Balenciaga: In a show set inspired by Brussels, and the ongoing political tumult of Brexit, creative director Demna Gvasalia erected an in-the-round show set at Luc Besson’s Cité du Cinema building in the suburbs of St Denis – which resembled the European Parliament. Guests say in a spiral of office chairs in a huge curtain-lined assembly room swathed in bold blue, and on the ceiling, huge panels of strip lights illuminated the botched cosmetic surgery make up looks sported by models on the carpeted runway.
Boss: There was an air of Olafur Eliasson behind the brand’s industrial S/S 2020 show space, which marked its debut showing in Milan, after a regular slot at New York Fashion Week. Guests entered the cavernous warehouse, where figurative shadows were projected onto the walls, in tones of purples, oranges and cerulean (block colour was also a signature of the spring offering). The silhouettes recalled the figurative shadow works of the sustainability-minded Icelandic artist, whose work is currently on show in a retrospective at the Tate Modern in London.
Prada: There was a mosaic mindset behind the brand’s S/S 2020 women’s show venue – created with regular collaborators AMO – and held at the huge Deposito show space at the Fondazione Prada. The venue was swathed floor to ceiling in a colourful tessellation of Liquorice allsort-hued ceramic tiles, like lilac, yellow, turquoise and chestnut. There was something of the mid-century Milanese bathroom behind the show venue set up, which also featured gold columns and pillars, infusing the space with a warming light. Photography: A.Osio
Chanel: It was up up and away for Virginie Viard’s debut show at the creative helm of the Parisian maison. There was a realism to Viard’s show venue space at Chanel’s regular Grand Palais location, which under the tenure of Karl Lagerfeld saw it transformed into a space station, tropical beach and the waterfalls of the Gorges du Verdon. Instead, she looked to the brand’s home city, erecting a runway of Haussmannien rooftops, with models weaving around air conditioning vents, fire escapes and drainpipes. Photography: Olivier Saillant
Dior: For her environmentally-minded S/S 2020 women’s show, Maria Grazia Chiuri erected a box-like, organic wooden structure at the Hippodrome de Longchamp. Inside, guests marveled at a dimly lit woodland scene, featuring 170 geometrically placed trees, nodding to Monsieur Dior’s longtime love of horticulture. For spring, Dior partnered with Coloco, a landscaping atelier specialising in sustainable, urban gardens and the show set’s trees were of different species, a metaphor for inclusivity. After, they were planted in different regions of Paris, to reinforce wooded areas, including GoodPlanet Foundation in Longchamp and the Murs à Pêches site in Montreuil.
Loewe: There was something sublimely serene about the Spanish label’s show venue set up at its regular Maison de L’Unesco location. Here, its meandering rooms were lined with plush cream carpet, and rows of tall white bar stools. Also dotted around the space were sparkling amethyst geodes and huge pots of South American Pampas grass, which – along with gentle moving lace window blinds – began spinning as the show began. Photography: Manuel Braun
