – a provocative pitch for independence from the perception-shifting designer. ‘We need femininity in this difficult time to lift us up,’ she said. JM

Kiko Kostadinov

Laura and Deanna Fanning staged their A/W 2025 show for Kiko Kostadinov in Brasserie Mollard – a 130-year-old restaurant on Rue Saint-Lazare covered in its original Belle Époque gilded tiling, where guests were seated around white linen-covered tables as if about to have lunch. The charm of the largely unchanged eatery set the perfect scene for the identical twin design duo’s latest collection, which explored the ‘rakish’ spirit of discovering yourself in a new city. Their muse for the season was Vali Myers, an Australian dancer who moved among Paris’ bohemian set in the 1950s, imagining her ‘gallivanting bravely through the city as the sun rises, just a topcoat thrown over a slip’.

The resulting collection was one of the sisters’ sexiest yet. Taking shape around vintage women’s underpinnings, pointed bras and structured crinolines gave the body an angular sensuality, while a louche softness emerged in lingerie-informed abstract paisley appliqués, liquid darted blouses, and ultra-thin knitwear layers that clung close to the skin. Always offsetting the girly with something rougher, the Fannings looked to the rebellious Teddy Girls – working-class teenagers in 1950s London who wore Victorian-era menswear – and the masculine layering of the modern ‘tomboy’. Suiting and shirting came in skew-whiff shapes and piratey stripes, baggy Japanese denim was splattered with paint, and rounded batwing jackets and tiny cigarette trousers were fastened with rope. Textures and colours, meanwhile, were eccentrically mashed – mohair, moleskin, and alpaca came in primary colours merged with earthy tones – while accessories took on ‘personalities’, from a doctor’s bag to a sprite’s pointed cap.

A display of depth and originality, the collection affirmed the sister’s confidence in the Kiko Kostadinov woman they have been building together since 2018 – one that has been embraced by a devoted community of women around the world. ‘We are thinking of women taking up their bodies, being sexual and monumental, strong minded and soft,’ they said following the show. ‘Finding a path for oneself in the in-between of opposites, the way only a woman can.’ OB

Chanel

A monumental installation by Canadian designer Willo Perron, evocative of an unfurled black ribbon – a perennial Chanel signature – backdropped the house’s A/W 2025 collection. Designed by Chanel’s ‘Creation Studio’ as the house awaits the arrival of Matthieu Blazy (the former Bottega Veneta designer will not present his first collection until September), it was a collection designed to ‘alter perceptions’, whether through size and proportion, or illusory tricks. This was largely achieved through reimagining Chanel emblems – from pearls, ribbons and bows to quilted handbags and tweed suits – in imaginative ways, whether enormous pearl necklaces worn like a sash (they were actually handbags), shimmering trompe l’oeil bows, or cleverly layered tweed ‘three pieces’, comprising a shrunken jacket, wrap skirt and loose-cut trousers worn at once. The idea of illusion continued in degradé ‘denim’ shirts and jeans in printed chiffon, while sheer tulle overlays – sitting over tailored jackets and dresses – had a spectral effect. The result was a collection both playfully surreal and reassuringly Chanel, the perfect placeholder as we await Blazy’s much-anticipated ready-to-wear debut next season. JM

Louis Vuitton

Presenting to just 400 guests – a relatively intimate showcase by Louis Vuitton standards – Nicolas Ghesquière staged his A/W 2025 collection for the house at L’Étoile du Nord, the headquarters of France’s national railway, just next door to Gare du Nord train station. ‘Recreating the bustling atmosphere of a Parisian train station – where fleeting moments are shared between strangers, weaving a tapestry of stories’, the designer explained of the roots of the collection, which played out in a set by Es Devlin, featuring rows of colourful metal seating – a surreal play on the furniture of waiting rooms or train platforms – while film projections of the shadows of travellers-on-the-move appeared around the upper windows of the building’s atrium.

As such, the collection itself comprised a series of characters one might encounter at a train station – albeit with Ghesquière’s eclectic, postmodern sheen. There were colourful raincoats and anoraks, some with a sporty Louis Vuitton logo; business-like trenches and pussybow ties; futuristic ‘uniforms’ recalling those of conductors or attendants; while expressions of old-world glamour, from twisting turban headwear to glittering fur coats and flouncy ruffled dresses recalled what Ghesquière called ‘the excitement of 19th-century rail travel… [a world of] adventure and enchantment.’ Bags, unsurprisingly, were a highlight – slouchy holdalls, slung over the shoulder, met violin and hat cases, blanket bags and vanity boxes – while the cover of Kraftwerk’s 1977 album ‘Trans-Europe Express’ became a motif throughout the collection.

‘The euphoria of discovery… the exhilaration of travel,’ Ghesquière described of the show, which culminated in the models watching over the space from the atrium’s balconies. ‘The enthusiasm of departure or the comfort of return.’ JM

Sacai

This season, Sacai’s Chitose Abe was thinking about the rituals of dressing with a collection titled ‘One Tender Moment’. Namely, the idea of ‘wrapping’ – how we wrap fabrics around our body for warmth, protection or comfort. As ever, this was achieved through adept pattern cutting (she worked as a pattern maker for both Comme des Garçons and Junya Watanabe before starting her own label), with garments which twisted and looped around the body, like the blazer transforming into forms reminiscent of capes or enormous scarves. The silk foulard was a symbolic motif of the collection’s thrown-on mood, transforming into twisted handkerchief dresses or inset into jackets. Meanwhile, flourishes of adornment – from faux-feather appliqué to oversized paillettes – gave the collection an insouciant, sensual glamour, which Abe said was also reflected in the evocation of Man Ray’s teardrop works in ‘photo stitch’ embroidery. ‘[They] highlight the lips and the eyes – the purest essence of sensual beauty,’ she said. JM

Rokh

Rok Hwang designs his clothes for shy girls – women who might not be the loudest in the room, but who want their wardrobe to relay a certain strength about who they are. This season, the Korean-American designer and Celine alum (Hwang was at the brand during the Phoebe Philo years) explored the idea of ‘Fractured Motion’, applying his signature style of deconstruction and poetic drape to a muted, chalky wardrobe that played with ideas of fragility. Guests were invited to a crumbling French maison to see the show unfold, its rough grandeur setting the stage for a collection that balanced structure and spontaneity. Rather than lean into pure romance, Hwang subverted the tropes of classic tailoring, turning rigid forms into fluid sculptures. Wool coats bloomed into floral shapes, sculptural dresses clung and collapsed in unexpected ways, and layered fabrics gave the feeling of perpetual motion. A series of body pieces were Hwang’s most theatrical – strict, corset-like structures with unravelling edges, and illusion pieces that made models’ torsos resemble the marble busts of Rodin. A love letter to the sensitive souls who have supported his brand since he launched in 2016, this was Hwang at his most experimental and refined. It was about ‘tradition and boldness silently told,’ he said of the collection following the show. OB

Valentino

Alessandro Michele brought his flair for the theatrical to his sophomore ready-to-wear outing for Valentino, which unfolded in a specially constructed showspace at Paris’ Institut du Monde Arabe. Evocative of an enormous public bathroom – cubicles ran around the edge of the room, as did sinks and mirrors – the red-hued space provided a surreal but cinematic backdrop for a show exploring ‘ideas of private and public, surfaces and depths’ (Michele called the set ‘Lynchian’). Titled ‘Le Méta-Théâtre des Intimités’, the designer explained in his typically esoteric show notes (references included the philosophers Romano Màdera and Ludwig Wittgenstein), that this was a show about intimacy as performance: before the models emerged from the swinging cubicles, we saw glimpses of feet from beneath the door, as if the person inside was stood in the nude.

It set the stage for a sensually charged collection from the designer: undone lace body suits were inset with narrow satin bras, 1970s-style dresses in clashing shades of red and pink, while thrown-on ‘fur’ coats had a hedonistic glamour. If not stripped back – Michele remains a maximalist at heart – there felt like new clarity to this collection, pulling back some of the more extraneous flourishes of last season towards a harder vision of glamour. Indeed, the collection felt like it was unfolding in the bathroom of a nightclub, with models prowling the space, checking their outfits in the sink mirrors, before disappearing away back into the cubicles. What they were doing inside – and with whom – was left to the imagination. ‘The deepest intimacy is theatre,’ Michele concluded, having put on his own thrilling – and seductive – show. JM

Akris

The vaulted main hall of Le Collège des Bernardins, a former Cistercian refectory, was flooded with blue light for Albert Kriemler’s latest Akris outing, which celebrated the evocative power of the hue. Titled ‘The Blue Hour’, the designer called it ‘a story of clarity, of euphoria, of blue – blue in nature, blue in spaces, blue in artworks, just blue,’ which began by thinking about the moment ‘when day and night cross.’ As such, garments melded codes of day and eveningwear: a macintosh-style jacket, sliced away at the waistline, was reimagined in rich midnight-blue velvet, a ribbed-knit sweater worn with a floating organza skirt, while a zip-up hoodie was adorned with hundreds of iridescent blue paillettes. Feathers were a motif that ran throughout, whether sprouting from a high-heeled pump or in blue and black waves across the collection’s closing look. Kriemler said he wanted them to ‘evolve with movement, continuously changing as they follow the body [and] right to the next party.’ JM

Balenciaga

Demna staged his latest collection on a darkened, labyrinthine runway with ‘multiple entrances and exits’ which the Georgian designer likened to the way you can lose yourself in the creative process. Though having established such a design signature of the house, namely a subversive take on wardrobe archetypes, this was a collection which saw Demna continue, clear-minded and defiant, down his own path. He called the collection, which attendees viewed from up close (everyone had a front-row seat), a study of ‘standard dress codes, and what it takes to twist standard fits and garments into a fashion context… a sociological observation of the wardrobe.’ As such, the catalogue of looks – which moved between sharp, corporate attire, twisted sportswear (a collaboration with Puma featured) and dishevelled eveningwear, with lace and polka dot dresses hiked up to reveal the leg – felt like a revisiting of Demna’s greatest hits, albeit here with new rigour (he talked about a ‘pursuit of the golden ratio… a rethinking of standards’). Highlights included a series of furry-hooded puffer jackets whereby the quilting had been cleverly reworked to recall the shape of a corset or bodice, or tailoring with deep, in-set creases – reminders of the designer’s potent ability to reimagine the familiar anew. JM

Duran Lantink

Duran Lantink invited guests down to an office space – soon to be fashion-favourite design studio Bureau Betak’s new HQ – lined with cubicles to see his A/W 2025 runway unfold. One might have expected a collection of grey office-core formality to have appeared, but that would have been too on the nose for Lantink. Instead came a series of brash, sculptural creations that played with animal prints and ideas of ‘bad taste’. Moving away from the padded bubble forms that have defined previous seasons, more tapered silhouettes used the body as a framework for dramatic character-building; jackets in zebra-print pony hair rose up to the earlobes, velvet leopard print hugged heads in balaclavas and legs in flared trousers, and snakeskin fabric became alien-like neck-swallowing bodysuits. Taking his signature three-dimensional sculpting to wry new territories, the LVMH Prize-shortlisted designer self-titled the collection ‘Duramnimal.’

Mixed in with these jungle prints, a storyline of absurdist Americana ran through battered varsity jackets, camo prints, padded trapper caps and oversized denim that was constructed to have the illusion of floating in front of models' hips. Having his fun with small town Southern aesthetics, one pair of jeans even took the style of assless chaps. But it was the opening and closing looks that were the most talked about – Mica Argañaraz in an Action Man-style latex six-pack torso, and a male model with waxy, swinging boobs. ‘I love the idea of women as action figures,’ the designer said in explanation. ‘I think everyone should feel empowered to create their own identity and not feel restricted by anything.’ OB

McQueen

During his tenure at McQueen thus far, Irish designer Seán McGirr has largely found inspiration on the streets of London – his adopted home city where he arrived to study at Central Saint Martins in the early 2010s. This season, in a more intimate presentation, his third collection for the British house, he said post-show that he was thinking about ‘Victorian London… particularly Charles Dickens’ Night Walks, conjuring a nocturnal dandy ‘who walks on the streets until dawn’. Historical inflections came in raised ruffled collars, capes and carved waistlines, while extreme elongated footwear – recalling the shape of a winklepicker – lent a strangeness to the silhouette. In a continuation of the crystallised finale looks of last season, the collection was heavy on embellishment, from bejewelled facemarks to scores of surface adornment on leather jackets and dresses, or the gilded embroidery on the frock coat which closed the show.

Another reference was Oscar Wilde, a writer McGirr said he grew up with as a teenager and who is synonymous with the figure of the dandy. ‘To me, dandyism is the ultimate act of adornment; deeply personal, playful and transgressive. It raises questions of character and identity, idealism and gender,’ said McGirr. ‘I wanted to explore the enduring relevance of the dandy’s radical spirit in our modern world.’ In this translation of past to present, McGirr also spent more time in the McQueen archive this season, paying particular attention to Lee McQueen’s hourglass-shaped tailoring. ‘McQueen is all about the waist… I wanted to rework [that] in a way that made sense for today.’ JM

Comme des Garçons

Rei Kawakubo’s latest runway show was a declaration of independence. ‘Recently we feel that big business, big culture, global systems, world structures maybe are not so great after all,’ she issued in a brief statement on her A/W 2025 show, presented in Paris on Saturday afternoon. ‘There is also strong value in small. Small can be mighty.’ She is proof: now over half a century since she founded the convention-defying label in Tokyo, Japan in 1973, Comme des Garçons provides alternative to the luxury fashion conglomerate, shepherding a small umbrella of designers (among them Junya Watanabe and Noir Kei Ninomiya) and incubating several more (the designers behind Vaquera, one of those labels, were in attendance at the show). As such, the collection’s opening felt like a send up of the corporate uniform: tailoring fabrics, from Prince of Wales check to pinstripes, were reimagined into Kawakubo’s strange, undulating forms. That off her chest, the rest of the collection looked towards tropes of femininity, from ruffles, pleats and floral motifs (the latter as a 3D adornment on the inside of a tartan dress, which the model held open as she walked) to textures of velvet and satin. As ever, it was a free association of ideas from a designer who, at 82 years old, remains one of fashion’s most liberated – and independent – voices. JM

Hermès

Upon entering the low-lit Hermès space, the feeling underfoot was like stepping onto a particularly plush material – though, as your eyes adjusted, the spiralling runway was actually covered in a soft layer of soil. It set the stage for a ‘determined’ collection from Nadège Vanhée, who in lieu of thematics described the collection’s mood as ‘sculptural, resilient, seductive… [the woman] moves forward, never looks back. She has everything she needs.’ So out stomped her largely leather-clad cast in riding boots and high-heeled brogues, the latter’s perforations also appearing as leather piping on sculpted dresses and mini shorts. Leather was a focus throughout – an expression of the house’s extraordinary command of the material – from enveloping reversible overcoats to a stripped-back riff on the biker jacket and pin-sharp tailoring, or the sensual line of a ribbed wool and leather dress. In its movement between the everyday – albeit reimagined in hyper-luxurious style – and a pulsing undercurrent of sensuality, it was the latest chapter in Vanhée’s ongoing interrogation of womanhood at the house. Now in her tenth year, it is a vision that looks more desirable than ever. JM

Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood

Andreas Kronthaler was feeling sentimental this season. ‘This collection is about honouring the place I have lived for more than 30 years: London,’ he said ahead of his A/W 2025 show, which – if not a touch ironically – was held in Paris yesterday afternoon. His ode to the city began with the anchors of every Westwood collection – knitwear and tailoring – which the designer subverted through a series of witty, swashbuckling silhouettes that channelled the distinctive creative language he shared with his late partner, Vivienne Westwood, for three decades.

Heritage fabrics were pushed to new realms of invention, so that Harris tweeds came in a carnival of shades and stripes, deep blue Yorkshire wools were transformed into fuzzy bodysuits, and bolshy Scottish tartans appeared in Clueless-esque wonky suiting. Ties, meanwhile, were so exaggeratedly long they skimmed the knees. Elsewhere, a love letter to Westwood’s style of drape, cut and corsetry ran through the designer’s more feminine looks, where cowl necks and boning exposed bare chests, and silhouettes roved between Victorian to Grecian and bohemian.

Drawing inspiration from a lengthy list of figures the brand admires – among them Quentin Crisp, Gertrude Stein and Rihanna – the result was a collection that unified a hodge-podge of characters and sensibilities. Not unlike the subcultural melting pot of London itself, Kronthaler’s school of A/W 2025 was a place where an office-punk, windswept chiffon goddess, padded 1980s ski instructor, and a bodiced gothic bride (who closed out the show) could happily coexist. ‘Vivienne taught me the love of tailoring and knitting,’ said Kronthaler. ‘The formality it gives you is a framework to express yourself. There’s nothing sexier than a suit.’ OB

Noir Kei Ninomiya

Until 2019, Noir Kei Ninomiya showed his raven black collections in stark white rooms – just natural light, no music – with the idea that others could see the clothes ‘deeply and simply’. Things have changed quite substantially since then. Yesterday morning, guests of the Comme des Garçons designer’s A/W 2025 show were welcomed into a darkened space that was lit solely by the glow of UV, illuminating the outfits of the oft-too serious front row like dancers in a neon rave.

The collection that followed was, as ever with Kei Ninomiya, an expression of unrestrained invention. Soundtracked to glitchy electronica, the opening looks had the colour and cheer of a kindergarten crafts room; bulbous plastic shapes resembled squishable toys in gashapon vending machines, an assemblage dress of massive bows had the texture of multi-coloured pipe cleaners, and dozens of yarn pom poms were adjoined into a modish ultra-mini dress topped with a mushroom stool matching hat. Designing from impulse rather than reference, the designer summed up the collection in a typically mysterious fashion – ‘a kind of feeling that is uncertain and hard to understand.’

While the Japanese designer has, in recent years, introduced a more vivid palette, his most enduring fascination remains in the language of black – as reflected in the closing looks of his A/W 2025 collection. Showcasing his gift for adorning the body in unconventional materials ‘to achieve expressions impossible with just fabric‘, this time resin was the star of these monochromatic creations. Taking on alien proportions, balls of shimmering fronds exploded from the body, while inky tailoring saw spines of spiky white plastic that glowed under the UV sprout and spiral from jackets. It made for a spectacle of sensory overload that only Kei Ninomiya could have produced. ‘Black is just the word, but it really has a meaning, very strong and very beautiful, and very deep,’ he once said of the beloved shade. ‘It has such a feeling.’ OB

Junya Watanabe

After a rugged Junya Watanabe MAN show earlier this year – which largely riffed on tropes of classic American sportswear – the Japanese designer was back to a more experimental mood for his latest womenswear outing, shown in a stripped out former shop on Paris’ Rue Auber. ‘I'm fascinated by creating clothing that appears to be unrealistic. This time, I created everyday clothing from a cubist perspective,’ he elucidated, explaining the collection’s protruding spikes or sharp, geometric surfaces, which transformed pieces like the leather biker jacket or trench coats into surreal – but undeniably Watanabe-esque – forms. Others had enormous pitched shoulders, or became strange hybrids, like a pair of lace-up leather boots which became the sleeve of a jacket. Another inspiration was the musician Jimi Hendrix, which lent the collection a rock and roll inflection, from amped-up fuzzy jackets and shades to python-print pants and garments crafted from hair and wigs. JM

Victoria Beckham

This season, Victoria Beckham found inspiration close to home – within the four walls of her own dressing room, to be precise. Unveiled in a stark runway space in Paris yesterday evening to a sultry soundtrack that moved between jazz and trip hop, her A/W 2025 show was about the ‘tricks’ and ‘happy accidents’ that shape the way we put on clothes every day. Doubling down on the flattering cuts that are the backbone of her brand, the resulting collection roved freely between dress codes, as if pulled instinctively from every rail of the wardrobe. Raincoats and parkas were exaggerated or cropped, exposing body-hugging garments that took cues from the knicker drawer. Elsewhere, Beckham played with the ways women might borrow their boyfriend’s clothes and adapt them, so that masculine shirting was rolled up at the sleeve and oversized trousers were cinched at the midriff. Winking at the make-up tutorials she films at home, silk dressing gowns were reconstructed into lustrous evening dresses, while the designer’s initial-emblazoned bathrobe was slashed into pussy-bowed smoking jackets in terry-cloth towelling. It was a love letter to spur-of-the-moment dressing that was firmly rooted in Beckham’s own personal language of chic – clothes that she and the brand’s customer have worn, and will wear, time and again. OB

Issey Miyake

Since the late 1980s, Austrian artist Erwin Wurm has invited members of the public to hold specific objects – from plastic buckets and chairs to stacks of oranges – for a minute or so (Wurm discourages specificity on timings). A practice the artist has returned to over the decades, Wurm’s ‘One Minute Sculptures’ see the ‘participating viewer become part of the sculpture for an ephemeral time,’ as a blurb on the artist’s website describes. On Friday afternoon in Paris, Wurm staged his latest edition of ‘One Minute Sculptures’ as the backdrop to Issey Miyake’s A/W 2025 runway show. Held at the Carrousel du Louvre, a group of performers were invited to interact with Issey Miyake garments, stretching them into strange, body-like forms for the duration of the show – an apt reflection of the playful spirit of the Japanese label, which has long been fascinated by fabric and form.

The collection itself was titled ‘[N]either [N]or’, seeing head designer Satoshi Kondo look towards the ‘ambiguity and many in-betweens’ of Wurm’s project for a collection that was rooted in the ‘freedom of wearing [clothing] in one’s own way and the exciting possibilities that are yet to be discovered within the garments’. As a result, there was a spirit of play in Kondo’s clothes – trompe l’oeil prints of Issey Miyake knitwear ran along undulating plissé gowns, blown-up paper bags became colourful strappy tops, and clever new heat-pressed knits made structured, paper doll-like silhouettes. A liberated use of colour, evocative of Wurm’s photographs, ran throughout.

It was a collection that continued Kondo’s recent winning streak. His garments have the illusion of spontaneity, though they are actually the result of several months – even years – of fabric experimentation and craft. ‘Issey Miyake was tenacious and stubborn. It’s something that echoes with me, too – that tenacity, that perseverance,’ Kondo told Wallpaper* in the recent March 2025 Style Issue. ‘He continued until he found something really original. It’s a mindset. When you want a really beautiful flower, you don’t go to the florist, you go out into the forest.’  JM

Givenchy

Sarah Burton’s first collection for Givenchy began with the discovery of a cache of pattern pieces, stuffed in brown envelopes and hidden behind a wall at the former Givenchy maison at 8 Avenue de Vigny, found during a recent renovation. Created by Hubert de Givenchy, they date back to 1952, the year he founded the eponymous house. For the former Alexander McQueen designer – who is known for a meticulous hand when it comes to cut and make – they sparked the exploration of contemporary womanhood which unfolded at the Givenchy salon on Avenue Georges V on Friday morning. ‘It’s my natural instinct to go back to pattern-cutting, to craftsmanship,’ she explained, noting that each garment was fitted at least three times on the body before walking the runway. ‘To cut, shape and proportion. It’s what I feel, how I work, and want to do.’

It led to a collection that eschewed theatrics for clarity and purpose, though not without flourishes of glamour and romance. ‘I want to address everything about modern women,’ she said. ‘Strength, vulnerability, emotional intelligence, feeling powerful or very sexy. All of it.’ So there was precise tailoring, carved narrow at the waist and wide at the shoulder (edges were left raw as if to suggest an act of construction), trapeze-shaped overcoats, and roomy leather shirts and jackets, while eveningwear moved from intricately embroidered opera coats tied with enormous obi-style bows towards bouncing layers of lemon yellow tulle, flared ballet skirts and tuxedo-inspired tailoring, sliced at the waist or turned back to front. Meanwhile, in splashes of the surreal, tops and dresses were constructed from make-up powder cases and tangles of jewellery.

It was a strong start which, despite its sheen of modernity, was nonetheless rooted in Hubert de Givenchy’s archival designs. In the sunlit salon – which is also the historic site of the house’s couture atelier – the intimate guest list perched on symbolic piles of pattern pieces, like those discovered hidden on Avenue de Vigny. ‘To go forward, you have to go back to the beginning,’ Burton said. ‘To me, that’s about the atelier. It’s the heart and soul of Givenchy.’ JM

Chloé

Chemena Kamali continued to hone her breezy, bohemian vision for Chloé – one that recalls Karl Lagerfeld’s free-spirited early collections for the French house – though this season, the German designer talked about seeking ‘evolution… to redefine and to evolve the Chloé woman’s state of mind’. There was certainly a more opulent feel to the collection, which borrowed from bourgeois dress codes – namely a proliferation of ‘fur’ (like most designers this season, it was actually shearling with the illusion of fur), whether as nipped, patchworked jackets, trims or stoles, while heritage overcoats, ladylike chain handbags and Mary Jane footwear struck a similar mood.

They were welcome additions to the Chloé uniform, which this season felt more grounded in everyday wear – Kamali talked about a finding mood of ‘realness and instinctive ease’ in flared jeans and leather trousers, as well as the eclectic, thrown-on styling. That said, there was still fun to be had in the romantic gowns in the millefeuille ruffles of taffeta and lace which have become the designer’s signature. ‘I thought about how we romanticise the past through an intuitive lens, blending traces of tradition and historical fragments, pieces passed down through generations, what we once loved with what we love today,’ she described. JM

Rabanne

It is astounding how fur – albeit in faux or shearling iterations – has dominated this season’s runways, emerging time and again across the four major cities. No doubt it speaks to our desire for protection against the elements, both real and existential – an idea that will surely be unpacked by commentators in the coming weeks. It was at Rabanne Julien Dossena conjured some of the most arresting ‘furs’ of the month so far, spanning knit gowns with tassel-like ‘tails’ around the hem, sliced shearling skirts and tabard tops, and bombastic fur coats lined with shimmering, tinsel-like fabric – at once glamorous and primitive. Dossena called the juxtaposition one of preciousness and protection: opposing impulses which also met in clear plastic raincoats worn over gleaming chainmail dresses, or the hardy, outdoorsy wools and leathers clashed with delicate beadwork or sequins. These tonal shifts were intriguing and beautiful, confirming Dossena’s status as one of Paris’s most consistently impressive designers. With another stellar collection under his belt – and having served over a decade at Rabanne – the question lingers: will Dossena be one of fashion’s next big moves? JM

Rick Owens

Held in one of the vast interior wings of Paris’s Palais de Tokyo – a longtime show location for the designer – Rick Owens called his latest womenswear collection ‘Concordians’, the same title as his menswear show held earlier this year. It references the industrial Italian town of Concordia, just outside Venice, where Owens produces the bulk of his collections each season.

Having travelled there for over two decades (in various dwellings, from a couch in his office to a ‘serial killer hotel’ and now his own apartment), the town’s relative banality has become a part of his and his team’s creative rhythm: ‘a studious isolation… almost bleakness. This cloistered life seems to be what it takes to be able to focus on reaching for something weird and wonderful.’

The spoils of that isolation were on show here in a collection which channelled a subversive, Owensian glamour: whether the ‘chain-linked’ laser-cut leather dresses which appeared on the body like scales or feathers (a collaboration with Parisian designer Victor Clavelly), towering, broad-shouldered overcoats in wool or leather, or, in another continuation of the menswear show earlier this year, ‘megacrust’ denim, whereby the fabric is intricately layered with bronze foil and wax. ‘I want to depend on fewer things but make them as supernatural as possible,’ he said after the menswear show, and here he seemed to retain that focus – this was a collection which was undeniably Rick Owens, though here evolved through extraordinary craft and make.

Iggy Pop’s ‘Mass Production’, which soundtracked his very first show 23 years ago, made a nostalgic return – another suggestion that Owens was digging deeper into his label’s rebellious roots. ‘We won’t legally be able to use it on YouTube,’ the designer said, ‘but it’s a song that yearns for the weird and wonderful, as much to me now as it did back then.’ JM

Schiaparelli

What would the world be like if we woke up tomorrow and there were no men? How would women dress? These musings are usually the stuff of playful debate over the dinner table, though yesterday in Paris, Daniel Roseberry brought them to life with a high-glamour A/W 2025 collection for Schiaparelli. Observing ‘that the women I know rarely, if ever, dress for men… when they do dress up, it’s for other women, and it’s women’s praise that matters to them,’ the American designer imagined how women would remember masculine archetypes in an alternate reality where they ‘inherited the earth’.

The resulting collection, which Roseberry titled Lone Star, pulled from his fantastical couture offering in January, as well as old Hollywood tailoring and gunslinging Western tropes that paid tribute to his upbringing in Texas. Balancing ideas of dominance and tenderness, his women appeared in decadent velvets, voluminous furs and sheeny satins in silhouettes that played with juxtapositions: feline second-skin dresses, demure oversized 1940s suiting and spangled cinched-waist drama fit for the red carpet. Southern charm came in waves of bow-legged denim, leather fringing, cowboy boots and low-slung belts that were accentuated through the house’s gilded codes. It was, he says, a tribute to the strong women in his life.

‘In this post-social media era – when many of us have become weary of and disgusted by living our lives through the screen – many of us are asking what makes life meaningful,’ Roseberry said in a letter to attendees. ‘I’ve spent the past few months speaking less and listening more. I wanted to make things that can inspire. The women in my life are lone stars – there’s no one else like them, and there could never be. I hope they, and all women, feel the same about these clothes.’ OB

Tom Ford

Haider Ackermann made a confident start to his tenure at Tom Ford, which he described as an attempt to capture the mood of seduction which he sees as foundational to the label. ‘I hope I seduced you all,’ the designer said backstage after the show, which instilled the uninhibited glamour synonymous with the label – founded in 2005, just after the eponymous designer’s departure from Gucci – with something more louche and darkly romantic, a hallmark of Ackermann’s own work at both his now-shuttered label and Berluti, where he was briefly creative director. Comprising both men’s and womenswear, the collection deftly shifted between daywear – largely in leather and largely black – towards showstopping eveningwear in the bold, painterly hues with which Ackermann has become synonymous. A sinuous yellow gown was hiked up above the hip on one side, another came in striking green satin sliced seductively along its back (a particularly Haider-esque gesture), while a lilac dress was adorned with shimmering tassels. For men, tailoring was pin-sharp, with smatterings of sparkle a nod to the more overt glamour elsewhere. It ended with a standing ovation – the intimate show was packed with Ackermann’s friends and well-wishers – while Tom Ford himself gave a seal of approval with a warm embrace at the show’s close. JM

Acne Studios

Acne Studios latest collection played out amid a surreal skyline conceived by the set designer Polly Philp, whereby totemic metal ‘skyscrapers’ were interspersed with tapestry-covered ‘rocks’ by design duo Front, inspired by the natural landscapes of Sweden. This clash, between nature and the city, provided the impetus of Jonny Johansson’s latest collection, which saw the designer imagine his protagonist wandering from the windswept Nordic north and into an urban cityscape for ‘a dynamic juxtaposition of two worlds; an exercise in contrasts.’ As such, garments which suggested an overt glamour – like a power-shouldered body suit – were imagined in soft, teddy-bear like fabrics. Indeed the bear, inspired by a rewatch of Björk’s Human Behaviour video (the musician had ‘curated’ a newly mixed version for the soundtrack), became a trope, with the construction of a teddy bear’s limbs inspiring the blown-up proportions of tailoring and outerwear, as well as an enormous paw-like boot.

Alongside were pieces which conjured the surreal femininity Johansson has been honing in recent seasons – a dress covered in trailing ribbons and bows, crinkled leather pussybow shirts, hazy trompe l’oeil prints – while a sense of the homespun recalled the designer’s own roots in northern Sweden. ‘A Nordic upbringing develops a deep connection to nature. Nature and urban cities have always had a relation that fascinates me,’ he said. ‘It is the tension and contrast between the two of them that I have tried to portray within this collection.’ JM

READ: Acne Studios has created a surreal skyline for its A/W 2025 runway show

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney was in a playful mood this season, holding her runway show in the surreal ‘Stellacorp’ headquarters, a simulacrum of a corporate office complete with spinning chairs and computer desks. Even more surreal were the handful of male and female pole dancers who emerged at the show’s finale, a nod to the collection’s title, which was ‘Laptop to Lapdance’. ‘A bold day-to-night wardrobe for the working woman,’ described McCartney of the collection’s roots, which saw her imagine the season’s protagonist heading from a day in the office to a night out on the town in typically irreverent fashion. Part Working Girl – power shoulders were a definite feature – the collection swayed between double-breasted tailoring, pencil skirts and office blouses (worn with a hefty dose of irony), and party wear, from tasseled jeans to T-shirts which read ‘Slippery When Wet’. And, while it made for a moment of much-needed escapism, McCartney remained fastidious about sustainability, with 96 per cent of the collection crafted from conscious materials (and, as ever, 100 per cent cruelty free). This included some impressive versions of python and ostrich skin, here crafted from the innovative Yatay M, an alternative leather made from mycelium. JM

Dries Van Noten

In the first of two debuts of the day – Haider Ackermann would present his first Tom Ford collection later that evening – Belgian designer Julian Klausner heralded the start of a new era at Dries Van Noten, taking over from the eponymous founder who made his exit last June. Having worked at he house since 2018, and arriving with the full blessing of Van Noten himself, the show at the Opéra Garnier was less about a full-scale revolution than it was about a steady transition from one designer to the next.

The show’s setting was a clue to the inspiration: Klausner imagined his protagonist for the season dashing through the gilded opera house grabbing pieces of fabric and wrapping them around her body intuitively, tied with shoelaces. As such, there was a sense of improvisation to the silhouette: a halterneck top appeared crafted from a handful of silk scarves, while dresses wrapped cleverly around the body, as if thrown on in haste. Opulent fabrications – sometimes clashing – nodded towards Van Noten’s own mastery of texture and print, though here there was bolder eclectism, like a series of garments adorned with hundreds of different curtain ties, or the amalgam of paillettes, animal prints, checks or brocade.

‘Looking back, I realised I made this collection in a very instinctive way,’ he said after the show. ‘I went towards things I always loved. I thought about the fact that the first time I fell in love with fashion was as a child playing in the costume box, just grabbing things that you love, combining them, mixing them. Dries wanted me to feel the freedom of doing it alone.’ JM

Courrèges

Nicolas Di Felice said he wanted to mine a feeling of optimism this season at Courrèges, despite what he admits are increasingly ‘uncertain times’. Set to a remix of Chantal’s 1990 house classic ‘The Realm’ and centred around a flurry of pink confetti cleverly conceived by French set designer Rémy Briere, Di Felice called the runway ‘a place to unite, to gather – a safe space for joy and togetherness’ akin to his beloved raves (the Belgian designer grew up in the 1990s rave scene, a constant touch point of his work).

It lent the collection a looser, more intuitive feel: a series of dresses, which wrapped cleverly around the body, were based on the idea of throwing on a scarf (the silhouette ran throughout, and was also inspired by the elongated rectangle shape of a streamer), while enormous ostrich feathers became tops (the musician Arca was already wearing one front row). Meanwhile archetypal garments – like the tank top, or the biker jacket – were twisted at their seams into intriguing new proportions, often with the illusion that they were slipping off the body.

‘This collection started from the first time I was pessimistic in my life, which was not like me at all, last season,’ Di Felice explained backstage, noting that photographs of confetti by the artist Dan Colen had brought him back to life. ‘So this [collection] is the total opposite. I found myself so happy, full of joy, an optimist again.’ JM

Alaïa

Marking a return to Paris after showing at New York’s Guggenheim Museum last season, Pieter Mulier staged his latest collection in the Alaïa atelier on Rue Servan. Populating the space were a series of monolithic heads in roughly hewn unfired clay by the contemporary Dutch artist Mark Manders. Mulier said he was drawn to the works for the way they appear to stand outside of time or place: ‘Manders’ work fascinates me – each of his sculptures seem itself a work either in progress, or marked by the passage of an imaginary time, reminiscent at once of many different cultures,’ he said. ‘And that idea of a non-linearity – of space, and of time – was inspiring.’

The idea of non-linearity – of garments which traversed time and space, a ‘beauty outside of any era or geography, free of boundaries’ – ran through the standout collection. Referencing at once ancient deities (on his Instagram prior to the show, he posted a carved Bronze Age figure of a woman, captioned ‘Modern Venus’) and the archival designs of house founder Azzedine Alaïa (notably, a focus on hooded silhouette and pleats), the resulting garments were what Mulier called ‘kinetic sculptures’. Romantic flourishes came in heart-shaped cut-outs and flower-like pom poms at the neckline, while looping gowns – held in place with twists of metal – continued the ‘gravity-defying’ silhouettes of last season.

‘The message is about singularity, individuality, the eternal strength and resilience of women, empowering them through their clothes,’ Mulier continued. ‘That always inspired Azzedine, and it always inspires me – the strength of beauty.’ JM

Dior

The idea of metamorphosis was at the centre of Maria Grazia Chiuri’s latest collection for Dior, an idea reflected in a theatrical mise-en-scène by the experimental American theatre director Robert Wilson which recreated the dawn of time in his symbolic style (from jagged glaciers that rose from the floor to a pterodactyl which zoomed across the space). Grazia Chiuri’s collection had also begun with something elemental, at least in fashion terms: the white shirt, which she linked with Gianfranco Ferré, who led the house in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and who was an influence here.

The foundational garment became a jumping off point for an exploration of historic dress codes, layered under corsetry or dramatically ruffled and elongated at the cuff, chiming with the Elizabethan-inflected frock coats, ruff-inspired pearl necklaces and flared-waist crinoline gowns elsewhere (Virginia Woolf’s Orlando, and its time-travelling, gender-shifting protagonist, were another inspiration). Meanwhile, tough black leather met playful faux-ermine stoles, while slouchy parka-style outerwear prevented the collection from feeling like costume. Grazia Chiuri also reintroduced the John Galliano-era J’Adore Dior T-shirt, including a version given new life with patches of delicate lace. ‘A femininity that imagines possible futures by mixing evocations of a past,’ the designer described. JM

Stay tuned for more from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2025.

Givenchy’s Antigona handbag, which takes its name from the tragic heroine of Theban myth, has been in the house’s roster of accessories since 2011. Such is its staying power, its sleek, architectural top-handle design has been reinvented in a multitude of iterations – whether slouchy and soft, etched with flowers, or shrunken down to fit in the palm of the hand. Each is recognisable for the gently padded pentagonal patch on its top side, embossed with the Givenchy logo – a now-timeless emblem of Parisian design.

Hero worship: Givenchy’s Antigona Cube bag 

And now, as the handbags of the 2010s – the golden age of the roomy ‘it bag’ – are being embraced by a new generation, Givenchy adds to the Antigona family with the ‘Antigona Cube’, a structured, origami-inspired design which replicates the original bag’s architectural line in compact style.

Available in glossy tumbled leather or laminated calf, the bag features a removable strap that allows it to be worn as a cross-body style or carried with its articulated top handle – the latter a nod to the refined, ladylike codes of house founder Hubert de Givenchy and his beloved cinematic muse, Audrey Hepburn.

Givenchy’s ‘Antigona Cube’ handbag is available from givenchy.com and in Givenchy stores.

A version of this article appears in the July 2024 Design Directory issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

Common wisdom says that wearing black in summer is a sartorial no-go, the light-and-heat absorbing hue a recipe for torrid and uncomfortable afternoons in the sun. Though, as the many year-round aficionados of the colour will attest, such is black’s timelessness – it is arguably the shade most synonymous with style and taste – that even when it comes to the summer months, it’s never too hot to wear black.

Taken from the June 2024 The Travel Issue of Wallpaper*, photographer Valentin Hennequin and Wallpaper* fashion and creative director Jason Hughes take a trip to Amanjena – the Moroccan outpost of the Aman hotel group – with Estonian model Katlin Aas and a handful of the S/S 2024 season’s most dramatic looks to make a case for summer blacks.

A case for wearing black in summer

With it, rules for embracing black in the heat of summer: keep layers diaphanous and fluid, like the sinuous line of Rick Owen’s gently ruched asymmetric evening gown, or Givenchy’s floating, sheer organza layers. When it comes to covering up, less is more: look for cutaway silhouettes (like Louis Vuitton’s open-back blouse) and plunging necklines (à la Alexandre Vauthier), or opt for black swimwear, arguably the simplest way to wear black in summer (our choice: a classic black bikini from Chanel). As is a simple black sweater in the lightest of cashmere – like that from Italian knitwear producer Luca Faloni – made for the onset of coolness on a summer evening (or overly air-conditioned hotel rooms and airline cabins).

And, when it comes to the evening, black remains the choice for taking to the resort bar in dramatic style, whether in a richly adorned dress from Prada – its glimmering surface replete with metal eyelets for a chic take on ventilation – or a body-clinging body-suit from British designer Supriya Lele, whose S/S 2024 collection included dissolving mini dresses and swimwear cut in the designer’s gently subversive style. Or, indeed, the sculptural silhouette of a stomach-bearing set from Jacquemus – a French label well-versed in seductive summer style.

Complete the look with bold stacks of bangles, like those from New York designer Alexis Bittar – their oversized and dramatic forms the balm to break up otherwise consuming expanses of black – or Goossens’ choker-like golden chains. And, if all else fails, simply resort to the nearest shade, sunglasses on, and channel your inner femme fatale.

Model: Katlin Aas at Supreme Management. Casting: Ikki Casting at WSM. Hair: Noelia Corral at Blend Management using Kevin Murphy Spain. Make-up: Eny Whitehead at Wise & Talented using Chanel Beauty. Photography assistant: Pietro Lazzaris. Fashion assistant: Lucy Proctor.

A version of this article appears in the June 2024 Travel Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

Workwear has long been the bedrock of men’s fashion, endlessly riffed upon, honed and upgraded – from the classic denim shirt and jeans, adopted by cowboys and miners in the American West, to chore jackets, cargo pants, and hi-vis jackets. This sense of utility was seen throughout the S/S 2024 collections – from Prada’s danger-red pocket-covered gilet, a play on the uniforms of security details, to Givenchy’s khaki bombers, Celine’s camo-adorned pants and hardy suede jackets at Miu Miu.

Utilitarian men’s fashion gets an upgrade for S/S 2024

The season’s functional mood is captured in a series of carefree combinations by Italy-born, London-based stylist Nicola Neri and photographer Luca Strano, who is based between London and Milan. As seen in the May 2024 Milan Preview Issue of Wallpaper* (on international newsstands now), this series of portraits puts the utilitarian aesthetic in the hot seat – leaving you with a blueprint of how to upgrade the everyday this spring and summer.

Models: Tom Davison and Milo Boaten-Rolfe at Xdirectn, Oscar Young at Premier, Rea at Milk Management, Zakaria Dau at PRM, Mason Marchetti and Yertai Abdibekov at Next London. Casting: Miro Raynov. Hair: Kanae Kikuchi at Haco+ using Instant Icon. Make-up/grooming: Jo Banach using Chanel Les Beiges Summer Spirit and Hydra Beauty Micro Serum Lip. Interiors: Olly Mason. Photography assistants: Domizia Salusest, Farid Ghimas. Fashion assistant: Hope Palmer. Hair assistants: Takuro Watanabe, Rio Shimmaki. Interiors assistant: Archie Thomson.

A version of this article appears in the May 2024 Milan Preview Issue of Wallpaper*, available in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

Scottish director Kevin Macdonald couldn’t have timed the release of his documentary, High & Low: John Galliano (Mubi), any better. Arriving in UK cinemas on 8 March 2024 (see the trailer below), the film dissects the rise, fall and redemption of legendary Gibraltor-born British designer John Galliano, chiming neatly with a second wind exemplified by his lauded S/S 2024 Maison Margiela Artisanal show in January, for the house where he is now creative director. ‘At the beginning, John said, “I don't want it to have a dark ending,”’ Macdonald recounts of the documentary project. ‘He said, “There has to be some light at the end of it because my life has come back.”’

To this point, the Maison Margiela Artisanal show – presented in Paris as part of Haute Couture Week – saw Galliano reignite fashion’s hunger for unbridled drama on the runway, presenting an exquisite blend of lived-in, distressed scrimps and Belle Époque silhouettes, with foot-on-the-back cinched corsets and frou frou tulle. Here, not only were the designs – some taking up to a year to fabricate – virally consumed and much reposted, but so too were the show’s extras: like Pat McGrath’s porcelain-like make-up; the wind-up-doll walks care of movement director Pat Boguslawski; or the antique chairs and the half-finished wine glasses strewn across time-worn tables. Together, this sum of parts reminded fashion’s older guard of the halcyon 1990s and noughts, when Galliano was the word on every editor's lips.

Of course, most know the story of Galliano’s fall from grace. These days, many have forgiven him – a bad drunk, now sober – for his racist outburst, and are ready to celebrate his early namesake collections, the 1984 ‘Les Incroyables’ Central Saint Martins graduate show, the heady days at Dior, and that brief but pivotal intermission at Givenchy. ‘Even my friends who have an aggressive disinterest in fashion came out and said, “That guy’s a genius”,’ says Macdonald.

This is Macdonald’s first fashion documentary, originally sparked by an interest in ‘cancel culture’. The end result, however, taught the director a thing or two about fashion’s cultural significance. ‘It just felt like his story was a great story in its own right,’ says Macdonald, who came to see Galliano as an artist, tapping into profound psychological reactions through the medium of clothes. The white muslin gowns of his eponymous S/S 1986 collection, intentionally sodden, were a case in point, reducing the front row to tears with a poetic, liquid femininity that runs throughout Galliano’s work – whether it’s a friction-taut bias-cut gown for Dior S/S 1993 or a sweat-slicked Gisele Bündchen campaign lensed by Nick Knight for Dior’s S/S 2003 accessories. Alongside Galliano, the film features conversations with Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, Anna Wintour, Edward Enninful and more.

A fil rouge in the documentary is Galliano’s ‘Napoleonic ego’, a concept Macdonald ties to the designer’s meticulous obsession with the French Revolution. ‘If you look at the costumes and outfits throughout the film, he dresses up as Napoleon or in a Napoleonic fashion, and often in the background there’s Napoleon on a postcard,’ explains Macdonald. It’s a parallel bolstered by the romance of a south London-raised plumber’s son taking on Paris, where he’s not – at first – wanted, winning the city over before losing face.

If today’s runway shows are largely defined by commercial caution – as several critics have noted in recent seasons – their antithesis is found in the documentary’s archival footage of Galliano’s collections. This is especially true for the Lolita-infused Princess Lucretia S/S 1994 John Galliano collection, a character study-cum-couture show at his own label that many argue served as a portfolio for his appointment at Givenchy a year and a half later. After the Lucretia show – a time when Galliano’s brand was struggling financially – a fashion community stepped in, with the late André Leon Talley sourcing funds for the next show, and the supers, including Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Linda Evangelista, walking gratuit.

Years later, Anna Wintour and Condé Nast supported Galliano’s return to fashion post-scandal, recognising his mercurial designs as not just beautiful, but necessary. In October 2014, he was appointed by Renzo Rosso as creative director of Maison Margiela. Fast-forward to now, and his aesthetic contributions continue at the Martin Margiela-founded brand, enhanced via VR, immersive choreography, and collaborations with longtime collaborators like Knight, as well as nods to fringe icons from Galliano’s first heyday, such as as the King’s Road punk, ‘Jordan’ (A/W 2023).

‘What was remarkable to me about the fashion world is how little they seemed to care for their past,’ says Macdonald. ‘Until very recently, even LVMH didn't keep archives of the dresses, sketches and shows.’ Lucky, then, that Galliano’s family, colleagues and friends kept the goods, showcased in their splendour once again in this transporting documentary, which captures the unique spirit of one of contemporary fashion’s most enduring designers.

’High & Low: John Galliano’ (Mubi) is in UK and Irish cinemas from 8 March 2024. Watch the trailer below.

mubi.com

Givenchy Beauty’s creative director Thom Walker has parlayed his experience as a celebrated make-up artist into a new vision for the brand’s make-up line, since taking on the role in 2022. It is a vision that reflects the iconic aesthetic of the storied fashion house, all while meeting the needs of the modern beauty consumer. ‘It’s such an iconic brand to be a part of, with such a strong DNA from Hubert de Givenchy,’ Walker tells me over a call from the Givenchy offices in Paris. And, while it can be intimidating to work in the shadow of one of the 20th century’s great designers, Walker also concedes that it ‘kind of makes my job a lot easier’.

‘It's not like we’re a new brand where we haven't told a story yet,’ he says. ‘[With Givenchy] the story has already been told, so it’s about how you modernise that story and how you move that story forward. Mixing timeless elegance with the boldness Mr de Givenchy created is always at the front of my mind when we’re creating new products. And I always say it’s a little contradictory to have something elegant, but still really bold as well.’

Givenchy Beauty blends the old and the new

That blend of the old and new, the sophisticated and the flamboyant, is reflected in hero products such as the Prisme Libre Loose Powder, an iconic bestseller which blurs imperfections while also adding light and radiance to the skin. It’s also evident in Walker’s latest Le 9 eyeshadow palette, which contains shades of versatile browns that range from subdued nude shades to punchy metallic textures.

‘I think that contradiction is what makes something creative; for example, making something that is matte but brings light to the skin as well,’ he says. Or, as is the case the L’Interdit Couture Volume Mascara, released just this week (February 2024), it is a product that provides a dramatic, exaggerated false lash look, yet has a formula that improves the health of your real ones. With 90 per cent natural ingredients that include ceramides and D-panthenol, it also encourages lash growth over time to create, as Walker puts it, a ‘skincare mascara’.

Walker is working to create products that balance between subtle and impactful, expressing Hubert de Givenchy’s belief that ‘the shortest path to elegance is simplicity. You can’t rely on the trends of fashion to influence the products,’ he says. ‘It’s more about the storytelling, the heritage of the brand, and [leaning on] those codes... Bringing them into the products, understanding how they function.’

He does, however, keep one eye open when it comes to certain ‘trends’ in the beauty industry, allowing him to play with the tension of the past, present, and future. ‘[In 2024] I think we’ll see more of that naturally enhanced version of yourself with [a focus on] soft brown shades, a little bit 1990s,’ he says, which is very much in keeping with the aesthetic of his new Le 9 palette. ‘I’m finding the “mob wife” trend quite hilarious at the moment,’ he says with a laugh. ‘But when you break it down, that look is essentially a brown, smoky Kate Moss eye.’

Ultimately, for Walker, performance is key to every product he creates. ‘Before I got into fashion I worked in a store, on the counter for different make-up brands,’ he adds. ‘I think having the perspective of what the customer wants is always at the front of my mind... I don’t want to put make-up products on and feel like I can’t see anything, yet I [also] want subtle enhancement that makes me, and others, feel better.’

L’Interdit Couture Volume Mascara, £34, and Le 9 de Givenchy Eyeshadow Palette in shade No.12, £64, are available now.

givenchybeauty.com

Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2024 – the closing leg of men’s fashion month, concluded in the French capital this week. Having started with Pharrell Williams’ anticipated sophomore ready-to-wear show for Louis Vuitton – an ode to the American West and its distinctive dress codes – the week continued with Givenchy’s first show since the departure of Matthew M Williams (the collection will be designed by the in-house team), another Paris outing for British designer Grace Wales Bonner, and an intimate show from Rick Owens held at his Paris home. 

Here, the very best of Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2024, as it happened. 

The best of Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2024

Wooyoungmi

The mythic allure of Seoul – as viewed through an outsider’s eye – was the starting point of Wooyoungmi’s latest collection. Youngmi Woo (better known by her moniker, Madame Woo) began the collection with a book by Scottish missionary Alexander Williams from 1870, somewhat surreally titled ‘Knowing About Korea Without Ever Going There’. The designer noted that even now – as Seoul becomes one of the foremost producers of pop culture, particularly music – the city remains ‘an idea: a faraway metropole like no other; a place many know about without ever going there’.

Here, she set about to create her own ’portrait’ of the city’s style, one informed by both reality and perception. Indeed, it was a collection infused with the easy, eclectic mood of the street – she said she wanted it to feel like observing a stream of particularly well-dressed passers-by – from wide-legged washed jeans worn with roomy baseball jackets to colourful rugby and football shirts, and playful riffs on corporate suiting (denim jackets and jeans were worn with shirts and ties for her dressed-up version of the Canadian tuxedo). Strongest, though, was a beautiful array of outerwear – a category that Madame Woo has long been astute at creating – from abbreviated pea coats to elongated styles in heritage fabrics, or blown-up versions of the classic women’s tweed jacket. 

Valentino

Pierpaolo Piccioli has long used colour to conjure a particular mood (memorably, he presented an entire women’s collection in a single shade of pink, dubbed ‘Pink PP’ and granted its own Pantone colour). Here, it was breezy sky blue, which adorned both benches and doors in the ornate salons of Paris’ Monnaie de Paris for the designer’s latest menswear-only show (last season, Valentino returned to the menswear calendar having previously been shown co-ed during womenswear fashion month). The choice hinged on an exploration of contemporary manhood, the colour with which blue is now associated, particularly after the birth of a child. But Piccioli said he was thinking about how colour can be resignified – traditionally, he said, blue was associated with femininity, the shift only happening in this century – hoping to present it here as something fluid, a mood which extended to the clothing itself, seeing archetypal menswear garments, like the traditional Italian suit, cut with a softer line or embellished with moments of decoration recalling the house’s haute couture collections.

Hermès 

Véronique Nichanian’s approach to Hermès menswear is to capture a feeling of pleasure through clothing: an endless search to create garments which please both visually and physically, a balance she has struck in her over-three-decade-long tenure so far. Yesterday’s menswear show provided a gamut of options for the Hermès man come next winter, particularly in the way of outerwear, from a beautiful shearling-lined leather parka to shorter leather peacoats adorned with a collage of utility pockets (in Hermès’ playful parlance, these were pockets that ‘slip and slide’). Elsewhere, a melange of knitwear – some adorned with painterly prints and presented in layers – met riffs on heritage checks, like Prince of Wales plaid, which ran throughout. Typically seductive adornments came in the way of accessories: versions of the house’s roomy Haut à Courroies carry all came in textures of smooth barénia and sombrero calfskin, while a smaller, book-size bag came with utility pockets and was grasped in the hand. A final flourish came in an array of eveningwear, including a tailored jacket and coat in calf hair leather, cut with a narrow, elegant line. 

Loewe 

Los Angeles-based artist Richard Hawkins provided the starting point for Jonathan Anderson’s audacious fall outing for Loewe, set amid a strange cathedral to masculinity where ‘stained-glass window’ screens buzzed with images of the designer’s phalanx of celebrity devotees – from Jamie Dornan and Josh O’Connor to Omar Apollo and Manu Rios. They had filmed themselves on their iPhones, preening their reflection, while around them Hawkins’ dizzying collages flickered, capturing the artist’s fixations, which span Roman statuary, French decadence and contemporary celebrity culture, as well as depictions of masculinity and the male body, which is the through line of his work. At the end of the runway were a series of Hawkins paintings; after the show, Anderson called it the ‘altar’. 

The idea of collage – of ‘collaged realness,’ as Anderson described – ran throughout the collection, which had a mood of irreverence and youth. Enormous leather cargo pants were worn with baseball sneakers and skewiff checkered shirts; sweatpants, elongated sweaters and handbags were adorned with Hawkins’ saturated works; while stacked up layered garments appeared in colourful glimpses from beneath a long overcoat, as if the model was concealing a pile of laundry. An elegant riff on the trench – with a dropped tie waistline – came in leather, while riffs on the pussybow emerged in a melange of textures, alongside fairisle knits. A visual trick, meanwhile, came in a pair of trousers attached to a pair of socks, which were in turn attached to a pair of shoes. ’You're kind of telling someone: this is what you're wearing. You can’t get away from it, it’s like the media,' Anderson described. 

It emerged from the designer’s observation about the way modern life has ‘become a collage’; a never-ending stream of algorithmic images combining like Hawkins’ works, which in some ways predicted the way we consume visual culture today (he has been working on these pieces for over 30 years). ‘I’m looking at this idea of iconography,’ said Anderson. ‘It’s all about different types of validation… how we perceive ourselves to the outside world. It’s a new psychology. What that means in the future, I don’t know – but I think it can be exciting.’

Comme des Garçons Homme Plus

There was a striking simplicity to Rei Kawakubo’s latest menswear outing, which largely eschewed the more unconventional silhouettes of the Japanese brand’s womenswear collections towards what was at its essence a studying in tailoring (albeit in the designer’s idiosyncratic, imporvisational style). Largely in shades of white, cream and ecru – ‘white is symbolic of prayer,’ was all Kawakubo offered in her typically enigmatic press notes – tailored jackets were nipped tightly across the chest (some with double lapels, or sliced away in sections), while trousers had a generous volume, ballooning just above the ankles (other jackets were worn with wide, elongated shorts or pleated kilts). Embellishment came in the form of rows of stitched-on white buttons or glimpses of sequins revealed beneath blazers and knits, while the final flourish came from playful headpieces by Gary Card, made from wrapped up garments from Comme Des Garçons ubiquitous ‘Play’ line. 

Dior Men

The invitation for Kim Jones’ latest Dior show featured a photograph of Soviet-born ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who in a much-mythologised grasp for freedom defected to the West on a 1961 trip to Paris. It was taken by Jones’ uncle, a photographer and former ballet dancer who had struck a friendship with Nureyev and documented his life in the West in a series of images which for the show had been collated by his nephew in a book left on attendees’ seats. ‘Nureyev is entwined with my personal history because of my uncle,’ explained Jones. ‘I had been thinking about the relationship between the ballet dancer Margot Fonteyn and Monsieur Dior. The masculine interpretation of this involved thinking about her most famous dance partner, Nureyev.’

The heady liberation which Nureyev has come to epitomise (the famous Daily Express headline the day after his defection ran ‘Dance to Freedom’) inspired one of Jones’s strongest outings for the house yet. Divided into ready-to-wear and couture – the latter twenty looks were a demonstration of the extraordinary abilities of the Dior atelier – the collection moved from rehearsal room to stage (fittingly, the show was presented in the round to the booming sounds of ‘Dance of the Knights’ from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet ballet score, as reinterpreted by Max Richter). ‘The collection – or rather collections, are about contrast: the contrasts in the house of Dior in terms of ready-to-wear and haute couture,’ explained Jones. ‘It’s the difference between onstage and backstage; the life of Nureyev theatrically and in reality. Here it is a meeting of the dancer’s style with that of the Dior archive.’

So there were twisting turbans by Stephen Jones evoking those worn by Nureyev in the dance studio (other models had their hair scraped back with thick black bands), wide tailored shorts worn with white socks and a masculine riff on the ballet pump, or a series of lightweight zip-up ribbed knits which plunged low on the neckline like ballet cardigans. Tailoring, meanwhile, had a feeling of lightness and fluidity, gently flared and based on archival pieces from Yves Saint Laurent’s tenure at the house. The final flourish of couture looks – which at the end were heralded by being raised high on a rotating platform as if models were dancers in a music box– were perhaps Jones’ most theatrical expressions yet, from an extraordinary beaded white tabard with a thick collar of pearls (worn here with white tights and ballet pumps decorated with the house’s cannage motif) to a kimono-style cape, based on a style Nureyev wore throughout his life, which took three people a staggering ten months to complete.

Paul Smith

Paul Smith noted that this latest collection was a demonstration of the motto that you have to know the rules in order to break them. His career has been defined by the dictum, whereby a deep-rooted knowledge and respect for British tailoring has been enlivened and reinterpreted through the designer’s witty, eclectic use of colour and print. This dichotomy was on full display in this latest collection, which combined hallmarks of British style – WW2 rider jackets, classic overcoats, padded gilets – with modernist-inspired colours, prints and motifs, including a ‘Photogram’ print inspired by Man Ray’s hazy ‘Rayograph’ images, ‘a trailblazing technique which stood as its own rebellion against the restrictive norms of the day,’ as Smith described. Colours, meanwhile, spanned deep purples, navies and browns, with flashes of lime green and ochre, while Smith’s vividly hued ‘Signature Stripe’ motif appeared across layered cardigans and knit sweaters.

Junya Watanabe MAN

A multi-generational cast appeared in Junya Watanabe’s latest collection, which was titled ‘Reconstructed Suiting’. ‘I wish for men of different generations to wear these suits,’ was all that Watanabe offered in way of description, though there was certainly a mood of the quotidien to the outing, which largely played on hallmarks of men’s style – from tailoring to denim jeans, striped shirts and hoodies. A sense of hybridity ran throughout the individual garments: a tailored jacket, for example, was extended into a coat with the addition of a panel evocative of a classic trench, while others were overlaid with panels of chinos or jeans. Coats, which were held onto the body with a panel across the chest, and worn with classic pinstripe pants, heralded a shift towards simplicity, though Watanabe’s more distinct hallmarks – namely patchwork – continued to appear throughout. And, despite the mood of reduction, Watanabe’s desire for collaboration does not seem to abate; here, versions of (among others) Brooks Brothers, Palace and Carharrt’s own signature styles were reassessed with the Japanese designer’s distinct, disruptive eye. 

Homme Plissé Issey Miyake

Homme Plissé Issey Miyake’s latest collection was born from a collaboration with the polymathic French artist and designer Ronan Bouroullec. Here, the design team looked towards his drawings – colourful abstract forms which he draws each morning using a Japanese felt tip brush – which in the collection were used as adornment across the brand’s pleated separates, or informing its freewheeling mood, which this season had an improvisational air (a series of colourful scarves, for example, were draped around the model's bodies to recall Bouroullec’s work). 

As such, the collection was titled ‘Immersed in the Wilds of Creativity’ and was an attempt to explore the translation of creative materials (here, Bouroullec’s oeuvre) into clothing. It made for a liberated mood, seeing beautifully layered silhouettes – many of which had the feeling of having been wrapped or loosely twisted around the body – meet moments of artistic flourish, such as a trio of models who carried cushions decorated with motifs reminiscent of Bouroullec’s work in their hands. 

Amiri

A suitably dramatic set – enormous velvet curtains, an expanse of monogrammed carpet – provided the backdrop for Mike Amiri’s latest collection, which the American designer described as an ode to the Hollywood epic. Inspired by the nostalgic glamour of his home town of Los Angeles, louche tailoring was a focus – whether elongated satin blazers, jacquard evening jackets, or suiting with a loose, pyjama cut – which was inspired at once by Old Hollywood dress codes and the undone glamour of the 1990s. Befitting the inspiration, the shimmer of crystals ran throughout the expansive collection, whether as stacked-up brooches adorning the lapels of jackets or twinkling across undone shirts and beanie hats.

Rick Owens

Rick Owens opened the door to his Parisian home on Paris’ Place du Palais Bourbon to host his latest menswear show, titled ’Porterville’ (a reference to the Californian city where the designer was born and grew up). Held amid the vast concrete rooms, sparsely decorated with Owens’ monolithic furniture, he chose the intimate location – a stark opposition to his usual shows held on the forecourt of the Palais de Tokyo – as a sign of ‘respectful restraint’ in response to world turbulence (recent seasons have seen him grappling with creation during times of war and crisis). 

Here, the balm was community; Owens invited Steven from Fecal Matter and Gena Marvin – both known for their strange, otherworldly looks – to walk the runway, while collaborating with London-based designer Straytukay on inflatable footwear, and rubber-wear specialist Matisse Di Maggio on pieces crafted from recycled tyres. A mood of envelopment and solace ran throughout; enormous shaggy forms wrapped around the body in a suggestion of protection, while knitted all-in-ones were crafted in soft alpaca, cashmere and merino.

Wales Bonner

British designer Grace Wales Bonner has long riffed on the hallmarks of American collegiate style in her oeuvre. She returned to them this season, with a typically poetic show held in Paris’ Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. Howard University, a storied Black institution in Washington DC (alumni include Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison), was at the collection’s centre: ‘a celebration of [its] shining lineage’, ‘where depictions of homecoming resound: hip-hop performances, readings from the poets, international gatherings on the green’. In this spirit, a live performance came from musician Yasiin Bey.

The collection itself clashed the college uniform – from Howard Crew-adorned sweaters to monogrammed varsity and baseball jackets – with moments of elegance and craft, from crocheted mirrors across tailoring (created by hand in India) to beads, pearls and amethysts adorning jewellery and brooches, which suggested a ceremonial flourish. Ceremonial too was a beautiful black tuxedo – perhaps recalling the moment of graduation – which the designer created alongside Savile Row tailors Anderson and Sheppard. The mood of refinement continued to her latest Adidas Originals collaboration, which comprised miniature handbags and versions of the Superstar sneaker in crocodile-embossed leather.

Givenchy

The house’s historic haute couture salon in Hôtel de Caraman on Paris’ Avenue Georges provided the setting for Givenchy’s first runway show since the departure of American designer Matthew M Williams late last year. Befitting the location – in which Hubert de Givenchy worked for 36 years – the show transpired like a traditional salon presentation, with guests sitting around tables in the space’s various white-walled rooms (madeleines, truffle sandwiches and champagne completed the mood of refinement). Designed this season by an in-house team (the new creative director is yet to be announced), the press notes said the collection began with a consideration of ‘gentlemanliness’ inspired by Mr Givenchy and his dress codes: ‘the duality of his public and personal wardrobes: a sartorial formality energised by an inimitable off-duty sense for nonchalance, flamboyance and seduction’.

It made for an eclectic offering. There were cat-adorned vest tops and fronds of synthetic hair, which crept out from under tailored jackets or adorned dramatic overcoats, ladylike silk headscarves (based on a style from the archive), louche, unbuttoned silk scarves, layers of knitwear, and sculptural hats. Tailoring, of course, ran throughout, in various iterations – some sliced away along the sleeves, others playing on classic eveningwear – though it was largely double-breasted and narrow in silhouette. At the end of the show, no one came out to take the final bow. Who will do so come next season remains to be seen.

Lemaire

Lemaire’s latest show was staged in the brand’s airy, white-walled headquarters in Paris’ Place des Vosges. Warm herbal cocktails were served in the covered courtyard before the show – a balm to the day’s cold, drizzly weather – adding to the intimate feel of the presentation, which suggested an invitation into the brand’s serene inner sanctum. As such, the clothing itself, which largely evolves season on season rather than any more dramatic shifts, continued to hone the brand’s signature look, one of discreet, uncomplicated elegance (one already underscored by the staff at the show, chicly dressed in varying tones of Lemaire ecru and off-white). 

Christophe Lemaire, who runs the eponymous label with Sarah-Linh Tran, noted that he felt like now was the right time to invite people into this space, which comprises the brand’s entire operation, including the atelier and workshop. As such, they talked about the collection as capturing the solace of home: enveloping, layered looks which took their cue from dance attire in the way pieces caressed the body like ‘a second skin’. Others subverted the domestic for wear out of doors, like elegant ‘in-and-out pyjamas’ or outerwear which recalled the proportions of a bathrobe. 

Louis Vuitton

It was out to Paris’ Bois de Boulogne for Pharrell Williams’ sophomore ready-to-wear show for Louis Vuitton. This follows his debut last summer in Paris, and a subsequent pre-fall collection, where the designer had erected an enormous box in the shadow of Frank Gehry’s sweeping Fondation Louis Vuitton. Inside the A/W 2024 show venue, vast projections lined the walls depicting the rocky plains of the United States, providing a hint of what was to come (the invitation, an LV-branded cowboy hat and an engraved harmonica, provided another). Here was Williams’ ode to that most American of archetypes: the cowboy, albeit filtered through the Parisian sensibilities of Louis Vuitton (‘Paris to VA’, in reference to his home state, is a continuing motif in his tenure so far). So, there were denim chaps and cowboy hats, Western-style shirts with frilled yolks and pearl-and-sequin adornment, and riffs on workwear, from a tailored take on the traditional double-kneed carpenter’s pant to a footwear collaboration with Timberland. Requisite cowboy hats completed the look, while enormous gilded Louis Vuitton trunks were wheeled along the runway on wooden frontier carriages.

Before the show, Williams noted that part of the reason for this collection was to provide a more expansive vision of the cowboy trope (Black and Native American cowboys were among some of the first cowboys in the United States, though they have been largely excluded from contemporary depictions of the era). As such, the collection contained a ’creative exchange’ with artists from the Dakota and Lakota nations, who assisted with Williams’ vision for the collection, including a version of the house’s ’Speedy’ bag, which was embroidered with a Dakota Flower motif, or ’Keepalls’ which featured designs reminiscent to those found on ‘parfleche’, stretched buffalo hides which were historically decorated by Native American communities. To close the show, powwow group Native Voices of Resistance – clad in designs conceived by Dee Jay Two Bears of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe – performed as a gentle flurry of snow fell from the ceiling, the projected desert on the walls now dusted white. It made for a show that spoke of Williams’ vast, energetic vision for Louis Vuitton – all that was left to wonder is where the designer will take his odyssey next.

Stay tuned for more from Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2024

January marks the beginning not only of a new year, but a new season in style – gone are the winter collections of last year, in are the S/S 2024 collections, and with them the promise of brighter days ahead.

As part of Wallpaper’s Design Awards 2024 issue, we select the winning men’s and womenswear collections of S/S 2024 – and their standout looks – which will define a season of dressing ahead. These span Sabato de Sarno’s sensual new vision for Gucci (the designer called it a ’story of richness and lust... of sweat, dancing and singing’, and is pictured top left), the eclectic oppositions of Dries Van Noten’s womenswear, and Maximilian Davis’ expertly reduced Ferragamo tailoring. 

Winning collections came too from Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons at Prada, where they reckoned with beauty and craft, the sinuous lines of Kim Jones’ Fendi, or Matthieu Blazy’s extraordinary riffs on the quotidien at Bottega Veneta (here encapsulated his version of a working man’s tie, recrafted in leather). Or Lucie and Luke Meier’s gently oversized men’s Jil Sander tailoring, adorned with glimmering crystal broaches (pictured top right). 

The various looks are captured by London-based photographer Daisy Walker, and styled by Wallpaper* fashion and style director Jason Hughes. 

The standout looks of S/S 2024, selected by Wallpaper*

Courrèges

Dolce & Gabbana

Dries Van Noten

Acne Studios

Hermès

Wooyoungmi

Ferragamo

Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello

Givenchy

Alexander McQueen

Carven

Isabel Marant

Bottega Veneta

Miu Miu

Paul Smith

Fendi

Dior

Prada

Balenciaga

Marni

Valentino

Loewe 

Models: Kerolyn Soares at IMG, Aaron Shandel at Wilhelmina. Casting: Ikki Casting at The Art Board. Hair: Adam Garland using Authentic Beauty Concept. Make-up: Jo Banach using Chanel Les Beiges Winter Glow and No.1 de Chanel Red Camellia Exfoliating Mask. Interiors: Olly Mason. Set build: London Art Makers. Photography assistants: Chloe Yates, Zillah Rauter. Fashion assistants: Kris Bergfeldt, Samela Gjozi. Hair assistant: Annabella Hudgell. Interiors assistant: Archie Thomson. Post-production: Lasso Studio. 

A version of this article appears in the February 2024 issue of Wallpaper* – dedicated to the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2024 – available in print from 4 January, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today

After a brief pause, fashion’s ever-turning merry-go-round of designer appointments and exits continues to spin today with the news that American designer Matthew M Williams is leaving Givenchy after a three-year tenure as creative director of the storied Parisian fashion house. 

Rising to prominence with his 2015-founded label 1017 ALYX 9SM, Williams – who is also a prolific collaborator, having previously been creative director for Lady Gaga and worked alongside Kim Jones at Dior – the designer was appointed to lead Givenchy’s men’s and womenswear collections in June 2020. 

His collections for the house would fuse his industrial, streetwear-tinged aesthetic with references to Hubert de Givenchy’s classical silhouettes, while his expertise in accessories – 1017 ALYX 9SM is perhaps best-known for its ‘rollercoaster’ buckle, which adorns jewellery and leather goods – led to a slew of new handbags for the house, including the slouchy ‘Voyou’ bag.

Matthew M Williams to leave Givenchy

The latter, he told Wallpaper*, was inspired by a melding of Parisian elegance with Californian cool, a juxtaposition which informed his collections (particularly those of the last few seasons, which were his most successful for the house). ‘Everything began with Hubert… I looked into his archives with my adopted Parisian eye, but also with my instinctive American eye,’ he said of his S/S 2023 womenswear collection. ‘The cultural exchange reflected in this collection has been a long time in the making.’

‘Leading the creative direction of Givenchy was, as I said upon my arrival in 2020, the dream of a lifetime,’ Williams said today. ‘Over these three years, I have strived to perpetuate Mr Hubert de Givenchy's legacy while bringing my own creative vision and I would like to sincerely thank the studio, Renaud de Lesquen, and LVMH for this incredible opportunity.’

The designer will continue to focus on 1017 ALYX 9SM, which recently saw Hong Kong entrepreneur Adrian Cheng purchase a majority stake, signalling a lucrative new chapter for the brand.

‘I would like to thank Matthew for all the energy he brought to Givenchy. His collections, resolutely creative and contemporary, have sparked a new dynamic and found their audience,’ adds Renaud de Lesquen, president and CEO of Givenchy. ‘I join everyone who has had the pleasure of working with Matthew in wishing him every success in his next ventures.’

As of yet, there is no word of a replacement, though it is rumoured that Givenchy is already in the process of finding the house’s next creative director, who will follow in the footsteps of names including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Clare Waight Keller.

givenchy.com

Hubert de Givenchy once said, ‘the shortest path to elegance is simplicity’. It’s an ideal that was at the heart of everything the designer created, but in particular his very first collections, which embodied comfort and ease at a time when Paris’ other couturiers were confining the female body in impractical shapes. His looser, youthful separates were radical – in 1952, at least – and made to meet the changing desires of women in a post-war era. Simple elegance through the lens of youth, as it would happen, could also neatly describe Matthew M Williams’ vision for the house as its creative director in 2023, over seven decades on from Givenchy’s bold start. 

Mapping a journey through the 180 collections that have come in between, a new fashion book – a 500-page bible on Givenchy published by Thames & Hudson – charts the story of one of the world’s leading houses. Leaving no stone unturned, it painstakingly details each of Hubert de Givenchy’s singular collections and those crafted by his successors who, since 1995, have breathed new life into the house’s codes of innovation – from young British agitators John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Julien Macdonald, through the dark romance of the Riccardo Tisci years and the sleek glamour ushered in by Clare Waight Keller, right up to Williams’ tenure today.

Givenchy Catwalk book: seven decades of style

Fashion historian Alexandre Samson and fashion critic Anders Christian Madsen are the authors behind the book’s rich texts. The former chronicles Givenchy’s collections up until the handover to Galliano, and the latter parses out the visions of the house’s contemporary creative directors. ‘The early years of the designer from 1952 to 1955 left me pleasantly surprised,’ Samson tells Wallpaper*. ‘His collections exuded youthfulness, freshness, and a delightful touch of humour, featuring trompe-l’oeil prints that still feel contemporary today.’

The book reveals how Hubert de Givenchy pushed fashion forward in the second half of the 20th century. Always unafraid to go against the grain, he was the first to position a celebrity as his muse, famously dressing Audrey Hepburn for decades, and the first to recognise the value of a logo, creating the iconic interlocking ‘4G’ insignia with artist Pierre Dinand in 1970. His enduring friendship with mentor Cristóbal Balenciaga – whom he met in New York, aged 26 – was so unusual that it would have been akin to a partnership between Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, Samson writes. 

’Exploring Hubert de Givenchy's legacy has been an enlightening journey, uncovering the dynamics of his beginnings, the noteworthy partnership he formed with Balenciaga – dubbed ‘Givenchiaga’ by the press in 1958 – and the bold creativity reflected in his prints,’ he says.

Meanwhile, for Madsen, the house’s towering legacy as it stands today comes down to great style and the elusive properties of taste. ‘In all its purity, I think Hubert created one of the most complex legacies in fashion, because it reaches far beyond dressmaking,’ he explains. ‘It’s an aesthetic that came to be synonymous with sophistication and good taste, and those set ideas are hard to mess with.’

‘The eras I have been present for have all meant a lot to me in different ways,’ Madsen continues. ‘Riccardo’s tenure was formative for me, Clare holds a special place in my heart, and I feel connected to Matthew on a generational level. If I had to pick favourite collections, it would be John’s. His genius is constantly evolving and he’s the reason I do what I do. In recent seasons, Matthew’s work has been about conveying a new elegance. It’s his own generational take on the virtues Hubert established.’

Reflecting on his experience of contributing to the book, Madsen is keen to stress the value of fashion critique as documents of a changing world. ‘I loved reading all the reviews I used during my research, some of which I’ve quoted in the texts,’ he says. ‘It really reminded me of how important it is that we continue to document the shows and not just the celebrities who attend them. That’s my hope for the book.’ 

Meanwhile, for Samson, the historian hopes the book not only preserves one of fashion’s greatest stories, but exists as an object of inspiration: ‘I aspire for the book to become a reference on Givenchy. My wish is that not only aspiring fashion professionals, but also a broader audience, will read it and develop a new fondness for the house.’

Givenchy Catwalk: The Complete Collections, published by Thames & Hudson, is available at Waterstones.

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Dystopian herbariums, destroyed disco balls, serene meadows: this season’s best runway sets were a surreal trip through time and space. From the return of Prada’s oozing curtains of slime to artwork-adorned catwalks – including a smattering of Lynda Benglis sculptures at Loewe – we run through the best-designed show sets of S/S 2024 fashion month. 

Best in show: S/S 2024’s dramatic runway sets

Acne Studios

Acne Studios creative director Jonny Johansson drafted Austrian artist Lukas Gschwandtner – best known for his pillow-like sculptures which evoke the shapes of women reclining in historical portraiture – to collaborate on the Swedish brand’s S/S 2024 show set. Capturing a mood of ‘after-hours liberation’, the ecru canvas-covered space featured an enormous deconstructed disco ball as well as Gschwandtner’s ‘soft furnishings‘ which were scattered about the space. ‘[We were thinking about] soft furnishing that you sink into – you almost become them,’ he told Wallpaper*.

Read the story behind the Acne Studios S/S 2024 set. 

Miu Miu

A new video installation by Qatari-American artist Sophia Al-Maria provided the backdrop to Miuccia Prada’s latest collection, which explored ‘a rationale of beauty today’. Titled Gravity & Grace, the short film featured stunt woman Ayesha Hussain as a pair of ‘archetypal twins’ fighting each other with crossbows and swords in what Al-Maria called ‘an epic battle over POV’. ‘There is a theme of questioning what is real and what is not,’ she told Wallpaper*.

Read the story behind the Miu Miu S/S 2024 set.

Loewe 

Jonathan Anderson once again populated the Loewe runway with a series of sculptures by Lynda Benglis, following a trio of fountains by the American artist that backdropped his menswear show earlier this year. The large, twisting forms in metallic gold and silver were cast from manipulated pieces of clay; in the collection itself, they were reflected by jewellery created in collaboration with the artist’s studio. ‘She doesn’t need to use words, she's using something which is physical,’ Anderson said. ‘There’s something of her that I see in this collection – the attitude, the confidence.’ 

Sportmax

Drawing inspiration from Czech artist Krištof Kintera’s ‘Postnatural‘ works, which depict dystopian imaginings of botanical herbariums, the Sportmax showspace was intersected by a fluorescent-lit glass vitrine filled with colourful tropical flowers and plants. It provided a reflection of the collection’s experimental, science fiction-infused mood: from strange padded forms and sculptural silhouettes to austere white shift dresses recalling medical uniforms. 

Louis Vuitton

The as-yet-unnamed site of a vast Louis Vuitton project on Champs-Élysées – rumours are circulating are that it will be a hotel from the house – provided the setting for Nicolas Ghesquière’s latest womenswear collection. Still a building site, the former art nouveau bank was entirely covered in orange material, with a matching orange runway, grandstand seating and enormous light fixtures. Part of a continuing collaboration with Hollywood set designer James Chinlund, the house describes the setting as ‘simultaneously familiar and new’, a mood of disorientation captured in the era-hopping collection itself.

Prada

Following the house’s menswear show held this past June, Prada’s womenswear showspace – created in collaboration with AMO – saw a stainless-steel runway divided by dripping curtains of slime. ‘An environment of liquid partitions intertwined with elements of industrial architecture,’ described AMO of the setting, which provided the backdrop for a collection of material richness, from featherweight diaphanous dresses to tassel, eyelet and crystal adornment, each a demonstration of Prada’s decades-long commitment to craft. ‘We tried to make the best out of our work, to make beautiful things, for today,’ said Miuccia Prada, who co-creates the house’s collections with Raf Simons. ‘That may sound banal, but it is the truth.’ 

Bottega Veneta

Matthieu Blazy described his fourth collection for Bottega Veneta as a fantastical round-the-world odyssey, ’a journey of transformation and escape’ in which he imagined his protagonist for the season picking up elements of dress from journeys around the globe. The tiled setting – in part recalling those found around a swimming pool – reflected the mood, adorned with a world map playfully populated with illustrated penguins, sardines, crabs and roosters. 

Saint Laurent

Set against the dramatic backdrop of the Eiffel Tower at night – complete with shimmering light show – this season’s Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello show set comprised a series of monolithic stone and marble walls and sleek cuboid benches. ‘A modernist set of kaleidoscopic, mineral surfaces, affording views of the Eiffel Tower while highlighting its soft elegance,’ described the house.

Givenchy

Matthew M Williams’ latest collection for Givenchy was staged inside a new work by architect Gabriel Calatrava for the Collaborative Architecture Laboratory. An enormous inverted tent – affording views of Paris’ L’École Militaire at each end – the monochrome white interior was a reflection of ‘the collection’s themes of ease and elegance,’ said the house. Each of the set’s elements was rented or reusable. 

Burberry

Daniel Lee chose Highbury Fields – a historic slice of green space in north London – to present his much-anticipated sophomore collection. For the occasion, a Burberry-check-adorned tent was erected in the park; inside, a series of park benches covered with Burberry blankets provided the show’s seating.

Dior

Maria Grazia Chiuri continued a tradition of collaboration with women artists on her show sets this season. For S/S 2024, it was Italian artist Elena Bellantoni, who created a video installation that parodied sexist depictions of womanhood in advertising from the 1960s to the 2000s. ‘It is about breaking out of a semantic grid,’ the house described of the piece, which was displayed on vast LED screens around the space. 

Also see our highlights of the recent S/S 2024 runway shows:
Paris Fashion Week S/S 2024
Milan Fashion Week S/S 2024
London Fashion Week S/S 2024
New York Fashion Week S/S 2024

Illinois-born designer Matthew M Williams describes his S/S 2023 collection for Givenchy as a ‘transatlantic clash’, an amalgamation of style codes from his native United States and France, the home country of maison founder Hubert de Givenchy. A meeting of ‘Parisian elegance with California cool’, as Givenchy describes, the fusing of locales was encapsulated in the new ‘Voyou’ bag, which sees a ladylike V-shaped silhouette melded with tough, biker-inspired hardware and slouchy tumbled leather. It takes its name from a slang term in French, meaning ‘bad boy’.

Cultural exchange: Givenchy’s ‘Voyou’ bag

‘With the Voyou, you know at a glance that it’s Parisian, but it’s at home wherever it goes,’ says Williams. Of the S/S 2023 collection more widely, the Givenchy creative director explains that ‘everything began with Hubert… I looked into his archives with my adopted Parisian eye, but also with my instinctive American eye. The cultural exchange reflected in this collection has been a long time in the making.’

Arriving in mini, medium and large sizes, alongside a veritable candy shop of colours – from vivid shades of pink and mint green to shiny laminated leather and denim – the Voyou is the latest addition to what Williams calls his ‘lexicon’ of Givenchy, a thread connecting past and present in the designer’s glossy, contemporary style. ‘I want to revisit fashion archetypes with a kind of new language,’ says Williams.

A version of this story appears in the April 2023 issue of Wallpaper*, available now in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

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Physical fashion shows were back with a bang across New York, London, Milan and Paris. Here, we present the best runway sets and venues that stole the show for S/S 2022, from Saint Laurent's womenswear spectacular under the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower, to Prada’s cross-continent and time-zone spanning set up. 

Best runway sets, S/S 2022 womenswear

Dior

Adding to the roster of female artists she collaborates with, womenswear artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri teamed up with octogenarian Italian artist Anna Paparatti on a board game-inspired show set. At the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, a runway was formed from a circle of colourful flooring panels set at various levels, and a backdrop boasted artworks resembling dartboards and roulette wheels, recalling Paparatti's 1960s artworks, which alluded to the absurdities of life.

Givenchy

For his first physical runway show for Givenchy, Matthew M Williams took guests to the Paris La Défense Arena, the largest indoor performance venue in Europe, on the outskirts of the French capital, with a stark, art gallery-inspired show set. Here, Williams bathed his guests in the glow of a cinematic sun, by suspending a monumental oculus from the ceiling of the vast space.

Valentino

Celebrating the café culture of Paris, so enjoyed by many guests for the first time in 18 months, Valentino installed rows of wicker dining seating at its Carreau du Temple venue, alongside a vibrant flower stall. The Roman house's show also spilled inclusively onto the streets outside the expansive indoor location, where models strutted and posed in front of diners and drinkers, seated at the city's inviting bistros.

Prada

Talk about a time zone-spanning, continent-crossing runway show. As guests in Milan installed themselves into Prada's regular Deposito venue at the Fondazione Prada, a location lined with geometric blocks of seating, so another audience was getting comfy at Shanghai’s Bund One. The two shows began simultaneously, and were live-streamed onto screens at both locations, with guests taking in models, in physical or digital form, sporting satin dresses and slouchy leather outerwear that riffed on notions of sexy. (Read more about OMA/AMO and Prada’s 25 years of show sets.)

Saint Laurent

After show films set on sprawling sand dunes and icy glaciers, Saint Laurent returned to its signature Trocadéro location in Paris, illuminated by the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower. Here, models walked across a vast runway in lean and seductive silhouettes inspired by Paloma Picasso, lit up by an industrial wall of spotlights. At the show's finale, a waterfall flooded the catwalk, a stunning feat of nature slap bang in the middle of the city.

Moncler MONDOGENIUS

The label staged its latest Moncler Genius collections as part of an immersive phygital live-streamed event spanning five cities: Milan, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul and New York. In Milan, guests watched from a film studio location, as host Alicia Keys appeared IRL, interacting with Shanghai host Victoria Song via a huge screen, and presenting 11 collection films, which were showcased one by one. 

Loewe

Stripping back Loewe’s new show space at Paris’ La Garde Républicaine of ‘bits and bobs’, creative director Jonathan Anderson wanted his S/S 2022 Loewe venue to resemble a ‘blank piece of paper’. This concept allowed the silhouettes in the collection to take centre stage. Here, they entered the stark, pine-swathed show venue from a trapdoor in the ground, a twist on how the viewer usually takes in forms from the feet up.

Hermès

No one cemented the sense of escape served up on the S/S 2022 catwalks more than Hermès, which had a private plane land on the tarmac of its Le Bourget airport show location, an hour from Paris. Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski also worked with French artist Flora Moscovici, who created a series of 6m-high abstract panoramas, drenched in sunset tones, which moved as models navigated a circular show space, sporting easy but infinitely luxurious summer silhouettes.

Rejina Pyo

The London-based designer made a medal-worthy splash for her S/S 2022 womenswear show, transporting guests to the Zaha Hadid-designed London Aquatics Centre in Stratford. Here, the audience lined the Olympic venue's swimming pool and at the show's social media-flooded finale, members of the Team GB divers made dramatic twists and turns into the water below.

Miu Miu

For guests keen to get back to the boardroom, Miu Miu served up an office-inspired show set where swiveling Eames office chairs lined a snaking runway at regular show location Palais d'Iéna in Paris. The catwalk was neighboured by oculus-shaped screens, which featured two comedic films by Moroccan artist Meriem Bennani that were also debuted as part of the brand's accompanying live stream on social media. 

Jil Sander

In Milan, Jil Sander bathed guests in a monochromatic lilac haze, in an all-purple show set swathing circular stools, the walls and ceiling. The set design offered a tranquil, almost sophorific setting, for creative director's Lucie and Luke Meier to present a womenswear offering reveling in tactile fabrications, architectural volumes and bold patterns, from tiger print coats to fluid deck chair stripe dresses, crochet polo shirts to androgynous tailoring. 

Coperni

Coperni founders Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant emphasized escapism for S/S 2022, which a collection that reveled in beach-ready silhouettes, suited for sun drenched shores in Ibiza or Greece. To amp up that out-of-office spirit, the brand swathed its runway with sand, lining the entrance to its catwalk space in Paris with 70,000 tall hemp trees, casting a heady scent around guests sat amongst the verdant shrubbery. 

For S/S 2022, the world’s fashion brands have showcased their first physical runway shows in 18 months – following the easing of pandemic-related restrictions – in a host of spectacular locations. In Paris alone, Hermès caused a stir by taking guests to the private airport of Le Bourget, where a plane touched down on the runway at the show's finale, while Balenciaga took over the grand Théâtre du Châtelet, complete with a red carpet and hoards of screaming fans. 

Matthew M Williams also had something spectacular on his mind for his first physical show for Givenchy, after being appointed creative director of the Parisian Maison in June 2020. Last season, the brand presented a panoramic show film, which saw models stomping through water, illuminated by scores of headlights, in the Paris La Défense Arena, the largest indoor performance venue in Europe, on the outskirts of the French capital.

Arena transformed for Givenchy S/S 2022 show

For its S/S 2022 showcase, the brand is returning once again to the Paris La Défense Arena – a sculptural, domed space that was designed by the French architect Christian de Portzamparc and opened in 2017, and can hold up to 40,000 spectators. Here, Williams is set to bathe his guests in the glow of a cinematic sun, by suspending a monumental oculus from the ceiling of the vast space, which will bathe the venue in bright light.

The stark, serene light will transform the space into a brutalism-inspired arena, or an enormous pristine art gallery, setting a suitably compelling scene for Givenchy's S/S 2022 creations to make their entrance.

Another nod to the art-influenced notion behind the set design? Givenchy's S/S 2022 also unveils a collaboration with the American artist Josh Smith, whose emotive, large brushstroke-swathed paintings feature figurative elements, such as skeletons, fish and insects, to impressionistic effect.

INFORMATION
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Fashion logos have always been big business, but they gained even more cultural cachet for the S/S 2021 season, when a number of brands looked back into their archives to bring new life to idiosyncratic motifs. Not least among them was Givenchy – as is seen from the new Givenchy ‘4G’ bag – under the creative directorship of Matthew M Williams.

When Williams, who took on the Givenchy role in 2020 and is also the designer behind cult fashion brand 1017 Alyx 9SM, was considering the codes synonymous with the illustrious French maison – one that’s associated with Breakfast at Tiffany's ballgowns and Noughties streetwear-centric style – he honed in on the brand’s emblem.

The result? The new Givenchy ‘4G’ bag features a central hardware fastening composed of a signature geometric motif, formed from a pattern of four sans serif ‘G’s, with the striking jewellery-like closure reflecting William’s fascination with industrial hardware.

Discover the new Givenchy ‘4G’ bag

If a logo sparks meaningful brand associations, then the Givenchy ‘4G’ – a name with mobile phone connotations – sends out singular style signals. The bag, elemental in its pared-back rectangular form, is available in a number of colourways, from cappuccino to red, from black to ivory, and in finishes from patent to exotic leather.

Its classic, simple silhouette ensures that it is not only an essential shoulder bag style for this season, but one for many more years to come. For all its streamlining, meanwhile, practical details such as a flat interior pocket are not overlooked, and there’s a choice of small and medium sizes.

And the Givenchy ‘4G’ isn’t only identifiable by its signature logocentric hardware and optional chunky ‘G’ logo chain strap – it also closes with a satisfying metallic clink. The brand doesn’t just have a visual hardware hallmark, but a sound one too – one with a closure that denotes connection.

INFORMATION
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It’s no secret that a largely digital-only fashion week is a tricky event to master. Fashion shows function on suspense and anticipation, the expectation of an audience, the first foot on a runway, the inaugural beat of a show soundtrack, the force of the catwalk finale. It’s difficult to recreate this suspense through a computer screen. But for Paris Fashion Week A/W 2021, designers living in a city operating through a lockdown and strict curfew pushed on.

They even took advantage of the French capital’s deserted streets, presenting collections and trends for 2021, that celebrated the spirit of the City of Light and the spectacle of the fashion show, with both pared-back, reserved dressing and exuberant, out-out style.

Like many of us, Chanel's Virginie Viard was feeling the urge to hit the tiles and dance all night with abandon. For the Parisian maison's A/W 2021 offering, the brand's merry troupe of models strode through the deserted streets of Paris, before arriving at legendary Saint-Germain-des-Prés nightclub Castel, which opened in 1961, and was beloved by Pierre Bergé, Serge Gainsbourg and Salvador Dalí. Here, the models shed glittering bouclé coats and puffer jackets at the cloakroom and strutted through salons, sporting glittering mini dresses, transparent skirts and androgynous tweed suits. 

There was also an après-ski sensibility, seen in padded camelia-motif jumpsuits, Chanel ‘CC' logo dungarees and fluffy moonboots. Instagram users were strongly inclined towards the label's evening-meets-off-piste chic, and Chanel’s collection reached more than 246 million users, the widest audience of Paris Fashion Week, according to visual marketing software company Dash Hudson.

Miu Miu was also keen for a ski trip, holding its A/W 2021 show on the snow-topped mountains of Italy's Cortina d'Ampezzo, instead of its usual AMO-designed show space at Paris’ Palais d’Iena. Models braved the elements in colourful crochet knits and balaclavas, glossy padded jumpsuits, fluffy ski boots and bejewelled dresses. Ski, but with a side of subversive sleek. 

For her debut at Chloé, Uruguay-born New York-based designer Gabriela Hearst celebrated Paris, home city of the brand. Inspired by the location of Chloé founder Gabrielle Aghion's first salon shows, the brand's A/W 2021 film featured models softly striding from Brasserie Lipp (still a firm fashion week favourite) into softly lit cobbled streets. There was a 1960s fluidity to the collection, reflecting the easy elegance of Hearst's own label. Think striped knitted dresses, patchwork coats in scalloped leather, fluid outdoorsy ponchos and a new eco-aware take on the brand's signature ‘Edith’ bag. Hearst is committed to sustainability, and her debut featured recycled fabrics, from cashmere to silks, alongside 50 secondhand ‘Edith’ bags sourced on Ebay and customised with scraps of fabric. 

AMI's Alexandre Mattiussi wanted not only to celebrate the spirit of Paris, but also the joy of a physical fashion show. His A/W 2021 film, Le Défilé, shot by Spanish filmmaker Alvaro Colom, traced excited models travelling to appear on the catwalk, before strolling in a 1990s-inspired spectacle. 'I wanted to pay tribute to the shows I used to watch from that era on Fashion TV,' Mattiussi explained. ‘Shows with an amazing mood and energy, people screaming!' The brand's collection also paid tribute to 1990s minimalism, with its elevated offering of camel coats, shearling jackets, fringed dresses and and optic tailoring. ‘Pieces that are elegant, sexy and chic,' Mattiussi said. ‘Good clothes for real people.'

Coperni also deemed it essential for the show to go on, and the label's founders Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant presented an IRL drive-thru event at the Great Hall of the Accord Arena in Bercy, reached by 70 guests in a fleet of electric cars. Here too was a sense of 1990s decadence, with a collection that featured nighttime looks including pastel-hued transparent dresses, slouchy suiting, knee-high boots and scuba leggings

The beauty of a digital-first fashion week is its democratic nature. People from all over the world can view a brand's show through a screen, at the same time as an industry insider. However, this apparent unity can mask isolation, with viewers tending to access the experience in solitude. For Hermès' A/W 2021 show, Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski stated: ‘Let us attempt to be creative together – albeit from a distance.' This translated into a film directed by Sébastien Lifshitz, encompassing a trio of shows across continents and time zones. It featured an opening performance in New York, choreographed by Madeline Hollander, a catwalk show in Paris, and wrapped up with a final dance performance in Shanghai, choreographed by Gu Jiani.

For Vanhee-Cybulski, movement was key, and her collection was focused on a joyful emergence into post-pandemic existence. ‘It is urgent now to live again, to venture forth into the unknown, to gain a new lease of life,' she said. Pieces acted as high-luxury hybrids, with smart denim suiting, suits cut like parkas, and ponchos with inbuilt scarves. ‘Classifications disappear into the play of fabrics and pleats,' she added.

For the New York element of Hermès' film, Vanhee-Cybulski was inspired by the physicality of women walking in New York. The notion of walking was integral to a number of designers for A/W 2021, who found solace, inspiration and vigour in exploring on foot. ‘I have the best ideas when I jog or walk,' said Akris' Albert Kriemler. The creative director is famous for collaborating with artists and architects, from Imi Knoebel to Geta Brătescu, but for A/W 2021 the brand's Swiss home town of St Gallen was his muse. In a film directed by Anton Corbijn, with whom Akris also teamed up last season, models strode the town’s snow-topped outer streets in grayscale, before gathering inside its medieval Abbey Library in Technicolour.

Reinterpreting the idea of the Akris logo, Kriemler devised topographical map prints that pinpointed the location of the brand's atelier. ‘My grandmother bought the space in 1944,' he said. He also celebrated the material heritage of the town, which was once responsible for 50 per cent of the world's embroidery. Delicate, punch-cut embroideries detailed comfort-focused, contemporary pieces, including neoprene dresses with laser-cut details, double-face cashmere coats and gauzy map-print tops created using stretch tulle.

During London’s several lockdowns, Laura and Deanna Fanning, the sister creative directors behind Kiko Kostadinov’s womenswear collection, took their daily walk around London’s Crouch End, Muswell Hill and Highgate. With the streets largely deserted, they felt a sense of reclaiming the city and its historic sites, but also noted the lack of inspiration felt when people aren’t around. ‘In big cities people become part of the landscape, it’s one of the reasons you live in them,’ they explained. Their strolls led them to Lauren Elkin’s book Flâneuse, which looks at the walking habits of women writers including Virginia Woolf and Jean Rhys, and covers Elkin’s own on-foot adventures, from Venice to Tokyo.

The Fannings were inspired by the idea of 'presenting yourself to other people', taking inspiration from the bright hues found in the street style photography of Japanese magazine Street, from the 1990s and 2000s. Bright colours sported by passers-by on Portabello Road in London inspired bold hues, while darker greys and blacks nodded to the weather of Paris. Draped, tailored and layered silhouettes featured chunky striped knitwear, trousers and jackets with panels of colourful faux fur, futuristic stud-detail trainers, and ruffled skirts. Fluid dresses and shirts with voluminous sleeves featured a retro-futuristic 'radius-dot' print inspired by the Polish Op artist Wojciech Fangor. ‘The print references an idea in Flâneuse, of a cartographer drawing a circle on a map and walking around the area within it,' they explained. ‘The clothes are about showing yourself off, not to please men, but for your own pleasure.'

Showing off is not something that's resonated in recent months, but it's clear that as normalcy beckons, so does our desire to dress up. ‘For me it's about having a positive, joyful approach to luxury,' said Schiaparelli creative director Daniel Rosenberry, who in just two years has brought a contemporary humour, playfulness and sense of luxury to the Parisian couture house. ‘It's about heightening the fantasy.' And what a fantasy A/W 2021 was: think classic silhouettes like poplin shirts, trench coats and denim jumpsuits peppered with hammered gold bijoux buttons evoking the 'eye' and 'lock' surrealist motifs of the house, alongside bags and tweed jackets with 3D 'booby' details and second-skin boots with huge flatform heels. ‘We're taking under-designed silhouettes and embellishing them in an intellectual way,' Rosenberry said. ‘I love the perversity of it all'.

Elsewhere, Paco Rabanne's Julien Dossena referred to his A/W 2021 offering as an ‘affirmation of decadence'. In an uplifting film, smiling women soared through the air to Bryan Ferry's Slave to Love, in souped-up 1970s and 1940s shapes, from frill-necked dresses to wide-legged suiting, embellished in swathes of chainmail, rhinestones and tulle. ‘Looks layered with ornamentation transmit resilience to ravishing effect,' read the brand's press release.

‘This collection is an ode to individuality, freedom and change,’ said Lucie and Luke Meier of Jil Sander’s A/W 2021 offering. The collection amped up ostentation, featuring silk dresses with retro interiors prints, slips with delicate lingerie details, shirts with bold floral embroidery, soft capes with fringed sleeves, and necklaces formed from oversized strings of pearls.

Acne Studios’ Jonny Johansson was also inspired by voluminous shapes and bold prints, creating pieces for emerging from isolation that are subtly different from the clothing worn before it. Black and white hues nodded to bridal and funeral ceremonies, missed out on in the last year. Fluid dresses had striking floral prints, coats cocooned the body like dressing gowns, and accessories felt protective, including chunky ponyskin boots, XL chain necklaces and warped handbags

Elsewhere, Issey Miyake's A/W 2021 offering was exuberantly innovative. The label looked to the tones of nature, from shadows to sea shells, debuting futuristic clothing in a film directed by Mikiya Takimoto. Its ‘Cliff' pieces featured garments that appeared to ripple across the body in a series of pleated and non-pleated yarns, including long skirts and unlined trenchcoats. ‘Silk Shade' designs featured abstract prints of flowers glowing in moonlight, created using a traditional hogushigasuri dyeing technique and swathed across fluid side-tie dresses. Concentric pleated ‘Monochrome Planet' designs had circular cut-out forms that bought new dimensions to the body.

A/W 2021 also allowed brands the opportunity to refine their output and drill down into their signatures. For Paul Smith, this meant revisting the subcultural silhouettes that have been synonymous with his five-decade creative tenure. As with the brand's menswear offering, shown in January, the designer looked to mod and grunge shapes, with Madness-inspired ankle-skimming suiting in two-tone fabrics, colourful striped knitwear and mackintoshes in blown-up floral prints from the label's archive. There was a relaxed elegance to the offering, which featured blazers paired with knitted trousers, fit-and-flare dresses in stretchy paisely print jersey and silk pyjamas layered with pea coats. ‘I think when winter comes, people will want to put a cool suit on, or a shearling jacket,' Smith explained. ‘After the start of the year in sweats and then flopping into summer, people will need de-flopping!'

Marine Serre also focused on the essence of her label, one synonymous with half-crescent motifs, upcycled fabrics and a fiercely apocalyptic vision of the future. She presented her 'Core' collection through a series of video vignettes online, featuring Serre fans carrying out mundane tasks from their homes in the city or the country, sporting spliced denim and leather, skirts formed from patches of picnic blanket and scarf swatches, and tattoo-print dresses.

Copenhagen-based Cecilie Bahnsen took time to hone her ethereal and intricately crafted pieces. Designs had a whole-wardrobe aspect, incorporating knitwear, cardigans and quilted trenchcoats, alongside her signature cloud-like dresses, imagined with bow details, voluminous sleeves and cut-outs and in overtly tactile fabrics. ‘The collection is so focused on touch,' Bahnsen explained. ‘Giving people a sense of tactility even when there is distance. The feeling you get putting clothing on is really luxury for us.'

Designers were also keen to reflect the reality of life, which in the past 12 months has called for an existence we never thought possible. For Dior's Maria Grazia Chiuri, this meant delving into the disturbing narratives of fairytales, and journeying to the Palace of Versailles, with a film of sinister and uncanny connotations (think nude bodysuit-clad dancers cavorting around spikes and writhing in the woods under moonlight). On the runway in the Hall of Mirrors, models took on changing feminine identities, in body-cinching hooded Bar jackets and mini skirts à la Red Riding Hood, laser-cut leather pinafore dresses and shirts, and pleated evening gowns. Leopard print and plaids allowed models to move between seductive and conservative, playing with their identities, with angular sunglasses and Oblique-print foulard headscarves.

Rick Owens riffed between rage and resplendence, his women's collection an evolution of January's ‘Gethsemane' menswear offering. The show, presented on Venice Lido, where Owens has spent much of the last year (his factory is a two-hour drive away, in Concordia), featured power-shouldered silhouettes that nodded to both sportswear and haute couture. Puffer jackets trailed like capes, body-hugging sequin gowns had voluminous asymmetric sleeves, trailing ribbed knitwear wrapped around the body, and thong swimsuits functioned as ‘self-contained and sealed body coverings'. Owens saw his powerful shapes as a response to fear and anxiety, and a parody of physical male aggression, transforming female forms into ‘architectural bulldozers'.

At Loewe and his own eponymous label, Jonathan Anderson has led the creative charge in terms of finding imaginative alternatives to the runway show. His ‘Show in the News' collection was an evolution of his ‘Show in a Box’ and ‘Show on the Wall’ concepts. The invitation featured a time capsule-inspired metal tin and, inside it, a newspaper emblazoned with the headline ‘The Loewe Show Has Been Cancelled’. ‘I thought it was nice to put a literary backdrop to the collection,' said Anderson in an accompanying video about the design of the show invitation, which also featured a letter opener and an excerpt of Danielle Steele's new novel The Affair. The collection was similarly layered, rifffing on tailoring and soft boyish shapes, voluminous draped dresses and intarsia knitwear, in bold tones and with sequin, tassel, buckle and fringe details. Think suede jackets with soft shoulders, heeled boots with XL debossed clasps, gowns with graphic paillettes and oversized blazers in painterly silks.

After a month-long series of shows – spanning New York to London, and showcasing narrative films and lookbooks, printed matter and the dense reach of digital – Louis Vuitton closed Paris Fashion Week with a celebration of the runway show in its purest form. The brand's A/W 2021 offering, presented in the Denon wing of The Louvre, was resplendent with voluminous and futuristic shapes, which drew on ancient garments and 1980s silhouettes. On a global live stream, models walked to Daft Punk track ‘Around the World’, sporting architectural capes and puffball ruffled skirts, statue-and-cameo-print jackets marking a collaboration with Fornasetti, and richly embroidered A-line dresses. Boots had chunky sculptural heels, and flats resemembled bow-detail gladiator sandals. Presented in a historic setting, the show spanned both the past and present, showcasing fashion for the future – one which viewers around the world are waiting on with wide-eyed anticipation. 

Just days before the opening of Paris Fashion Week, new Covid-19 restrictions were implemented in France. Bars and restaurants in Marseilles were shuttered. In Paris, drinking spots were ordered to close at 10pm and gatherings of more than 10 people were banned in public places. The final city to host the S/S 2021 shows with the most sizeable schedule has been beset with travel restrictions – from the 14 day quarantine required of returning UK citizens, put in place in mid-August – to the announcement that those arriving in Italy from France are subject to a Covid-19 test. But for the City of Lights, and the epicentre of the French fashion industry, estimated at creating one million jobs and €150 billion in direct sales each year, the shows had to go on, if at least in largely ‘phygital' form.

French fashion behemoths including Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton staged live physical shows, in venues including the top floors of former department store La Samaritaine, which has been shuttered since 2005, and the rooftop of the office skyscraper Tour Montparnasse, while brands including Balenciaga, Thom Browne and new-to-the schedule Wales Bonner devised innovative collection films, featuring in Browne's case, a trio of Olympic athletes. When a week before in Milan, Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada debuted their co-creative collection via a live stream, so Matthew Williams also presented his first collection for Givenchy online, teasing out his debut designs days before on Instagram.

Maria Grazia Chiuri may have presented a softer Dior silhouette for spring – inspired by enforced ease with which we are living our lives – but she didn’t go soft on the set design of the maison’s show, which was live streamed for the first time on TikTok. Inside a socially-distanced tent at the Jardin des Tuileries, Chiuri enlisted Italian visual artist and writer Lucia Marcucci, to create 7-meter high stain glass collages, that sprung up in 18 illuminated columns, inspired by the 2011 artwork ‘ Vetrata di poesia visiva’. Collage has a visual resonance with Chiuri, and she uses the art form as a tool to convey her feminist methodology. For the brand’s A/W 2018 show, she pasted the walls of the brand’s show space with provocative magazine covers and slogans, in a collection which nodded to the student protests in Paris in 1968.

If Dior is defined by the cinched in silhouette, Chiuri relaxed this rigour for spring. Models sported loose gauzy gowns, dressing gown shape jackets, easy tuxedo trousers and utilitarian cagoules. While her silhouettes were made for our at-home habits, details had an escapist élan, incorporating nomadic tie-dye, tassels, crochet and faraway florals. Designs for social-distancing, but still with a dream.

If anyone was going to respond to the practicalities of Covid-19 with technical tenacity it was Coperni. The label has its finger on the pulse of contemporary life, incorporating the digital experience into its design DNA. For S/S 2021, founders Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Valliant developed ‘C+' a protective technical jersey developed using Swiss technology, which is lightweight, moisturising and anti-bacterial. This fabric – which is immersed in silver ions – was incorporated into streamlined designs, which worked to enhance the body, not restrict it, like elasticated trousers and loose buttonless shirts. The collection, shown on the roof of Paris’ tallest skyscraper, also featured wet suit leggings and technical blazers, with easy zip fastenings.  

Face masks and visors have entered the global accessory lexicon, and for his sophomore outing for Kenzo, creative director Felipe Oliveira Baptista tapped into this phenomenon. Inspired by an early 20th century photograph of a man wearing a structural 3D mosquito net and cap (complete with a hole for his pipe), he created silhouettes which spoke of soft protection. Models walking outdoors at the Institut National des Jeunes Sourds, wore mackintoshes and gauzy archival floral print cagoules, paired with beekeepers hats, some of which had transparent coverings protecting not only the face, but cocooning the entire body.

In 2020, the world accelerated in line with Marine Serre’s apocalyptic design vision, with proposes sustainable silhouettes for battling climate change, and environmental and social chaos. These mediate somewhere between sportswear and couture. In ‘Amor Fati', a film directed by Sacha Barbin and Ryan Doubiago, she presented a cinematically impressive sci-fi fantasy, with a circular narrative hooked around a laboratory, a natural landscape and an underground water-world. Serre’s cast sported balaclavas, Black Panther-centric berets and body suits, arming themselves against upheaval with recycled moire harnesses and holsters.

There’s also an apocalyptic armour behind Rick Owens’ designs. In recent seasons, the label’s creations have drawn on the garb of glam rock stars and mythological Aztec gods. For spring, Owens streamed a show from a piazza in front of Venice Lido’s casino – the spot where he spends his summers, and also the city where the term quarantine originated, when during the Black Death, infected ships arriving in the port where isolated for 40 days. An apt allusion to our times, the collection was titled ‘Phlegethon’, referring to one of the rivers in the Inferno described in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Owens equipped his hell dwellers in jackets with bulbous shoulders, fluid gowns, leather hot pants, platform thigh high boots and face masks. Uncharacteristically optimistic hues of creamy pink, banana yellow and candy apple red nodded to Neapolitan gelato. In his show notes Owens said, ‘I might just be getting into a taste for the lurid that an undercurrent of threat and dread can inspire.’ 

Pepto Bismol pink was also a colour favoured by Kiko Kostadinov’s Laura and Deanna Fanning, who for S/S 2021, evolved the label’s womenswear lexicon, experimenting with both Victorian and 1970s shapes, in bold hues and textures. Standout were hand craft-focused shirred and smocked dresses, which pucker and crinkle around the body, retro wide-collared tailoring, and an update of the brand’s curved Louis heel, embellished with colourful crystal beads and accentuated with Gladiator ankle straps.

Wales Bonner showed for the first time on the S/S 2021 schedule, but her collection – presented in ‘Thinkin Home', a sunset-drenched film by Jamaican artist Jeano Edwards – was the second in a three-collection spanning exploration of the diasporic connections between Britain and the Caribbean. While A/W 2020’s ‘Lovers Rock’ considered the British Jamaican community in the 1970s in London – inspired by Bonner’s father’s family, and photographs of teenagers hanging at Lewisham Youth Club, ‘Essence' explores the early 1980s origination of dancehall music in her grandfather's home country. Bonner looked to the style of Augustus Pablo, the Jamaican roots reggae and dub record producer and musician, and her collection sung of dancehall vibrancy and sleek British smartness, featuring stripe caftans mixed with tailoring, and fluid knitwear and bold patchwork corduroy. The collection also continued her collaboration with Adidas Originals, on slimline shell suits and colour blocked tees.

‘Psychedelic optimism’ is how Acne Studios’ Jonny Johansson summed up the brand’s S/S 2021 collection, designed to celebrate the possibilities of life experienced on pause. Looking to astrological elements as optimistic symbols, the Swedish brand collaborated with the LA-based artist Ben Quinn on a series of star prints layered over organza tunics. Johansson also honed in on luminescent fabrics, finding illumination in pearlised cotton, metallic threads and iridescent paper, and celebrating fluid and diaphonous silhouettes, with handcrafted details. Akris’ Albert Kriemler also found inspiration in phosphorescence, namely the light-emitting sculptures of Imi Knoebel. He collaborated with the German Minimalist on a series of fluorescent and vibrant creations that nodded to the artist’s graphic and colour-focused oeuvre, including caftans and relaxed dresses and chic tracksuits. ‘A Knoebel line, colour or form is instantly recognisable as its own. It represents what felt very right for this moment,' Kreimler explained. ‘Something designed today should not be obsolete tomorrow.'

There have been diverse opinions regarding the return to the physical show format, and one designer content with finding alternative methods is Jonathan Anderson. For the men’s shows back in July, he devised a ‘show-in-a-box' concept for his eponymous label, and for Spanish house Loewe where he is creative director, containing interactive runway show-inspired ephemera. At Loewe, the label's S/S 2021 men’s design was imagined as a grey canvas index card box – conceived in collaboration with M/M (Paris) – packed with fabric swatches, a record, and a pop-up show set, inspired by Duchamp's ‘Boîte-en-valise', a box the artist carried in a suitcase with miniature monographs of his own work.

For S/S 2021 womenswear, Anderson broke out of the boundaries of the box, creating a ‘Show-on-the-wall', an artist's portfolio featuring S/S 2021 looks, accompanied by an interactive selection of ephemera, encouraging its receiver to immerse themselves in the collection's elements, as the viewer would at a physical runway show. Eagerly Instagrammed add-ons included a roll of wallpaper designed by Anthea Hamilton, plus a border roll depicting spring's voluminous and architectural shapes – enhanced with plumes of taffeta, ruffles of broderie anglaise, glittering knots and XL pleats – sent with Loewe monogrammed scissors, a canvas tool bag, paintbrush and glue. 

Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski also placed focus on the printed form, sending out a collectors' item scrapbook to accompany Hermès’ physical show, with atmospheric images lensed by creatives including Wallpaper* collaborator Katrien De Blauwer. The maison’s accompanying collection was a masterclass in seductive minimalism. Body suits with cut-out backs were paired with knee length skirts in the supplest leather, crisp trousers styled with bandeaus, while shawl coats featured rolled up collars that unpoppered into scarves. The colour palette was rich and restrained in tones including caramel, sorbet yellow and scarlet. The most luxurious house shoe for spring? The Hermès clog, complete with an ‘H’ detail leather upper.

Paul Smith – whose beloved British brand celebrates its 50th anniversary this year – immersed himself in his personal history for spring. The designer – who swapped a physical or digital show for a lookbook and walk-through press appointments in London – was inspired by over 30 holiday photo albums, featuring snapshots of himself and wife Pauline. ‘We designed it over the phone!’ Smith laughed of the creative process behind the soothingly optimistic collection which features easy zip-up jackets in stripe tailoring fabrics, silk skirts and beach shorts emblazoned with enlarged archive rose prints, plus unconstructed tailoring. A double-breasted jacket with tactile prick stitch detailing, was inspired by the retro shapes Smith spotted on trips to Havana. ‘If people have been wearing sweats and tees all year, we ned to ease them back in,’ he said of the soft shapes.

There was also a nostalic nod behind Miu Miu's spring offering, which featured super sweet girlish silhouettes, like tracksuit tops paired with retro briefs, stripe halternecks and tennis skirts, knitted polo shirts and micro minis shimmering with plastic pailettes. It spoke of the innocent joy on dressing up and was sublime in its celebratory tone.

Designers used the downtime experienced during global lockdown to reconsider the core values of their brand. In fashion cities across the world, labels have presented pared-back or streamlined collections, with fewer looks and more focus. This concept resonated with designer Satoshi Kondo, who, troubled by the sheer number of shipment boxes used to transport Issey Miyake's last A/W 2020 offering from Tokyo to Paris, conceived a collection so compact it fitted into one. S/S 2021 features a number of shrink-inspired silhouettes that nod to the brand’s prowess in fabric development and innovation, from a technical parka and poncho which can be folded into a garment bag, to zig-zag knit patterned tops and dresses that can be rolled into a shape of a sponge. 

Y/Project’s Glenn Martens also presented a vision which evoked the ‘essential meaning’ of the experimental brand. Celebrating the versatility of its hybrid silhouettes, an accompanying ‘How to wear’ film showed how pieces could shaped, with the incorporation of zips and poppers. At Schiaparelli too, Daniel Rosenberry’s third collection for the house was focused on ‘essential silhouettes in the best fabrics’ that assimilated the hand-focused flourishes of haute couture, like trouser suits in the brand’s signature hot pink with Rorschach test-centric prints, Delphic gowns and chain-embellished shirting. These silhouettes were anything but shy, and were paired with hammered gold jewellery with nose and keylock details – surrealist symbols of the house.

While few were physically able to attend Paris for the spring shows, brands chose to celebrate the city itself. At Ami, the brand held its first show on the womenswear schedule, on the bank of the River Seine. In a more seductive spin than previous seasons, models sported dresses with cut-outs at the décolletage and check pencil skirts paired with string vests, inspired by Nineties evening wear. The urban landscape also inspired the soundtrack to Paco Rabanne’s pared-back physical show at Espace Commines, which bought a relaxed, daytime ease to the brand's disco-centric shapes. Nostalgic noises, that were silent for so much of this year, accompanied the collection, like dogs barking, police sirens honking, cars indicating and bike bells jingling.

The fashionable flaneur was also a focus. In a digital film presented as a music video, Balenciaga's S/S 2021 models stomped towards the Place Vendôme and along the Seine in the dark, miming to a synthy take on Corey Hart’s electro pop hit ‘Sunglasses at Night,’ sporting chainmail dresses and hybrid sportswear, fluffy heeled hotel slippers and wraparound shades, naturally. Rokh’s Rok Hwang was also fascinated with the concept of walking outside at night - a pastime we’ve all appreciated in recent months - recalling teenage wanders with friends when living in Austin Texas. The brand’s cinematic show film, set in an otherworldly location, featured modern flaneurs in fighting forms, including ruffled and tartan Victoriana dresses layered with leather harnesses.

For his debut at Givenchy, 1017 ALYX 9SM founder Matthew Williams teased out snippets of his S/S 2021 showcase a week before on Instagram, posting low-fi close-up images of chains and padlocks, lensed by Nick Knight. Hardware was essential to the designer’s vision, which was revealed in a surprisingly low key lookbook, with metal elements designed as a luxurious interpretation of the much-coveted logo. Williams looked at the codes of the historic couture house through a Gen Z-centric streetwear lens, featuring sleek, architectural shapes like square shouldered leather capes paired with gauzy bejewelled gowns, severe tailoring and tube dresses with seductive exposed backs. Williams nodded to previous creative directors, celebrating the tenure of Alexander McQueen with animalistic accessories, like sandals with curving horn heels and caps with knobbly antlers, and to Riccardo Tisci, in a hardware-focused revision of the graphic Antigona bag, beloved of supermodels in the Noughties. Referring to the collection as a ‘sampler’ of things to come, William’s Gen-Z fans will be fixated on what is next.

Chanel is one of many red carpet labels that has lost out to countless cancelled occasions this year, although Julia Garner and Shira Haas did opt to wear the brand to the Emmy’s first ever ‘phygital' awards show. With a typically insouciant mindset, creative director Virgine Viard was attracted to the off-duty attitude of an actress before a photocall for S/S 2021. In the show's press release she spoke of women with ‘their attitude a little out of sync with the outfits they’re wearing’ – a feeling many people have experienced this year, dressing up for visual dinner parties and on-screen events. Models walked against a huge Hollywood-inspired Chanel sign – the letters of the house erected with huge scaffolding – at a physical show inside the Grand Palais, sporting fluid asymmetric dresses, power shouldered skirt suits, sequin bermuda shorts and slogan t-shirts inspired by neon lights. The show celebrated cinematic escapism, one of which was rooted in reality.

Also intrigued by the codes of dressing today, John Galliano dissected the haute couture shapes and techniques used in Maison Margiela’s Artisanal collection, creating ethereal, finely crafted and avant-garde creations which were presented in ‘S.W.A.L.K 2', a Nick-Knight directed sequel to the brand’s video in July. The 40 minute film flits between fitting scenes in the label’s studio, and a sprawling estate in Tuscany, where Galliano’s models dance the tango, offering extensive insight into the creative process behind creating a collection.

Louis Vuitton's Nicolas Ghesquière was also fascinated by the concept of ‘in between garments' that reflect the on-pause lifestyle of today, somewhere between suiting and sportswear, at home clothes and ones for dreaming of going out. Usually showing in various areas of The Louvre, from its IM Pei-designed Cour Marly to its underground Pavillon de l’Horloge, the label decamped to the top floor of La Samaritane, the LVMH-owned department store which has been shuttered for refurbishment since 2005. In a physical and digital presentation blend, the Art Deco architecture and Art Nouveau frescoes were offset with green screen elements, which showed snippets of Wim Wenders ‘Wings of Desire' to audiences at home. Ghesquière's ‘stylistically vague' shapes featured 1980s power suiting, chainmail mini dresses and slouchy knitwear. Silhouettes appeared elegantly thrown on, like boardshorts paired with a long duster coat and a ‘Peace’ slogan tee. The show summed up a season that navigated the online and physical realms, creating clothing which caters to today's much changed lifestyle, one which shows no sign of settling come spring.

British photographer and Wallpaper* contributor Jason Lloyd Evans has been shooting behind-the-scenes backstage snapshots from the runway shows of the world’s most creative brands, since the early 2000s. Here we reveal his favourite sublime snapshots, spanning the last eight years.

Armani Privé S/S 2012

‘Giorgio Armani hosted a “One Night Only” event in Beijing and seemed to be one of the first to really tap into the market and bring his show direct to his there. It was a great experience to go and cover the trip for them.'

Proenza Schouler S/S 2012

‘Proenza Schouler has always been one of my favourite brands to cover in New York. The brand's shows always have such a special casting, concept and collection.'

Burberry A/W 2013

‘Karlie Kloss and Jourdan Dunn showing their love for Christopher Bailey's Burberry. His shows always had a super positive energy.'

Givenchy S/S 2014

‘Being backstage at Riccardo Tisci's shows for Burberry was always an en experience, you never knew what you'd be allowed to shoot. The make up which Pat McGrath created for his shows was very special too.'

Chanel A/W 2015

‘Chanel doesn’t generally allowed backstage access and therefore it is always a bonus to be covering it for a special feature. This A/W 2015 shot from Karl's reign ran as part of a 12 page feature in 10 Magazine. Big, bold and beautiful.'

Gucci S/S 2017

‘Gucci really hit its stride under creative director Alessandro Michele – his eclectic collections are such a departure from what came before and add a real buzz to the Milan schedule.'

Tommy Hilfger S/S 2017

‘This LA show tapped into many emerging patterns in fashion. It was a collaborative collection with Gigi Hadid, it used the See Now Buy Now retail model and had real focus on consumer activation.'

Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda S/S 2018

‘I have been really lucky to cover Dolce & Gabbana's Alta Moda events. The summer show is always hosted in a stunning Italian location such as Sicily or Capri. The clothing is always exceptional.'

Alexander Wang S/S 2018

‘All the cool girls want to be in Wang's gang and that's the energy his brand's shows really tapped into. Case in point, here you find Bella Hadid, Kaia Gerber and Kendal Jenner.'

Valentino Haute Couture S/S 2019

‘This was one occasion where I was happy to be shooting the catwalk rather than backstage. The show, the venue, the music and the collection was incredibly moving, and many editors were weeping! At the end of the show, I whizzed to the front of the runway and caught these really intimate shots.’

Versace S/S 2020

‘This is part of a backstage series of portraits of Jennifer Lopez and Donatella Versace, after Lopez had walked the catwalk in a revisited version of the brand’s iconic Jungle Dress.’

Fendi A/W 2020

‘For Fendi, I captured days of clothing fittings, hair and makeup tests, the show’s set build and DJ meetings. How fashion shows are presented may change, but for me the creative and collaborative process that comes from them will always be at the heart of fashion.’

Quotes: Jason Lloyd-Evans. Additional writing: Laura Hawkins

INFORMATION

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Mood board: Last year the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris staged a glorious exhibition unpicking the unique story of the Maharaja d’Indore – Yeshwant Rao Holkar Bahadur. Bahadur was a figure across both the European and Indian cultural set who commissioned The Manik Bagh Palace, one of the most well-known Modernist constructions of 1930s India. ‘He was an incredible drifter through different cities. He decided to abandon his past in India and embrace Modernism. He was photographed with Man Ray and went into the Surrealist movement – he was this person who just drifted into different things in life. This idea of an urban drifter was interesting to me,’ artistic director Clare Waight Keller said. A/W 20 featured glossed leather trousers and oversized patchwork knits, heavy metal capped boots, bullion thread and crystal embroideries. The look was eclectic yet precise. 

Best in show: Slimline tailoring, double-breasted blazers and nipped-in coats were clasped shut with brooches, kilt pins and fob chains laden with charms. Backstage, Keller spoke of the different cultures the prince mingled with; in 1938, he married for a second time in Los Angeles and this mood was translated into a sharpness of suiting. A more urban style paired with the couture elements such as the latex high collar undershirts by Atsuko Kudo and full, hand-embroidered opulent evening wear. 

Sound bite: One year on from presenting her first standalone menswear collection for the house, Keller is developing the 1970s glamour and élan she seems to enjoy. ‘A/W 20 is a slightly tougher guy. I have two sides of my menswear – last season was the more urban side but, in Paris, I wanted to remember that really sharp Givenchy, the dark, mysterious romantic that is running through all of my work here.’ An opulence flowing into the couture. ‘The Maharaja d’Indore had this incredible dynamic of moving though different cultures in life and I think that sort of speaks to the way we should be in the world today.’ A spontaneous elegance for new age nomads. 

Mood board: Today, design houses flourish on dichotomy. A successful couture house might also produce a best-selling sneaker, a strong digital presence that enraptures millennials but also a traditional made-to-measure service. For S/S 2020, Givenchy creative director Clare Waight Keller revelled in ‘dissonance’, presenting a collection that celebrated 90s minimalism (a strong trend for spring), romantic ethereality and bohemianism. The show’s opening soundtrack, I’m a Tomboy, by Princess Nokia, signalled a sleek androgynous mood, brimming with neutral leathers, stonewashed denim and Bermuda short suits, paired with chunky sliders and sculptural mules. Elsewhere, a more romantic focus came into play (with plenty of red carpet options for front rowers Maisie Williams and Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer), with finesse juxtaposed against flou, like poplin dresses with tropical blooms and long gowns festooned with floral 3D embroidery.

Best in show: The show’s opening looks tapped into spring’s penchant for minimalism, seen at both Deveaux and Hermès. A caramel trench coat was cut from glossy buttery leather, a sleeveless double breasted dress from delicate houndstooth and a short suit had a slim silhouette and a plunging neckline.

Finishing touches: Across the spring catwalks brands have cemented their commitment to sustainable practices. The 90s-inspired denim in the collection, which included tattered boyfriend jeans, and a two tone double breasted coat was crafted using upcycled denim.

Scene setting: Ever since Clare Waight Keller took the reins of Givenchy, the Parisian brand's shows have been taking place at the very urban setting of the Palais de Justice. No more. Sunday’s show rendezvous took place at the Jardin des Plantes, a botanical garden of sorts on the Rive Gauche with a little building inside... Which is where we all expected to be seating. This made the set design even more of a surprise: it was a long tent (‘the longest I've ever seen’, as per witness reports), completely blackened except for its roof, a transparent affair through which guests could see the Jardin's trimmed trees swaying wildly to the evening's stormy winds.

Moodboard: The theme? ‘Winter's Eden', said the designer's show notes. And so it transpired. Clare Waight Keller has been asking herself the most primal question anyone in fashion can ever come up with: why do we dress ourselves? If you are somewhat religious, the answer might have something to do with Adam, Eve and the Garden of Eden. And voila, you've got this collection's inspiration. It was all there, from the flowers, trees and blooming colours of an exotic garden – vibrant pinks, grass greens, saturated sky blues, not to forget the hundreds of sparkling crystals mimicking dew drops – to the slithery temptation of the snake... in the shape of accessories.

Best in show: The execution, though, was far from literal. It's not for nothing that this has been dubbed the season of the suit: nothing in the way of slouchy ensembles or boho dresses here. Quite the opposite, it was all about structure. Strong shoulders, defined waistlines and power trousers in classic patterns were everywhere. As for dresses, they came in micro-pleated poly silk and thick crepe. Menswear, which was first shown in January in a very intimate show, made its appearance once again, all 1970's-infused flared trousers suits in unexpected colours including cherry and turquoise. Once again, those were among the audience's favourites, and heralded a truly new era of masculine elegance. In that way, Clare Waight Keller's answer to ‘why do we dress ourselves' was crystal clear.

Mood board: You'd be forgiven for incessantly humming The Velvet Underground and Nico's ‘I'll Be Your Mirror' on the way into the latest Givenchy show. To start with, because 'I am your mirror' was precisely the title of the collection. Guests cruised through the endless corridors of the Île de la Cité's Palais de Justice in near-complete darkness, illuminated only by a laser trail bouncing from mirrors. As it turned out, it was a symbol: one of blurred sartorial gender codes. In fact, Clare Waight Keller's inspiration this season started with Annemarie Schwarzenbach, the early 20th century journalist and photographer who was educated as a boy by her parents.

Best in show: Schwarzenbach's striking ultra androgynous look was mimicked by the models, many of which sported boyish pixie cuts. The show's pièces de résistance were high-waisted, pleated trousers paired with sahariennes, pared-down smoking jackets and sleek trench coats. For the girls, that is. Boys – Waight Keller has been polishing her flair for menswear since her arrival to the French maison – got to wear the gilded leather, skinny lavender suits and clutch handbags this time. Not to say there weren't touches of a more conventional take on femininity. After all, the front row was star-studded (guests included Liv Tyler, Rooney Mara, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and Isabelle Huppert). For their red carpet engagements, it seemed, the designer proposed a sparkling finale of sequins and strass-embroidered evening gowns.

Finishing touches: Accessories included tan leather tote bags worn as clutches – mostly by men, but one piece stood out: glasses bore XL proportions and were baroquely embellished with dangling chains and rimmed with crystals, contrasting with the minimalism of the rest of the collection. If they end up hitting the stores, they are guaranteed to be sold out show-stoppers.

Given its track record for staging fashion spectaculars, the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute does not shy away from controversy by any means. Its latest effort, ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’, which examines the influence of Roman Catholic imagery and symbolism in fashion, may have been polarising from the outset. However, installed within the museum’s galleries for Byzantine and medieval art, its Costume Center space and also uptown at The Met Cloisters, the historical context of viewing both ecclesiastical fashion and genuine religious garments bestows the exhibition with a palpable gravitas, whether you are a believer or not.

As the largest undertaking the Costume Institute has attempted to date, ‘Heavenly Bodies’ brings together over 150 garments, including 40 papal robes and vestments dating back to the mid-18th century, on loan from the Sistine Chapel Sacristy – an unprecedented move as some of them have never been seen outside of the Vatican exhibition space in the museum, the task was given to Diller Scofidio + Renfro to create a cohesive exhibition design to bring it all together.

‘We were really game to take on such a complex theme,’ says founding partner Liz Diller, who also oversaw the firm’s design for the museum’s Charles James retrospective in 2014. ‘The idea of bringing in all this modern and contemporary fashion with [objects] from the Vatican was a challenge to figure out how do. To do it both in the spaces of the museum and at the Cloisters – there was a lot that had to be thought through and resolved.’

‘We spent a lot of time in the early days talking about taking the subject matter seriously on its own terms, but also not being overly reverential and trying not to do anything campy or too narrative. Keeping a foot in the museum and then also [bringing] something more elevated was something we tried to get the right balance for,’ adds project lead Kumar Atre.

The exhibition opens in the Byzantine and Medieval art galleries, where ethereal creations from Dior, Givenchy and Valentino are situated alongside more austere, nun and clergy-inspired garb from Thom Browne and Yves Saint Laurent in its sanctuary-like setting.

DS+R specially designed a display system, made from concrete, steel and acrylic, that quietly adapted itself to the garments being showcased. From hovering platforms lightly suspended off the ground, to towering industrial pedestals and modern yet other worldly vitrines, the system’s variations maintain a fresh, yet continuous thread as viewers explore the various spaces.

Diller explains, ‘There was an existing museology in all the spaces, and so we had to intersect it in a way that was both respectful, but also give the show a coherence about it.’

From this historical backdrop, the exhibition moves on to the white-box Anna Wintour Costume Center, where the Vatican’s loaned objects are appropriately given their own moment. Papal robes are displayed in wide cases, while mitres and other accessories are shown in tall single vitrines, each visible on all sides so that visitors can appreciate the intricate embroidery and all its details.

The final part of the exhibition’s triptych strikes a more spiritual and contemplative note amongst the solitude of the Met Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park near the Bronx. Playing off the dramatic monastery architecture, creations by Rick Owens, Undercover and Gareth Pugh are presented in all their irreverent glory.

‘The show is in cooperation with other curators and a lot of other artifacts,’ Diller concludes. ‘There is a kind of thinking about all the links and a building of the choreography, but it’s also about taking advantage of and interpreting what’s already there.’

INFORMATION

‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’ is on view from 10 May – 8 October 2018. For more information, visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art website

Hubert de Givenchy has passed away at the age of 91. The French fashion designer founded his eponymous label in 1952. He was renowned for dressing an international esteemed elite, including Lauren Bacall, Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and for his cinematic collaboration and longtime friendship with Audrey Hepburn.

The statuesque 6ft 6in tall aristocrat enrolled at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1944. He honed his teeth at Schiaparelli, and was a protégée of Cristóbal Balenciaga before launching his own couture house eight years later. In 1953, Givenchy designed a white strapless organza gown for Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina, a design, which marked a continued collaboration and life long friendship with the actress. Givenchy designed pieces for Hepburn’s wardrobe in Funny Face (1957) and Breakfast in Tiffany’s (1961), including her character Holly Golightly’s renowned little black dress, featuring a thigh-high slit and a cut-out décolleté.

The thigh-high signature was a mark of Givenchy’s modern design aesthetic, which saw him use unusual fabrics, and pioneer shorter lengths and the ‘sack dress’ silhouette. Hepburn also starred as the face of Givenchy’s first fragrance, L’interdit, launched in 1957. The designer, who launched ready-to-wear in 1954, also established his menswear line in 1973.

Givenchy sold his label to LVMH in 1988, before retiring from fashion design in 1995. He has been succeeded by a host of imaginative and revolutionary figures, including John Galliano, Alexander McQueen and Riccardo Tisci. Clare Waight Keller was announced as the brand’s first female artistic director of the house in March 2017. After hearing news of the Givenchy’s death, Keller posted on Instagram ‘Not only was he one of the most influential fashion figures of our time, whose legacy still influences modern day dressing, but he was also one of the chicest most charming men I have ever met'.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Givenchy website

Scene setting: It was a chilly, rainy morning at the Palais de Justice, the imposing courtroom building in the Île de la Cité where Givenchy has been showing its collections since Clare Waight Keller took the reins last season. Guests made their way towards the venue through long, cavernous corridors, sipping coffee and nibbling on madeleines (the best possible present we could hope for at 10am on a Sunday) to find a room arranged as an organic-shaped labyrinth dressed with velvet curtains in powdery tones. The lights were dim, the atmosphere ominous. It was quite the Lynchian landscape. And there was a reason for it.

Mood board: ‘Night Noir’ was the show’s title. Waight Keller was inspired, as the notes explained, both by the sophisticated and seedy aesthetics of classic Hollywood film noir and her own memories of Berlin. The result of that eclectic but somewhat logical mix fell somewhere between Joan Crawford's Mildred Pierce (1945) and the decadence of Weimar Germany. The silhouette was sharp, sophisticated and thoroughly grown-up (Waight Keller knows very well who her Givenchy client), taking cues from both the powerful shoulder lines and masculine-feminine duality of the Forties and the coldness and boxy shapes of the Eighties. Particularly so for the menswear, which veered away from the very skinny — and very Slimanesque — rock ‘n’ roll vibes from last season.

Best in show: It was all about the chubby (fake) fur coat at the beginning, a shrewd, trend-savvy move from Waight Keller, especially given the amount of synthetic voluminous coats we’ve seen on the catwalks so far this season. But it was the tail end of the show which truly caught our attention: a series of evening looks including variations on the tuxedo (a cream sleeveless shirt with a fringe detail looked particularly irresistible), silver sequined dresses, overblown taffeta bows and a profusion of flapper fringes in shirts and skirts. It was as if Waight Keller was designing the costumes for a black-and-white Hollywood film. It became her, and it was there that she best managed the delicate balance between Hubert de Givenchy and Riccardo Tisci’s heritage and her own personal aesthetic.

Natacha Ramsay-Levi
Chloé

Ramsay-Levi had been on Parisians’ radar long before January 2017’s announcement that she would be taking Clare Waight Keller’s place at Chloé. A decade ago Ramsay-Levi was something of an it-girl and party-page fixture. She wanted to be a historian until she saw Nicolas Ghesquière’s work for Balenciaga, joined the company as his intern and graduated to a designer role. When Ghesquière moved to Louis Vuitton in November 2013, she followed him as creative director of women’s ready-to-wear, earning a reputation for translating his direction into saleable looks. He remains one of her most vocal supporters. ‘I have watched her grow into the determined and talented woman she is today,’ he said recently. ‘It is going to be very exciting to see her rise and create her signature.’

Ramsay-Levi’s insider experience and her product savvy attitude made her the ideal candidate for Chloé at a crucial time for the house, which recently revealed ambitious expansion plans, including an array of new stores and a greater product range. The first Frenchwoman to lead the brand in more than 25 years, Ramsay-Levi says of her take on the Parisian maison: ‘Chloé girls have a suave mix of sophistication and humility; they are timeless but never conventional. I want to continue to shape their course, staying true to the independent and intellectual spirit of Gaby Aghion [Chloé’s founder], and to those who perpetuated this democratic style, so resolutely feminine, so joyful.’

Ramsay-Levi’s first collection, presented last September, drew rave reviews for its sense of ease and affirmed femininity. Graphic flower-printed dresses mixed with dressage-inspired silhouettes, camel tailoring, 1970s-infused slouchy trousers and woven leather boots. Her debut collection is available to purchase at a Selfridges pop-up in London, until 18 March. ‘I want to give women the opportunity to show their inner strength, not their power. That’s the personality of the woman I am drawn to.’

Left, Natacha Ramsay-Levi. Right, A velvet suit stamped with Chloé’s prancing horse motif

Claire Waight Keller
Givenchy

During her six-year tenure as creative director of Chloé, Clare Waight Keller redefined the bohemian, feminine aesthetics of the French maison with flair and considerable commercial success. So much so that, prior to her first Givenchy show last October, some even wondered whether she could adapt to the darker, sleeker look that was trademark of Hubert de Givenchy and, of course, her predecessor Riccardo Tisci. those who doubted her had clearly forgotten her past stints at Calvin Klein, Gucci, Pringle of Scotland and Ralph Lauren, where she designed menswear. a task she has taken on at Givenchy as well.

The brand’s Spring/Summer 2018 show included male models in skinny ensembles – a lot more glam, and a lot less streetwear-inspired, than Tisci’s. The silhouette was wide at the shoulders and tiny at the waist for both men and women. Functional bomber jackets, leather jeans and miniskirts were the key pieces for womenswear, with some concessions to fantasy made in eveningwear (the designer’s chiffon and lace dresses were the most critically acclaimed). Synergy between men’s and women’s collections is central to Waight Keller’s approach in her new position. as she tells us, ‘I really believe that there’s an importance to that dialogue. The idea of the couple is strongly rooted in the house. That’s something I want to carry forward. Today, if you think of the people who are the most influential in the world, they’re often power couples.’

Left, an outfit showcasing Givenchy’s perfect tailoring, such as jackets with strong shoulders contrasting with short hemlines. Right, Clare Waight Keller

Paul Surridge
Roberto Cavalli

Of all the Italian houses known for their glamazonian legacies, few are as bold as Roberto Cavalli. Which is why the choice of Englishman Paul Surridge as the new creative director came as such a surprise. Surridge is a Central Saint Martins graduate with an extensive CV, including stints at the menswear divisions of Calvin Klein (when the founder was still at the helm), Burberry, Jil Sander and Z Zegna. The Cavalli gig is his first move into womenswear. ‘Menswear is more in the smaller details and the function, whereas womenswear is in the occasion and more of an emotional approach,’ he says. ‘I like to think that my men’s background has enabled me to work deeper in the cut, finish and construction.’

Surridge’s Cavalli borrows menswear’s mathematical precision and obsession with details, without forgetting the sexiness that defined the Florentine brand in the first place. Surridge walks a thin line between heritage and renewal, but then again, he is a man who enjoys a challenge, ‘and ultimately, it’s Roberto Cavalli’s core values of beauty and quality that inspired me’.

His first collection still boasts the Cavalli essentials – zebra prints, fur, and revealing cut-outs – but these are combined with laser-sharp tailoring and a touch of androgyny, making them more accessible and current. ‘I’m dedicated to continuing to evolve a modern approach to sensuality while revisiting some of the central icons of the maison,’ explains Surridge.

Left, Paul Surridge. Right, Surridge has carefully updated Roberto Cavalli’s trademark zebra print, which now appears on a perfectly cut coat

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Chloé website, the Givenchy website and the Roberto Cavalli website

To say that knitwear is in designer Carolyn Yim’s blood would only account for some of the passion she brings to her womenswear label, Ply-Knits. Yim’s family are veterans in the knitwear manufacturing business. In addition to helping clients like Givenchy, Max Mara, Christian Dior and Ralph Lauren manufacture knitwear from their bases in Hong Kong and China today, Yim’s grandmother (and founder of the family business) most notably made an embroidered bias-cut pointelle gown for John Galliano and Dior Couture in the late ’90s.

For Ply-Knits, Yim combines both these facets of her family background to create quiet yet impactful pieces. Her poetic collections fuse technical expertise with a classic artistry, not only on the stylish surface, but on the textile level as well. Primarily made from deadstock yarn because of its superior quality, each Ply-Knits piece is designed for comfort, durability and wearability – characteristics that are all supported by the type of knit used.

For example, the label’s signature knit pant is made from a finely tuned merino wool and cashmere mix that possesses just the right tension to offer support and a sleek fit, while simultaneously being water repellent (thanks to the natural properties of wool) and armed with a sensual feel that wearers will be able to enjoy day after day.

‘We really work with the materials and make our own textiles each and every time,’ explains Yim of her detail-oriented manufacturing process, which often begins with an assessment of the vintage yarns and experimenting with different knitting and spinning techniques to create the right fabric. ‘We believe in the integrity of the textiles to hold the structure of every garment.’

Although Yim’s in-depth knowledge of knitwear sits at the heart of the label, Ply-Knits’ understated but detail-oriented aesthetic is just as alluring. With standout pieces including a herringbone-ribbed, mandarin scholar’s mock-neck top in techno cotton and a correspondent’s jacket in a merino wool and viscose mix that retains its polish despite long hours of travelling, Ply-Knits’ offerings easily fit into any well-appointed wardrobe.

Filled with invisible details, such as elastic thread or reinforced waistbands to support regular wear, along with unexpected knit patterns that bestow minimalist styles with a seductive impact, Ply-Knits redefines everyday luxury with its holistic design approach.

‘I think each garment should function as architecture and it should make the human body look good,’ Yim reflects. ‘I design intuitively, but am also influenced by industrial design principles. Dieter Rams’ “Ten Principles of Good Design” is something I always come back to.’

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Ply-Knits website

Scene setting: The Palais de Justice is an imposing 19th-century building in the heart of the Île de la Cité, the oldest arrondissement in Paris. For a long time, it has been famous for its trials, not its fashion shows; the couloir des pas perdus (the ‘corridor of lost steps’, as the seemingly endless gallery of lamp-lit stone arches is called) might be ominously named, but it’s far removed from the glossy setting of yesterday’s photocall. But Givenchy is about to change that, for the next three years at least: the maison has reached an agreement with the administration to use it exclusively as their venue for the whole duration of Clare Waight-Keller's contract. Entering the enormous salons, we were wooed. The setting was simply perfect for the British designer's first show for the brand.

Mood board: Most of us mainly know Waight-Keller for her boho, hyperfeminine, softly chic designs for Chloé, where she was creative director from 2011 until earlier this year. In a preview before the show, she aknowledged the challenges presented before her. After all, it’s a titanic task to take the helm of a legendary French house these days (one we’ve seen undertaken at both Lanvin and Chloé itself this week). Should one respect the archives or – as Riccardo Tisci did – not give them as much as a single thought? Is continuity preferable to a clean slate in the eyes of the consumer? How much of a designer’s personality should shine through? Clearly Waight-Keller has carefully weighed all those questions. She even took a season off to ponder them without succumbing to the usual hysterically rushed pace of the industry. Considering what was at stake – not to mention the fact that this was both a women’s and men’s show – the electricity in the room was palpable, as the lights lowered and murmurs waned.

Best in show: The very first look screamed spectacular ‘saleability’. It was a black dress with a mini bag cutely tied to the waist- the newly designed 'GV3' named after Hubert de Givenchy's original headquarters of at 3 Avenue George Cinq. Same for the next few looks: there were asymmetrical hems, pleated silk details, structured shoulders and a minimal use of colour, chiefly through the use of rich black, crimson red and white, which had a touch of Tisci. Waight-Keller also celebrated the canon of the houses’s founder, with a clover print dress that riffed on a haute couture style from 1961, and a bow detail little black dress, which nodded to the legacy of his costumes for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, from the same year. Indeed, it was the evening looks that the brought the true spirit of Waight-Keller’s creativity to light. And they did so beautifully, through pleated chiffon dresses complete with ruffles and lace. The designer managed to make them look distinctly feminine, while presenting a delicate balance between softness and an alpha-female spirit. If her next few collections continue to develop in that direction, Givenchy will no doubt be in a sweet spot for the next few years. 

Mood board: From the star spangled banner to sporty basketball stripes, Ricardo Tisci often instills his Italo-Catholic aesthetic at Givenchy with the symbology of America. For A/W 2017, the designer looked to his childhood perceptions of the American West, splashing bright totemic prints on sweaters, and finishing shirts with ruffled details shaped like winged wooden carvings. Tisci offset these influences against his menswear house signatures: star prints, grungy plaids and stripes, and layered street-wear silhouettes.

Best in show: Alongside bright prints and patterns, Tisci presented more restrained combinations, including a navy single-breasted overcoat with oversized grainy wooden buttons, paired with slim trousers and wide-laced skater shoes.

Finishing touches: Tisci also designed a series of tailored single and double-breasted overcoats, finished with shimmering diamante buttons. The details bought an added splendour to his more grungy patterning.

Givenchy A/W 2017. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Scene scetting: 28 giant balloon lamps stood in the back gardens of the Jardin des Plantes for Givenchy’s spring/summer show. It all happened outdoors in Paris' frigid autumn temperatures, so as guests waited an hour for the show to start they wrapped themselves up in Mylar blankets that matched the mirrored runway.

Mood board: Riccardo Tisci took an earthy approach to spring, proposing the swirly geological patterns of ancient rock on floating chiffon dresses and round medallion necklaces that hung like slabs of crystal around the model’s necks. Interestingly, the effect wasn’t hippie at all. Rather, the mood was razor-sharp and ultramodern as Tisci cut skintight, figure-hugging silhouettes with high tech materials.

Best in show: Though there were some spicy polka dot prints that gave Hubert de Givenchy a run for his 1960s money, the best pieces in this collection were all black. Tisci sent out a fantastic line-up of black pantsuits with flared skinny legs and extra-long, lean coats that were stitched together with silver zips and utility pockets as large as handbags. It was a very fresh, cool look and was further amped up for evening with the addition colourful Plexiglass shards.

INFORMATION

Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Prada: Mrs Prada once again partnered with Dutch studio AMO to build a backdrop for her menswear showcase at the Fondazione Prada complex. Decked out in hiking-inspired attire, models strode up and then down a continuous metal mesh ramp to a 1990s soundtrack.

Gucci: A huge serpent motif slithered along Alessandro Michele’s green-carpeted runway at Gucci this season. Deep-buttoned benches and wall panels upholstered in green velvet lined the space, while green lighting paired with a delicate mist created a totally immersive fashion experience

Acne Studios: For a collection that served as a tribute to the emptiness of the Swedish summer, Acne Studios staged a game of musical chairs within the dilapidated library space at Paris’ Lycée Charlemagne. Old-fashioned metal-legged school chairs were scattered along the runway with square mirrors placed on the floor in between them, reflecting the crumbling frescoes above. Meanwhile, multicoloured filters placed over the windowpanes created welcome chequerboards of colour against the peeling plasterwork and worn floorboards

Fendi: The holiday snaps of Pablo Picasso and David Hockney provided the inspiration for Fendi’s S/S 2017 outing. Decked out in terry cloth robes and striped totes, models made their way around a crisp-edged blue pool headed up by a bright yellow diving emblazoned with the Fendi logo

Givenchy: Riccardo Tisci presented his S/S 2017 menswear collection for Givenchy in the courtyard of Paris’ Lycée Janson de Sailly. Black and white cube-shaped stools, which echoed the optic checkerboard patterns in the collection, were laid out in three concentric circles to form the schoolyard catwalk

Dior Homme: Following on from last season’s skateboard ramps, Dior Homme returned to the Tennis Club de Paris with a rollercoaster set that swooped around the runway. Festooned with coloured light bulbs, Kris Van Assche’s fashion fun fair was designed to evoke the atmosphere of the Sinksenfoor amusement park in Antwerp, Belgium.

Moncler Gamme Bleu: Forty mosquito-netted one-man tents were erected along Moncler’s grass-lined runway this season. The elaborate staging, complete with trees and a campfire, provided the perfect backdrop for the label’s Boy Scout camping-themed show

Ami: Bathed in a golden glow that evoked early morning light, Alexandre Mattiussi’s romantic set occupied the length of one of the long curved walls within Paris’ Grand Palais. His models, clad nonchalantly in pleated trousers, nylon hoodies and knitted sweaters, walked alongside a series of tall windows, both real and fake, complete with billowing white linen curtains and slatted shutters that filtered the hazy light.

Balenciaga: With a blue sky overhead and a clear view of the 7th arrondissement and the Eiffel Tower on the horizon, the dazzling atrium of Paris’ Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague served as the setting for Balenciaga’s first ever men’s runway show. Arranged under the atrium’s spectacular curved, lattice-framed roof, a simple set with just three rows of seating lining either side of the catwalk let the spectacular cityscape do the talking

Belstaff: Inspired by On Any Sunday, a documentary about motorcycle racing made in 1971 starring Steve McQueen, Belstaff’s S/S 2017 collection was full of references to riding and motorcycle culture – as was the set. A dirt track peppered with pine trees, a vintage pick-up truck and motorbike transported the audience straight onto a Husqvarna in the California desert

Berluti: For S/S 2017, Berluti threw a lush poolside cocktail party complete with games, burger vans, champagne bars and a host of inflatable animals. To celebrate the launch of its opulent outdoor equipment – as part of a new lifestyle collection, which included skipping ropes, dumbbells, beach rackets and a set of boules – models skateboarded through garden paths, worked out to the sounds of Donna Summer and frolicked across a makeshift swimming pool, tossing a Venezia leather frisbee

Berthold: Presented in the dark concrete basement of London’s 180 The Strand, Raimund Berthold’s S/S 2017 collection was built around the outsized proportions of an old French cavalry coat. To reflect this, his minimalistic set, designed once again by Justyna Kabala, was filled with angular metal frameworks draped loosely with white fabric held in place by heaps of coral-coloured sand that spilled over onto the black rubber floor

Canali: Inspired by the intersecting warps and wefts of its textured jackets, pants and knitwear, Canali’s models emerged from a spiraling web of tension cables lit with steel blue and burnt sienna lighting to match the collection’s clout palette

Mackintosh: An undulating platform made up of mirrored panels and eleven white plinths served as the catwalk at Mackintosh’s S/S 2017 presentation. As well as highlighting the details of the British heritage brand’s three-quarter length coats, the mirrored flooring reflected and amplified the Edwardian splendor of the show’s location in the Waldorf’s Palm Court

CMMN SWDN: Channeling the souks of Marrakech, designer Kimberley Harding conjured a sun-soaked market place show set for CMMN SWDN. With a sand-covered floor, makeshift market stalls in warm shades of ochre, burnt sienna and terracotta echoed the collection’s colour palette

Issey Miyake Men: The sun-baked quadrant within Paris’ Université Pierre et Marie Curie provided the perfect platform for Issey Miyake Men’s India-inspired ‘Journey from a white page’ collection. Taking advantage of its stepped grid design, models stalked up and down the steps in perfect formation to the sound of Japanese band Kikagaku Moyo who performed at the centre

Kenzo: Creative directors Carol Lim and Humberto Leon took to Carreau du Temple, a former clothes market, to showcase the French label’s S/S 2017 offering. A raised tiled platform, sprayed with abstract graffiti lines in petrol blue, acid green and black, set the scene for a 10am Saturday morning rave with a thumping house soundtrack

Louis Vuitton: Held in the open air among the columns of Paris’ impressive Palais Royal, Louis Vuitton’s show set had no trouble in evoking the hot plains of Africa – Kim Jones’ source of inspiration for S/S 2017. Snaking around square pyramid-style seating arrangements, the subtle pink stonework provided the perfect backdrop for Jones’ sun bleached palette of brown, taupe and beige

Pal Zileri: An enormous backdrop burning with bright magenta and green created a horizon-like effect for Pal Zileri’s sharp tailoring. Models walked out silhouetted against the screen before taking their turn along a spotlit, v-shaped runway

Philipp Plein: The designer’s ‘Sportsworld Spectacular’ themed show got underway on a basketball court set created by Simon Costin. Backdropped by a giant screen flashing up NBA logos and player stats, the court was awash with models, NBA-mascots, a troop of neon-clad cheerleaders and a gang of slam dunk acrobats from the Harlem Globetrotters. Lights flashed, flames were fired up into the air and rapper Busta Rhymes performed – exactly the type of no-expense-spared show that we’ve come to expect from Plein

Qasimi: Over at Somerset House designer Khalid bin Sultan Al Qasimi of Qasimi drew influence from the Gulf War and contemporary architecture for his collection ‘Videogames Wars’. Inspired by the undulating titanium facade of Gehry’s Guggenheim in Bilbao, a riveted metal platform conceived by set designer Andrea Cellerino served as a rippling sand dune in Qasimi’s dystopian desert

Sacai: Held in an all-white orangerie-cum-art gallery space at the Jardin du Luxembourg, Chitose Abe’s Clockwork Orange-inspired collection for Sacai was paraded around strategically placed heaps of beige gravel that created a Mars-esque landscape

Thom Browne: The designer welcomed guests to a perfectly square gothic tropical island complete with its own black palm tree and glittering black sands for his S/S 2017 outing. Models dressed in wet suits, as seagulls and as birds of paradise added to the jovial atmosphere – as did the suited model wearing a shark head who opened the show to the Jaws soundtrack.

Valentino: Returning to their usual stately spot at Paris’ Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli of Valentino presented a collection that they said was inspired by ‘the Shakespearean world transformed into an emotional alchemy’. Contrasting the opulent surrounds with rough timber clad bench seating, the simple set design reflected the collection’s languid, intentionally ‘undone’ mood

Thomas Pink: The house used a gravity-defying wall of chairs to showcase its S/S 2017 presentation at the ICA in London. Nonchalantly sitting on non-descript white-painted wooden chairs suspended across a blue-tiled wall, were 15 impeccably half-dressed men in a range of shirts, crisp boxer shorts, long, fine-gauge socks and leather lace-up shoes

Mood board: For S/S 2017, Riccardo Tisci explored the more spiritual side to the urban man; blending precise tailoring with the strong, street orientated signatures he has become known for. The collection was decidedly more serene than previous seasons with its khaki workwear separates, nifty utility pocket jackets and mirror appliqués. Graphic direction was led by patterns taken directly from currency; the scrolling lines and triangle motifs found on dollar bills were blown up and placed center front on parka jackets or overlaid onto camo.

Best in show: Accessories borrowed from 90s underground music scenes – a prevailing influence at the menswear shows. They have been revised with new materials and graphics in-line with Tisci’s oeuvre; high-shine PVC bucket hats came in tortoiseshell and black, worn with dark sunglasses. The trainers for next season have a plump leather tongue, striped laces and a wide band of elastic stretched across the tops.

Scene setting: The show was staged in the courtyard of Paris’s Lycée Janson de Sailly – the biggest academic institution in the region with some 3,000 students. Guests were seated on black and white cubes, which reflected the optic checkerboard patterns in the collection. As we waited for the show to begin, the surrounding windows of the school were crammed with teenagers, clutching iPhones – Tisci’s audience had doubled and they were certainly pleased with what they saw.

INFORMATION

Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

Black looks: In the new season’s monochrome, Louis Vuitton, Jil Sander, and Kenzo (pictured clockwise from left) opted for sleek, jet-black invitations. Louis Vuitton’s was debossed with its iconic monogram pattern; Jil Sander sent a soft, matte invitation with the event details embossed in a contrasting shiny black; while Kenzo’s came in the form of a mock concert ticket

Antonio Marras: Like a paper matryoshka doll, the ever-playful invitation from Antonio Marras was a decidedly meta affair – an illustrated paper envelope within an envelope within an envelope and so forth eventually revealed show details

Dries Van Noten: London-based illustrator Gill Button hand-painted no less than 1,200 invitations for Dries Van Noten’s A/W womenswear show after being discovered by the Belgian designer on Instagram. The collection – and invitations – nod to Italian heiress and muse Luisa Casati

Pattern power: Fashion powerhouses Salvatore Ferragamo, Versace and Bally went big and bold for their womenswear outings in Milan, commanding our attention with a graphic array of patterned invitations

Iris van Herpen: On the other end of the spectrum, Dutch designer Iris van Herpen aroused our curiosity with a tiny, pea-sized glass vessel. With careful tinkering we were able to coax the presentation details out, printed inside on a thin, plastic tape

Dior Homme: This season, creative director Kris Van Assche dipped into Dior’s floral archive as well as a black-and-red plaid that wouldn’t go amiss on the hip skater crowd, who were foreshadowed on his poster invitation

Anya Hindmarch: The English designer announced her London womenswear show with a diabolically difficult, all-silver riff on a Rubik’s cube (a few frustrating/gratifying hours were admittedly spent attempting to solve it). Set designer Stuart Nunn later brought this motif to life on the runway, creating a backdrop of illuminated surfaces based on 8-bit graphics and Rubik’s cubes, of course

Gucci: We opened Gucci’s mysterious invitation box for its menswear show with baited breath. Inside, it revealed a striking trio of scientific glass slides each adorned with its own specimen from Alessandro Michele’s Gucci garden, including a snake and bumblebee (a nod to European nobility and Rome, where the Italian house is based and also where the insect is carved into buildings all over the city)

Monochrome medley: It was a simple matter of black and white for Salvatore Ferragamo, Margaret Howell, Neil Barrett and Aquazzura, who all posted boldly monochromatic invitations to our letterbox

Prada: As ever, the guarded Miuccia Prada revealed nothing ahead of her Milan show. Instead, we were left tantalised by an off-white paper booklet with a concertina binding, slipped in a ghostly, semi-translucent acetate envelope

Metal heads: A metallic trend emerged among this season’s invitations, including a delicate, gold foil iteration for Palm Angels’ menswear show (left) and a creased, silver foil backed by cardboard for jewellery label Ambush

Paul Smith: Keen-eyed, longtime followers of the eponymous British designer might have recognised the glossy, red apple motif that appeared on his womenswear invitations from London’s salon and Paris’ runway show. Sir Smith, in fact, had first used it in 1982 and his recent collection took a bite out of his past endeavours

Art and soul: The Technicolor brushstrokes were flying as Paul Smith, Marques’Almeida, Céline (poured tinted rubber technically), and Hermès all jumped on a painterly trend for their respective show invitations this season

Acne Studios: There was no telling what to expect from Acne Studios’ show thanks to its poster invitation, illustrated with two wildly different scenes. Were we in for a psychedelic romp in Paris or something more darkly seductive?

Rick Owens: The American designer announced both of his A/W Paris shows on matching, soft leather invitations

Givenchy: Riccardo Tisci heralded his show with a black-and-white poster pin-up, painted over with a powder pink hue

Material matters: Luxurious swathes of suede and felt won out many of the invitations this season, including (pictured, from top) Victoria Beckham, Marni, and Jimmy Choo

3.1 Phillip Lim: It was only fitting that the American designer would send out a boxed bamboo invitation with the show details printed inside on a glossy, lacquer-red duplex card, framed with a black border. As it turned out, his A/W outing was infused with plenty of references that included Japanese craft and kimonos

Fendi: The Italian house announced itself – quite literally – with a white duplex card featuring its name playfully adorned in a lemon yellow felt inside a comic speech bubble

1205: The elusive Paula Gerbase gave nothing away ahead of her menswear debut in London thanks to her minimalist acetate invitation

Zest sellers: Several houses heralded their shows with a bold tangerine or vivid orange, including (clockwise, from top left) Marques'Almeida's paint-streaked offering; MSGM's fabric-pressed card; Miu Miu's soft suede invitation; and Carven's graphic poster

Edun: The label adorned its womenswear invitation, the runway and closing looks of the show with a design from Ethiopian Grammar by artist Wosene Worke Kosrof. The Ethiopian sculptor/painter is best known for his interpretations of Aramaic script; here, he conjured a pastiche of phrases like 'mother love' and blended it with the Amharic alphabet on duplex card

2

Models at Hussein Chalayan’s Paris show who took a shower on the catwalk, allowing their soluble clothes to melt away

12

BMX bikers and professional skateboarders catching some air on the ramps at Jimmy Choo’s menswear show, held inside a London leisure centre

19

Giant Roman arches on the Kenzo catwalk with models sweeping through on a conveyor belt

80

Crushed cars, 12 motorcycles popping wheelies, one monster truck, two spinning cop cars and two BMWs exploding into flames at Philipp Plein’s men’s show

20

A-listers playing blackjack and roulette at Chanel’s casino set in Paris’ Grand Palais shows

3

Lifesized fake carwashes, featuring fluffy rotating brushes and bubble machines, on Jeremy Scott’s runway at Moschino

700

Plexiglas panelshanging from the ceiling at the Prada men’s show      

200

Metres of carpet printed with snakes and roses and 14 bespoke upholstered screens on the catwalk at Gucci

30

Buddhist monks, in matching red robes, chanting before the start of Prabal Gurung’s women’s show

100,000

People who attended New York fashion week versus 2.4 million people who live-streamed the shows at home

1

Designer down during a post-show runway lap: Tommaso Aquilano, of Aquilano Rimondi, tripped and face-planted in Milan

820

Free tickets that Givenchy gave to the public on a first-come, first-served basis to its women’s show in New York

12

Strong, female, professional dancers carrying other women like backpacks and papooses at the Rick Owens’ show

7

Earth mountains created by artist Maya Lin for Phillip Lim’s New York show

50

Oriental rugs hanging from the ceiling of the harem-like show space at Antonio Marras

136

Digital ‘windows’ flashing videos of clouds, rain storms, blue skies, lights and models walking at the Canali men’s show

17

Miniature outfits hanging on a lifesized fake tree installed inside Milan’s 18th century Palazzo Clerici for Agnona

10

Colour-blocked tents created by Danish artist FOS for Phoebe Philo’s Céline show

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Miniature outfits hanging on a lifesized fake tree installed inside Milan’s 18th century Palazzo Clerici for Agnona

3

Giant robots who dressed models on a conveyor belt after Courtney Love had performed Celebrity Skin at Philipp Plein’s women’s show

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Lucky guests treated to a private dance performance by six Michael Clark Company dancers wearing Pringle menswear at Galleria Sozzani in Milan

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Hours for carpenters to build a lifesized section of Sou Fujimoto’s House N inside Paris’ Grand Palais for Akris

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Oars on each of the two boats at the rowing-inspired Moncler Gamme Bleu men’s show

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Mariachi singers belting out songs during Brian Atwood’s presentation at Milan’s Museo Bagatti Valsecchi

40

Bare-chested men, in knee-high socks and shiny shoes, reading newspapers in deckchairs in the courtyard before the Berluti show

20,000

Gallons of water to fill the mini lagoon in which the models frolicked at Tommy Hilfiger’s New York show

300

LED water lilies on the runway at Giorgio Armani  

8.5

Height in feet of the giant Balthus cat on the runway at Arthur Arbesser’s show in Milan. It was later cut into three pieces and taken home by the Austrian designer

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Cheeky selfie taken by Alexander Wang in front of a pool of water during his final show for Balenciaga

3,000

Electric blue delphiniums planted on a temporary hill (that took 30 days to build) in the middle of the Louvre’s Cour Carrée for the Dior show

40

Models at Dolce & Gabbana who took to the runway with cellphones in hand, snapping selfies

If there was ever a high note for live musical fashion performances, the S/S 2016’s womenswear season was it.

The power of a concert, fused with a fashion show, saw Courtney Love take on ‘the machine’ at Philipp Plein’s robotic Milan presentation, while Givenchy’s outdoor New York spectacular was accompanied by a moving line-up of artists paired with instrumentalists from a variety of ethnicities.

Burberry Prorsum’s London show (pictured) featured British singer Alison Moyet and a 32-piece orchestra conducted by Joe Duddell. Then over in Paris, Rick Owens' ‘Cyclops’ presentation featured a live performance by Unkle and Eska Mtungwazi with an arrangement of Jimmy’s Scott’s ‘This Land Is Mine’.

Not that the mix tape has had its day. Quite the contrary, it was especially well represented at Hunter Original where we were transported to Glastonbury via the brand's London Fashion Week show tent. ‘There was definitely a sense of nostalgia to the playlist at our show,’ explained creative director Alasdhair Willis of his festival-ready staging, ‘but it was moulded with current headliner tracks, which I hope took the audience back to a euphoric festival experience of their own.’ His playlist represented the familiar genres of festival music from techno and house, right through to indie guitar: ‘To reflect the many differing festival personalities and celebrating the best of Brit pop and rock from the last 20,’ he added.

Even more personal was Rag & Bone’s original track, 'Villain', composed by friend of the brand, Thom York. The track itself was performed with the accompaniment of twelve members of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus; a collective of talented young singers representing 200 schools citywide. ‘As a New York brand, we were delighted to have members of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus collaborate on the track and it was fitting that it was performed at St. Ann’s Warehouse, an institution which has hosted some historic live performances,’ explained designer Marcus Wainwright.

So without further delay here are our S/S 2016 sound show highlights….

Givenchy
'Calling the Lama From Afar' by singer Lama Gyurme and Jean Philippe Rykiel on piano; 'Where have you been my kid?' by Svetlana Spajic; 'Asmar ellon (The One with the Olive Skin]' by Gaida and Zafer; 'Shalom Aleichem' by singer Rinat Shaham and violinist Jacob Malkin; 'Adharan' by Falguni Shah and harmonium player Gaurav; 'Ave Maria' by singer Faustine de Mones and pianist Jin Jung

Gareth Pugh
'Gimme Shelter (Merry Clayton Vocal)' by The Rolling Stones; 'Silver Screen (Thin White Duke Mix)' by Felix Da Housecat; 'Missy Queen's Gonna die' by Toktok Vs. Soffy O; 'Situation (12" Mix)' by Yazoo; 'Time to Burn' by Storm; 'Bad Girls' by Donna Summer; 'Emerge (The Hacker Remix)' by Fischerspooner; 'Meet Her at the Love Parade' by Da Hool; 'Smalltown Boy (12" Version)' by Bronski Beat; 'No More Tears (Enough is Enough)(extended version)' by Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer

Antonio Marras
'Camomille (duduk)' by Arto Tunçboyacıyan; 'Henry Torgue & Serge Houppin' by Les Racines du Reve; 'Kassidat El Hakka' by Sexwitch; 'Helelyos' by Sexwitch; 'Ha Howa Ha Howa' by Sexwitch; 'Dawn of the Iconoclast' by Dead Can Dance; 'Carnival of Light' by Dead Can Dance

Christopher Kane
'Kin To Coal?' by Vessel; 'Peaches?' by Blawan; 'Strange Dreams' by Untold; 'Sicko' by Rex The Dog; 'My Bro' by Tonetta; 'You Put A Smell On Me' by Matthew Dear; 'Cherchez Pas' by Madleen Kane

Hunter Original
'Electronic Battle Weapon 11' by The Chemical Brothers; 'The Hunter' by Slaves; 'Daydreamer' by Menswear; 'Impossible (Special Request Remix)' by Lion Babe; 'In Bloom' by Hooverphonic; 'Bang That' by Disclosure; '24 Hour Party People' by Happy Mondays

Lacoste
'No Type (Canblaster & Siroj Orchestral Refix)' by Rae Sremmurd; 'Moments In Love (Kid Antoine Remix) 'Art Of Noise; 'Black Rainbow' by Koreless; 'Crisis (Live Dub)' by Jam City; 'No Type (Canblaster & Siroj Orchestral Refix)' by Rae Sremmurd; 'Your Silent Face (New Order Instrumental Cover)' by User X

Louis Vuitton
'Minecraft (Video Game) Teaser'; 'Atari Corporate Tag' by Suzanne Ciani; 'A New Error' by Moderat; 'Flynn Lives (Tron Legacy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)' by Daft Punk; 'The Grid (Tron Legacy Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)' by Daft Punk; 'Crescendo (Final) (Notre Jour Viendra Original Soundtrack)' by Sebastian

MSGM
'Deceptacon' by Le Tigre; 'Phanta' by Le Tigre; 'Hot Topic' by Le Tigre

Philipp Plein
'Trans Europe Express (Remastered)' by Kraftwerk; 'The Robots (Remastered)' by Kraftwerk; 'The Swell' by Sølyst; 'Sex' by Fukkk Offf; 'The Model (Remastered)' by Kraftwerk; 'Model' by Balanescu Quartet; 'Ingenium' by Baal; 'Krack' by SBCR & Owl Vision

Rag & Bone
Original track 'Villain' by Thom York

Rick Owens
'This Land' by Unkle, performed by Mtungwazi Eska with Connie Bidouzo and Audrey Gbaguidi

Vanessa Seward
Music by Bertrand Burgalat with Christophe Chassol who harmonised Seward's voice alongside German group Donna Regina

Burberry Prorsum
Live performance by British artist Alison Moyet singing ‘All Cried Out’; ‘When I Was Your Girl’; ‘Whispering Your Name’; ‘Only You’ accompanied by a 32-piece orchestra conducted by Joe Duddell

Saint Laurent
Original track 'The Mirror' by Damaged Bug, which was written and recorded in Los Angeles by John Dwyer for Saint Laurent

Public School
Custom soundtrack by Twin Shadow

INFORMATION

Photography: Courtesy of Burberry Prorsum

The four days before Milan Fashion Week saw Italy's most stylish city play host to the second annual edition of the Fashion Film Festival Milano. Organised by Constanza Cavalli Etro, the feisty and fearless Argentine-born wife of designer Kean Etro, the program expanded this year to an extra day, moved to a retro-posh location of the Anteo Spazio Cinema (a former intellectual hub in 1960s and 1970s Milan), and had over 600 entries from 45 different countries.

'I have to say I spent hours watching every single film and the quality and standard was so exceptional,' raved London-based photographer Rankin, the man behind Hunger Magazine and the original founder of Dazed & Confused.  'There were 30 winners in my book. The experimentation, the story telling, photography, editing were fantastic.'

In reality there were only 13 winners, decided upon by a jury of the fashion world's finest, with Rankin joined by Vogue Italia’s Franca Sozzani, filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland and director Bruno Aveillan, among others. All were created by or for a fashion brand, or with fashion as a main theme, but the best were those that thankfully stayed far away from industry clichés of a long-haired girl running through the halls of a grand Parisian palais with a dress trailing behind her.

One such exceptional case, and the festival’s top winner, was Harley Weir’s film created for Proenza Schouler. Entitled Legs are Not Doors it shows clips of various young women – all muses of designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez – talking as industry insiders in an intimate, raw manner. Also noteworthy was the story-book-esque RO HF directed by Virgilio Villoresi for Valentino; Justin Anderson’s dramatic, water-themed Jumper for Jonathan Saunder’s 10th anniversary; the directorial debut of actor Michael Pitt, for Rag & Bone, where he stars as the titular Driver of a spoiled rich man; and French director Marie Vic's stylish Blowing Riccardo for Riccardo Tisci, where Givenchy garments blew in the wake of dead airplanes, in the Mojave Desert's aircraft boneyard.

Yet this festival's lens wasn't completely focused on established artists. It also hooked young talent such as Dutch director Femke Huuderman's Pippin and the Pursuits of Life, which mixed the quirky, twee beats of Wes Anderson with a distinct fashionable style. The film, which won three awards – including 'Best New Director' – was the director's graduate project at Amsterdam Fashion Institute.

However, the real winners will be decided by the public, who have been invited to vote online from September 22 - 28.

Another standout was French director Marie Vic’s stylish Blowing Riccardo for Riccardo Tisci, where Givenchy garments blew in the wake of dead airplanes, in the Mojave Desert’s aircraft boneyard

However, this festival’s lens wasn’t completely focused on established artists. It also hooked young talent in the form of  Dutch director Femke Huuderman’s Pippin and the Pursuits of Life, which mixed the quirky, twee beats of Wes Anderson with a distinct fashionable style. The film, which won three awards – including ’Best New Director’ – was the director’s graduate project at Amsterdam Fashion Institute

INFORMATION

Vote for a winner on the Fashion Film Festival Milano’s website between September 22 - 28

Mood board: Abandoning its hometown of Paris for the first time to show in New York City, Givenchy's appearance on this side of the pond had the Big Apple abuzz, and not just because of its expected celebrity following. In tribute to its September 11 time slot, the avant-garde fashion house enlisted Marina Abramović to create a runway show/performance that would do justice to the occasion.

Team work: With show time set for 6.30pm on the tragedy's 14th anniversary, Abramović, who has collaborated with Riccardo Tisci on other projects, designed an immersive experience focusing on ideas of love, peace and humility. Not only was the show staged in a remarkable set, constructed of recycled materials, it was built out on Pier 26 by the Hudson River, offering unfettered views of Lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center. As guests arrived, performers working with props including water and tree branches (symbols of cleansing and rebirth) set a tone of reverence and personal quiet throughout the sprawling set.

Scene setting: After sunset, the show began - itself a stunning tribute to the creative vision Tisci has cemented in his 10-year tenure at Givenchy. Over 80 models processed out in ethereal ensembles of lace, silk and embroidered chiffon, along with a capsule selection of its menswear S/S 2016 collection and a selection of otherworldly couture looks entitled 'Couture Essentials by Riccardo Tisci.' Set to live performances by six different ethnic musicians, the show created an air of spirituality and reverence that attendees may rarely experience again.  

INFORMATION

Photography: Umberto Fratini, Jason Lloyd-Evans

2

Kickboxers throwing punches at a live match hosted by Snoop Dogg, who rapped his heart out in front of tattooed, motocross-padded models at Philipp Plein’s men’s show

5

Hunchbacked models at Maison Margiela

8

Metal cage-covered rooms, of varying proportions, built by OMA for the Prada men’s show space

1

‘Boob bag’, handcrafted from dark shiny leather, on Christopher Lemaire’s runway (‘Free the nipple!’ cried social media immediately afterwards)

7

Thugged-out Looney Tunes characters dripping in bling at Jeremy Scott’s women’s Moschino show

32

Kilograms of culatello consumed by 1,000 people in three hours, together with 170 bottles of Fortana del Taro red wine, at Caruso’s Milan presentation

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Rising section of the runway at Saint Laurent, where models and rock star Julia Cumming from Sunflower Bean started their catwalk procession

9

Male models blatanly flashing their genitalia in frontal windows strategiacally cut out of their flowing floor-length tunics at Rick Owens

1.1

Million followers on Instagram for 29-year-old Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing, the most-followed fashion designer in France

13,000

Hands that work on Kiton’s suits

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Kickboxers throwing punches at a live match hosted by Snoop Dogg, who rapped his heart out in front of tattooed, motocross-padded models at Philipp Plein’s men’s show

2,000

Trees and plants that Ermenegildo Zegna planted inside Milan’s former Fiera for its fashion show, all of which were later replanted as part of the Zegna Oasis environmental project

6

Models swaddled in a cocoon of white bows at the Comme des Garçons show

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Headdresses in the shape of lampshades at Junya Watanabe

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Years after their first outing that Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson reprised their Zoolander roles by staging a surprise live runway walk-off at the Valentino show in Paris

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Boys at Gucci doing the girl thing in silky bow-front blouses

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Mary J Blige impromptu concert, staged by DSquared2’s Dean and Dan Caten at the end of the brand’s 20th anniversary show in Milan

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Moncler Gamme Bleu menswear models who quick-changed out of their jockey-inspired uniforms into totally new looks under flashing strobe lights

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Kanye West charity concert nights organised by Bernard Arnault’s son Alexandre at the Louis Vuitton Foundation during Paris Fashion Week

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Face and ear piercings on the female models at Givenchy, while four men had their mouths held tightly shut with cage-like metal clamps

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Couples (both hetero and gay) dressed for 25 sports at Moncler Grenoble’s pop-up ski lodge in New York, including a bride and groom in full wedding outerwear

12

Days to assemble Chanel’s pop-up brasserie set inside Paris’ Grand Palais, which featured 9m-high walls, tiled floors, 100 seats and 14 barmen serving coffee, juice, champagne and croissants

1

Life-sized, fully functioning roller coaster, complete with screaming riders, installed inside Milan’s retired Fiera for Philipp Plein’s womenswear show

50,000

Books in the pop-up library at Julie de Libran’s Sonia Rykiel show

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Age of ex-model Benedetta Barzini, who was the star of Antonio Marras’ runway show

7

Spinning 20ft towers that glided across the Kenzo runway like giant chess pieces

14

Infants, toddlers and children, plus one very pregnant model, walking the runway at Dolce & Gabbana’s women’s show

32

Fur handbags in the shape of bird of paradise flowers on the Fendi runway

6,000

Rare pearls on a $150,000 Calvin Klein dress, which was stolen from the hotel room of actress Lupita Nyong’o after the Oscars

8

Models wearing cashmere shoe laces at the Brunello Cucinelli presentation

2

Handbags shaped and printed like ceramic coffee saucers at Chanel

Moodboard: Riccardo Tisci understands his audience well. Givenchy menswear is the brand that musicians, artists and sportsmen turn to when they're ready to become men. This is a land of crisp tailoring, accessorised with its own baseball caps, scarves and jewellery. 

Best in show: Tisci’s obsession with workwear continues, exploring indigo blue denim coats with leather trims and lean, colour blocked jeans and boiler suits. The interesting colour palette of the show was a symphony of all the shades associated with the lifespan of a bruise: blue, black, mauve and yellow.

Finishing touches: The main accessory this season according to Tisci is an over-sized silver key necklace with mini-chopper lock. The Italian fashion designer is all about dark operatic emotions, a theatre of pain, and so his images of Christ on the cross or close-ups on Christ wearing thorns were prominent, too.

Rick Owens: Everyone at fashion week has seen a fringe or two in their time, whether it's sported by a catwalk model, famous face or even a handbag. But an invitation? That's novel, even to us. Rick Owens is to thank for this one, sending a suede-covered, embossed board coated in deep tan and mouse grey suede, fringed by - you guessed it - a trim of luscious locks. Bonkers and brilliant in equal measure

Anya Hindmarch: The doyenne of tongue-in-cheek, Hindmarch sent a miniature textured leather road sign attached to a spot-varnished card, warning us of the dressed-up diversions that lay ahead. It seems she may have tempted fate; the show indeed held London's fashion crowd up, though the eventual M25-inspired runway-meets-motorway (and Little Chef breakfast) more than made up for it