At last – the final stretch of the month’s tour de mode: Paris! Traditionally the grande dame of fashion weeks, this season is set to be no different, bringing us shows from heavy-hitters like Balenciaga, Loewe, Dior and Chanel. While we can definitely expect agenda-setting stories to emerge over the course of the week, your guess as to what they will be is as good as ours. What will GmbH’s first show on the Paris womenswear schedule look like? How many crystals can we expect to see in Ludovic de Saint Sernin’s fifth-anniversary show? What will be the Miu Miu miniskirt of the season?! Well, keep your eyes glued to this page for answers to all of these questions and more. Bisous! xo
Louis Vuitton
“Must be the reason why I’m king of my castle,” played on repeat at Louis Vuitton‘s SS23show. The Wamdue Project club hit perfectly resonated with Nicolas Ghesquière’s collection. He is the king of his castle, the flagship LVMH maison founded 168 years ago, which will be renewing his contract next year. Which is why he feels at home enough to really push the parameters of what the house can do with its shows. This season, it built a monstrous scarlet flower-spaceship hybrid — a specially-commissioned installation designed by French artist Philippe Parreno and Hollywood production designer James Chinlund. It was the biggest set of the season, a dramatic setting for a collection that ostensibly laid down the gauntlet of Nicolas’ signature historical mash-ups and the hallmarks of the house. The carnivalesque lighting, red velvet curtains and funhouse mirrors set the tone for some kind of circus trickery. Not everything, however, was going to be as it seemed. Read our full review here. OA
Miu Miu
Miuccia Prada is fashion’s premiere philosopher. Often, her design process is less about toying with fabric or collecting images, but rather about the very act of thinking about how clothes can reflect a cultural mood, informed by her thinking and reading about design, art, news, even fashion. This summer, she must have been thinking a lot about where we’re headed, and just like the rest of us, trying to make sense of doomsday financial forecasts. “This is not an easy moment to create fashion,” she wrote in the show notes accompanying her SS23 Miu Miu show. “For this collection, I wanted to explore the purpose of fashion, its reason. It’s usefulness in society and in culture today.” Get the full lowdown here. OA
Thom Browne
The Palais Garnier proved the perfect setting for Thom Browne’s SS23 show, not just because of its opulent, gilded halls, but because the offering brought an element of musical theatre to the runway. It opened with a courtly Gwendoline Christie, wearing a floor-length, brocade blazer, who prepared us for the show to come: “As you know, Thom likes to tell a story… it’s going to be a long story…”, she announced.
She wasn’t wrong – over the course of a solid 20 minutes or so, the American designer revealed his latest collection layer by layer. At first, models walked swiftly down the runway in taffeta opera coats, each numbered and featuring sportswear accents like piping and stripes, their hair swept straight up towards the ornate ceilings. As they walked, you could see tulle poking out the sleeves and around the neck, glimpses of the pastel colored prints underneath, and when they swung off their coats a second series of looks appeared. The Thom Browne uniform – slim blazers and coats, trousers and prim skirts, ribbed socks and tights – were covered in large playful polka dots. Further still, they received a punk-y remix when mohawked models wore low rise iterations of the skirts – Bella Hadid’s was mini, pleated – over exposed thongs, and briefs. The pieces, themselves, especially a series of draped evening gowns that closed the show, were nearly all done in shiny silks. They brought an element of fantasy to the great halls, and a joyously American take on impeccable tailoring to Paris Fashion Week. A long story, absolutely; a fashion spectacle, indeed. ND
Lanvin
It felt like this Lanvin SS23 collection was about one simple thing: well made clothes. Rather than a season of grand statements, it was instead a showcase of Bruno Sialelli’s creative perspective for the house. At times this has felt like a season of flux and limbo – the novelty of post-pandemic life having worn off, we’re not quite into the period that comes next.
Before Bruno’s arrival from Loewe in 2019 Lanvin had felt a little stuck in limbo, too, cycling through designers and aesthetics post-Alber Elbaz, a bit unsure of itself and its place. But Bruno has steadied this historic ship over the last three years, created his own aesthetic and world within the house, a look that is elevated, unfussy and stylish.
The collection was shown in L’Atelier des Lumières and the models walked out flanked on one side by a huge mirror, and covered in projections of summery scenes of beaches and blue skies on the other. Wool tailoring came raw and unfinished at the hem, and jackets were worn over tiny shorts and vests. Shirts that were cropped at the waist were allowed to unravel too. There was simplicity to the clothes that was desirable, made more so by the finishes and details that were tactile and inviting: feathers, leather, eel skin, tulle. So the dominant palette was white, run through with dashes of bright colour, and complemented with cream and beige.
There has always been a hint of naivety to what Bruno has created here, and the marriage of that naivety with the couture knowledge of the house provided the best moments of this collection. It felt like everything was working harmoniously in its juxtapositions: naivety and knowledge; the pristine and the raw; the simple with the detailed. FP
Sacai
For SS23, designer Chitose Abe presented a collection hinging on optimism, joy and strength, within an airy warehouse by the Invalides dotted with rainbow colored seats. The show opened with a series of black and white looks that evolved Sacai’s proportion and pleat work – a silk lapel blazer with slits up to the pockets, a tailored tube blazer dress with white shirting poking out the top, layered over knit flare trousers; a new signature pant shape. The layering of harness style pockets and zippered waist belts over button ups and skirts demonstrated a playful sense of utility, done in black and camel to look like a deconstructed trench-coat to be customized by the wearer. This is where sacai hits their stride, inviting us to lean into their considered aesthetic — the pockets, the pleats — as much or as minimally as we’d like. “The rigour and discipline of folds and their structure, juxtaposed with the joyful exuberance that comes of those folds opening when moving,” the show notes read, “is symbolic of both strength and freedom.” ND
Valentino
How does one follow up an entirely pink collection, you ask? This was the question on everyone’s minds as they arrived at the Carreau du Temple for Pierpaolo Piccioli’s latest Valentino show, where dramatic pops of bright fuschia from the house’s AW22 ‘pink-out’ collection dotted the front row. The answer, as it turns out, is simple: pare it back.
Titled ‘Unboxing’, the creative director found inspiration in “subtraction, not absence” this season; “Pureness as a conscious synthesis, the intentional removal of what exceeds”. The approach is an admirable one, in our narrative-driven world, and the runway saw this translated across luxurious minimalist silhouettes. Nude was a focal point, as both the base for V logo prints that appeared across outerwear and separates, and as the colour of choice for tanks, long sleeves and bodysuits. Paired with say, wide-leg green sequinned trousers or a feathered violet skirt, the shape, unparalleled construction and tailoring details of the house shone through. The colours that did appear in the SS23 collection were bright – teals, yellow, greens; loads of simmering sequins – but neutral suiting, envisioned in a series of shades to reflect different skin tones, were particularly stunning layered with matching sheer T-shirts. Black jersey dresses with strategically placed cut-outs highlighted the body, in its many shapes and forms, while a series of evening looks in taffeta, with their billowing, oversized sleeves and capes encapsulated it. Overall, it was all very chic. Very downtown, with a hint of glitz. Very Valentino. ND
Kiko Kostadinov
The standout looks from this Kiko Kostadinov womenswear show, designed by twin sisters Deanna and Laura Fanning, were a series of patchwork dresses formed from multiple layers of organza and chiffon. They were draped on the body and wrapped around it, obscuring it almost completely in the complexity of fabric. There were cycling shorts worn over tights worn over a sock, and then the shoelace of a shoe becoming an elegant ribbon spiralling up the leg towards a short skirt, cut asymmetrically, diving in a little perfect flounce from knee to hip.
There were five looks in this group, each a slight variation in silhouette and colour, and together they rooted the collection in the idea of clothing, movement and the body, and how the three interact one.
They drew inspiration in part from The Lady and the Unicorn, a series of ornate 15th century tapestries held in the Musée de Cluny in Paris, and there was a conflicting touch of Renaissance lightness and medieval darkness to much of the collection, although rendered modern and abstracted: a jumper styled in the manner of a fur stole from a Holbien portrait of a diplomat perhaps, or a billowing beige smock tempered with the neon of pink and purple of cycling shorts.
Kiko staged his menswear show in this same school back in June, in the shadow of the dome of the Pantheon, although this time taking place in the gymnasium rather than the library. There were echoes of the menswear collection in this showing too, in the way they looked to history and reinterpreted it. But there was a lightness and a playfullness to this reinterpretation that tied everything together. FP
Imagine going to Burning Man, but only wearing Hermés. Though it may not be the most practical combination, the house’s creative director of womenswear Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski was inspired by “a rave in the desert” for her SS23 show. Come to think of it, it makes sense. If this is the house that is the zenith of luxury inspiration — just look at the countless TikToks, or “Birkin Toks”, devoted to demystifying the process of buying Hermés leather goods — then this was a show that represents the shifting tides in luxury travel. Nowadays, you’re more likely to find billionaires at wilderness retreats than on the Côte d’Azur. Outdoor experiences offer an escape from urban life, and an opportunity to connect with nature and embrace a more straightforward way of living, and even dressing. The pin-up for this shift in aspiration: Yvon Chouinard, the founder of outdoor brand Patagonia, who just gave away billions worth of shares to an environmental NGO. Click above to read more! OA
Vivienne Westwood
Outside of La Gaîté Lyrique, crowds pushed and shoved to get a glimpse of guests of note — Doja Cat, Halsey and Evan Mock were in attendance; Irina Shayk opened — at Vivienne Westwood’s SS23 show. With the number of K-pop stars in Paris this week, who could blame them for waiting out in the rainy cold in the hopes of catching a glimpse of their idols. Plus, the frenetic energy was well-suited for Andreas Kronthaler’s latest collection ‘Sous le ciel de Paris’, inspired by the book Super-Infinite – The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell. “John Donne understood that when we get dressed we ask something of the world,” the show notes read. “All clothes speak: they say desire me, or oh ignore me, or endow my words with greater seriousness than you would were I not wearing this hat.”
Hats aside, the clothes that appeared on the circular runway yesterday, in true VW fashion, seemed to be saying look at me — knit logo briefs layered over lurex leggings, only; a pair of bloomers with floor-length ruffled trains out to each side; mini boleros that playfully hung open and mini skirts, created from Andreas’ impressive collection of deadstock fabrics — all paired with sky high chic embossed platform heels, that models struggled to lift up the stairs. Bella Hadid was there as well, closing the show in a very 80s button up dress, and, most noticeably, white boxing gloves.
The only person who was not in attendance was Vivienne, herself, who stayed in London to join the national day of strikes on October 1, protesting for fair distribution of wealth amidst the recession and housing crisis. Though we wouldn’t have expected anything less.
Noir Kei Ninomiya
When considering the first few looks in Kei Ninomiya’s SS23 collection – a pieced black leather cutout structure that obscures the visage and houndstooth tailoring that’s overcome by white and black tulle loops, or a punk bondage bodice featuring long, hard flowers that stem from the body – one could conclude that the outing is about restraint. Perhaps, the overwhelming nature of the mounting pressures that come with merely existing in this world as the planet continues to warm, and the way our socio-political structures cling to outdated value systems despite it all. But as appealing as it might be to contextualise Noir’s collection within our current moment, and without lengthy show notes, who’s really to say what was going through Kei’s mind, doing so would disregard what Comme des Garçons and the designer’s work is all about: creating garments unlike anything you’ve ever seen before; their beauty being in that they’re fully up for interpretation.
The one thing Kei did tell us is that this collection is all about “mystical force”, and as Saturday’s otherworldly show at the Oratoire du Louvre progressed, a contrast, a battle of light and dark – and a whole lot of colour – began to emerge. A translucent, chainmail-like cage layered over a silk skirt and button up, was covered with fantastical teal frills that were more mermaid than masc. Even frillier white tulle skirts were layered under heavy leather and metal beaded cages that looked like barbed wire, fighting for your attention. The final three looks saw this softness come to dominate the scene, the shimmering tinsel catching the light, reflecting off the various camera flashes in the background. The intricacies of the pieces were kind of mind-boggling, awe-inspiring, though to some extent, we don’t even want to know how they were made out of fear it might strip them of their magic. While Kei’s designs might lean into transparency, effervescence, this season, we need not demand that of the designer, himself. After all, the garments speak for themselves; all one must do is look at them and see how they make you feel. ND
Issey Miyake
The first show since the death of the label’s founder began with a tribute to the late designer, his portrait flashed up on the screen accompanied by the quote: “I believe there is hope in design. Design evokes surprise and joy in people.” A neat summation of the designer’s work and life, who brought so much surprise and joy into fashion, and something Satoshi Kondo has continued since he became artistic director of the brand in 2019.
This SS23 collection, if we want to connect it to the work of Issey Miyake himself, was about his legacy of technical innovation, and creating clothes that make the wearer feel free. It was titled A Form That Breathes, and drew inspiration from sculpture and the process of forming and making with one’s hands. The opening looks were crafted from one piece of fabric, draping coming from the way fabric falls over the body, with other looks in this series featuring prints of clay sculptures made by the design team, with the print applied thickly and by hand adding another textural and sculptural element to the ensemble.
Elsewhere there was much invention: some dresses were designed so that they could be worn both backwards and forwards; there were hand pleated suits and wide shouldered jackets treated to be made water resistant; some of the most amazing designs were a series of avant-garde knits that spiked angrily in various directions and moved and bobbed around with a sense of joy.
The show ended with a section based on the movement, a Miyake staple: a series of dancers came out and performed elaborate twists and pirouettes, before models ran back and forth across the cavernous show venue, which was illuminated by two sculptural lights draped with fabric.
And it is these moments that make Satoshi Kondo’s Issey Miyake so unique in the fashion landscape – previously we’ve had dresses descending from the ceiling onto models’ heads – it revels in and enjoys things we’re not meant to stereotypically find in fashion week; which is innocence, joy, happiness, exuberance, pleasure. FP
A giant fibreglass red anthurium formed the centrepiece to Jonathan Anderson’s SS23 show for Loewe. The clinically-white space, lit by bright morning daylight, was a familiar one. It was here that he showed his game-changing SS22 collection last year, the one with all those harpooned jersey dresses and Duchampian lipstick-heeled stilettos. Ever since that seminal show, Jonathan has been leaning into the art of surrealism as an exploration of fashion’s — and therefore society’s — relationship with technology. He has carved out an interesting space in the industry: What can fashion for the digital age look like at a house that is all about handcraft? Click above. to read more. OA
Ever since Isabel Marant launched her eponymous label in the 90s, the designer has set the gold standard for contemporary French style. Her approach — to design clothes that she, herself, and by default, her peers, would like to wear — has universal appeal, capturing the hearts (and wardrobes) of women around the world who hope to convey a casual confidence whether “leaving the club or freshly back from the beach”.
In designing her SS23 collection, the designer decided to go back to her roots — upgrading the Isabel Marant silhouette and codes, and imbuing them with an optimistic spirit. Before the show at the Palais Royal last night, the designer told models, including Bella and Gigi Hadid, and Mona Tougaard, to look alive, look at people in the crowd and to smile. The girls were dancing backstage, the mood was light and, during a week full of proper, down-to-business fashion, it was fun. Read more about the collection above. ND
Off-White
Off-White’s impact on fashion and youth culture is not something that can be summed up in brief. Founded and nurtured by Virgil Abloh in 2013, the brand was transformed into a global success over the last decade. On the eve of what would’ve been Virgil’s 42nd birthday, friends and family of Off-White gathered for the SS23 runway show, titled ‘Celebration’. “Possibilities are boundless. This collection is a celebration of that alongside our freedom to dream, create, and choose,” the show notes read. “As it happens… this is a real celebration of our founder and all of his life’s work.”
Though no one has officially been placed at the helm of Off-White, Ibrahim Kamara was named the Image and Art Director to help oversee this collection, which Virgil began working on before his passing, and the brand moving forward. Apart from celebrating his legacy, the first thing Ibrahim wanted to put forth was a colour: “impossible blue”.
On Thursday night, the Atelier Berthier was fully carpeted in the shade and a white cube was placed at the space’s centre. As the lights went up and the music started, dancers wearing blue spandex bodysuits, dotted with white, began to emerge from the box. They performed for the duration of the show as models walked around the circumference, the first few wearing white, black and blue double bonded calfskin looks, one pair of padded moto pants worn under a blazer with stitching to mirror the body’s contour. Similarly, T-shirts and knits were manipulated to have the same effect, interspersed with body on dresses and technical catsuits. Florals were also an important throughline of the collection, placed across the midriff, accentuating the collar and even trailing down the body as floor-grazing straps. They added a much-welcomed sentimental touch to it all. “We have found strength in delicacy,” the show notes read. ND
Rick Owens
Not since the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb precisely a century ago has Egypt — the ancient land of pharaohs and pyramids — been such a font of inspiration for designers. Rick Owens has been spending time there, so much so that he named his SS23 show after Edfu, the ancient Egyptian temple just outside of Luxor on the west bank of the Nile. His last show took the same title, and was staged in the same courtyard of the Palais de Tokyo, where three giant globes were elevated to the heavens by machine-operated cranes, set alight, and then dropped in all their flaming glory into the vast courtyard fountain. But whereas that show conjured scenes of Armageddon, flaming suns crashing down to earth, and “the cycles of evil and useless destruction just repeating over and over since the beginning of time,” according to Rick — this show, by contrast, seemed to offer something optimistic, perhaps even hope. Divinely feminine, even. Read our full take here. OA
Ludovic de Saint Sernin
This afternoon, Ludovic de Saint Sernin staged an anniversary show. An anniversary, you ask? Doesn’t that seem a bit premature? Well, the Parisian designer is celebrating the grand old age of 5 years old. It seems like only yesterday that Ludovic was starting his label with a more minimal and certainly more covered-up vision of gender-neutrality. How times have changed! His SS23 show offered a yardstick for just how far the young designers has progressed in his crusade of getting guys into miniskirts, crop tops and skimpy fetish-gear, and girls into little wisps of sparkly confections — or vice versa, however you may identify. Judging by the sheer — pun intended — number of people braving the French capital’s autumnal chill to show up in little more than LdSS-rhinestoned panties, it’s working. Ludovic is only just getting started in his mission to make us buy clothes that make us look like we’re not wearing any. As for this collection, it continued where he left off last season: salaciously skimpy, dripping-in-sweat Y2K trash-glam. There were leather cigarette trousers, tank tops and cycling shorts, pleated skirts, and Swarovski-crystal chainmail-esque bikinis. Many of the looks were backless — Vittoria Cerretti’s sparkly number came low enough for us to peep a LdSS-branded thong. What else? Occasionally, there was some knitwear and a plissé shirt or two — perhaps for the morning after the night before. But really, it was all about what Ludovic does best: clothes to make a 2000s pop star proud. OA
Chloé
Yesterday Chloe presented their SS23 collection on rue Saint-Honoré, just off the Place Vendôme. The skies threatened to pour down rain, but upon entering the space we lost all sense of place and time – windows were blacked out and all was nearly pitch black, save for a brightly-coloured square front and center and a series of illuminated spheres suspended from the ceiling. The set was designed in collaboration with the visual artist Paolo Montiel-Coppa, and meant to emulate the effect of a nuclear reactor, as creative director Gabriela Hearst turns her eye to nuclear fusion as a probable, and inspirational, power source for the future.
Gabriela’s commitment to fusing sustainability and fashion is quite admirable; simply put, no one else is doing it at this level – without sacrificing quality when it comes to materials and design. SS23 sees lower impact materials and 100% traceable linen, silk, wool and leather transformed into sleek cutout column dresses, blazers and outerwear. Futuristic-feeling details like open stitched circles, grommeting and structured shoulders offer a more subdued take on AW22’s biker style, and accentuate looks worn by an all-star cast: Gigi and Bella Hadid, Paloma Elsesser, Quannah Chasinghorse and Adwoa Aboah. One can not only look good – but feel good – about slipping into Chloe’s brand of modern luxury, as the collection marks the second chapter of the Maison’s extensive research into climate solutions, which fashion fans can brush up on and fully nerd out about on their website. ND
Undercover
Undercover’s SS23 show opened with a series of four artfully dishevelled suits. The lapels were each flipped inwards, only to travel around the neck and lie flat once more; strategically placed silk roses accDrientuating their shape. The fits were relaxed, and each look was slashed – at the shoulder, the thigh, even the mid-section, which set double-breasted buttons askew – to reveal lace at the seams, giving an otherwise edgy flourish a soft, romantic feel. This effect of coming undone, but perfectly so, could be seen throughout the collection: silk dresses with puckered lace overlay seem folded onto themselves; cropped bombers and even a leather moto jacket with spliced sleeves revealed slivers of skin, then a neatly tied bow at the back; graphic tees featuring the words ‘Love’, ‘Dream’ and ‘Angel’ were similarly slashed, suggesting we’re almost there but not quite.
The show, held in the neo-Gothic Cathédrale Américaine de Paris, was designer Jun Takahashi’s first in Paris since June 2020. Across the SS23 offering, he seemed to be unpacking the significance of that period of time – the feeling of moments lost, of actual tangible loss and the somewhat fraught nature of finding the light within it. Though the finale suggested a triumph, both figuratively and literally, in the craft itself. Jun’s closing looks were four bulbous couture-like dresses with similarly unfinished hems, slashes and one jersey overlay replete with holes – and roses – revealing sumptuous silk underneath. Against the church’s pointed marble arches and stained glass windows it was a truly spectacular moment, and a hopeful one at that. ND
The Row
As guests arrived at the cobbled courtyard of a grand hotel particulate for their first show of the morning yesterday, handsome waiters offered silver trays of earthenware-cupped tea, almond milk coffees and celery juice. On the way out, they offered succulent late-summer figs and candied rice cakes. And, considerately, more coffee. Who is responsible for such a chic, civilised gesture, you ask? Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, of course. The sisters welcomed guests to The Row’s charming salon show, their second in Paris, and by far the most elegant and zen in the whole city. Upstairs in the gilded Louis XV salons, past the Japanese ceramics displaying long sheaths of wheat in the gilded salons, they presented a concise collection that in just a handful of looks, whispered a breath of fresh air. Fashion for those who can’t stand the deafening noise of the industry. Clothes for the woman who knows herself, and is willing to spend a lot of money in the quiet confidence of that knowledge.
There was an emphasis on tailoring — the label is named after Savile Row, after all — some of which was classic and elegantly oversized, or otherwise came sculpturally jutting out from the hip or worn like capes with sleeves tied at the front. Worn with crisp white shirting and silk-cashmere socks, over pumps or white plimsolls, it felt like grown-up school uniforms — a convent of monastic women exalting their devotion to purity through the most minute details of the way a shoulder curves, or a cuff appears when hands are placed in pockets. One long satin gown, strapless and worn with white gloves, came with a silver comb worn as a pendant on a necklace. It seemed to suggest that not a single hair could ever be out of place.
But amid all that minimalist control, there were hints of the thrill of disorder. A long chemise dress came crinkled as if the wearer had just had a nap, while other looks seemed to corroborate that notion with puffy drapes of duvet-like fabrics wrapped around the body as of having just woken up in a hotel room. As one creative director of a major French couture house declared after the show: “No one makes clothes like that anymore.” It just goes to show — with their slow-and-steady approach to building an independent luxury label, Mary-Kate and Ashley have surpassed fashion itself. They’re in a league of their own. OA
Dries Van Noten
Speaking of returning to Paris, Dries Van Noten also made his return to the womenswear runway this season. Having not physically shown a collection at full scale, to friends of house, writers and editors alike, since AW20, the Belgian designer presented a story that evolves in three parts.
Said to be inspired by Kazimir Malevich’s iconic Black Square painting, the first third of the looks were done in the singular shade. However, much like Kazimir’s painting, which saw four iterations with various brushstroke detailing, Dries’ looks were designed to be considered up close. Tailored pieces with silk lapels were held shut by embellished gold buttons, semi-sheer dresses were crinkled to retain their luxe and one high-neck dress sported layers upon layers of pleated and ruffled rosettes that reached completion at the shoulder. The second part of the show saw the designer working similarly, contemplatively, with muted pastels, replete with soft pleating, sheer ruffles and strategic darting. It’s about protection and vulnerability: “Couture techniques explore the delicate nature of flou, but through powerful silhouettes,” the show notes read. “Transparency and lightness contrasting with precision; a masculine jacket with a mousseline skirt.”
One can expect a smattering of florals at any Dries Van Noten show, but as models walked through the industrial space in its final moments, the looks conveyed a new level of showmanship. Florals, some archival, others fresh, were transformed through handicraft, with smocking, crochet, ruching, ruffles and macramé. There was a sort of magic to the layering – one half-unbuttoned sheer shirt revealed an opaque, pleated tulip skirt, while oversized shirting created that aforementioned perfect contrast. One midi-length dress brought new life to the fabrics by braiding them together on a diagonal, across the chest, with black knit. A standout collection from a designer with a cult-like following, it’s no surprise that the SS23 collection created quite a buzz on social media amongst the fashion masses. If you have any doubts that it’s one worthy of your attention, we recommend watching the finale – it just might leave you breathless. ND
Balmain
This season has seen a few blockbuster arena-tour shows. We’ve seen public-facing arena tours from the likes of Tommy Hilfiger, Moncler, Puma and Diesel. Last night, Balmain was the latest to join the trend for thousands-strong-audience shows — although, to be fair, they were one of the first to do it a while back. Billed as a ‘Balmain Festival’, a fashion experience without the live music, the headliner this year was Cher. Appearing in a teaser at the start of the show, clutching a handbag she is now the face of, she ultimately closed the show alongside Olivier — popping out and then back in. She didn’t perform, and to be honest, she could have been a hologram. But she wasn’t the main attraction. Throngs of people filled the Jean Bouin stadium on the outskirts of Paris, eager to get a glimpse at the colourful world of Olivier Rousteing. For them, he is the big star — partly because of his proximity to others but also because of his openness on social media, and constant mission to democratise high fashion for the masses.
The set for the stadium show — tall Brescia-marbled plinths that hinted at an amphitheatre or colosseum — set the tone for a collection that was ostensibly inspired by Botticelli babes and Renaissance paintings, which were printed onto just about any garment imaginable. The collection was a mixture of ready-to-wear, ‘couture’ and menswear — almost a hundred looks of clothes that epitomised Olivier’s eclectic aesthetic, some things borrowed from Africa or Asia, like the samurai silhouettes and woven-raffia cocktail dresses, and others nodding to the canon of fashion history. It was hardly an intimate experience, but for fans of the designer who were hoping for something personal — there were some looks that appeared to be straight from the depths of his own experiences. Some fiery flame prints towards the end were presumably acknowledgments of the fact Olivier was in a fire last year — and has been exploring his experience as a burns victim quite literally in various fields of his work (recent seasons, for example, have included mummified bandage dresses). A testament to fashion’s power to mediate even the deepest of traumas. OA
Courrèges
The studio space that held Courrèges’ SS23 show was transformed into one of the label’s all-white boxes, save for a circular sandbox in the in the middle of the room. Come show time, the ceiling opened up and sand poured down, as devised by French artist Theo Mercier, transforming the space into an IRL hourglass. Simply put, designer Nicolas Di Felice’s latest collection was inspired by the passage of time: “moments passing; tidal waves, a constant renewal.”
Anok Yai, Mona Tougaard and Bella Hadid each wore a pair of leather flares with thigh harnesses and a seamless button up top that twirls around the torso; a plunging, barely-buttoned high-slit dress cut in a similarly circular way — the draping appearing to have no end or beginning; and a sheer logo crop, with shimmering jeans and a jacket tied around the waist like a skirt, respectively. Each model took one turn around the circle, some with shoes in hand as if they were at the beach.
The frou tops and dresses — seen on Anok and Mona — are not only standout pieces, but they reference a zippered dress from Andre Courrèges’ 1974 collection, its curvilinear lines reinterpreted to create a deconstructing effect around the body. The Courrèges vinyls and gabardines are present in the house’s archetypal shapes, which are also reimagined in leather and denim — “a neo-heritage, the precise with the raw.” Overall, the SS23 collection has a notably relaxed feel, drawing on natural oceanic elements — the beach, waves — that are often associated with the passing of time, with which we’re certain Nicolas will make the most of at Courrèges. ND
Saint Laurent
The temperature dropped to 10 degrees at the Saint Laurent show last night, but the headlining guests were anything but cold. A handful of truly iconic supermodels — Kate Moss, Jerry Hall, Shalom Harlow, Eva Herzigova, Amber Valetta, Carla Bruni — made an incendiary entrance dressed in the gloriously chubby fur coats that were the star of Anthony Vaccarello’s AW22 collection for the house.
Despite their Rolls Royce glamour, those giant coats never looked more practical than in the plein air show in front of a purpose-built Art Deco fountain, created specially by Saint Laurent against the glittering backdrop of the Eiffel Tower. Worn with long dresses underneath them, they didn’t just keep those women warm — they made them look unapologetically smoking hot, far removed from the hamster wheel of trends. And that is what you want from YSL. Read more about the show here.
Dior
Catherine de Medici is widely known as one of the most powerful women in 16th-century France; as patron of the arts, she introduced the French people to a number of artistic and culinary delicacies from her native Italy. Among them, were sartorial flourishes such as heels and corsets that are still very influential today, albeit for different reasons, and Burano lace from royal manufacturers. A feat that deserves to be fêted, of course, which is why Maria Grazia Chiuri looked to Catherine’s luxe sensibilities for Dior SS23. ND
Botter
Since its inception, Amsterdam-based label Botter have designed with the environment — and particularly, the world’s oceans — front of mind. Ever since AW21, they’ve collaborated with Parley for the Oceans, creating materials regenerated from salvaged ocean plastics, including crisp tailoring ‘wools’ and diaphanous ‘silk’ chiffons, and a percentage of their sales support a coral nursery that designers Lisi Herrebrugh and Rushemy Botter founded during the pandemic to rehabilitate marine life in Curaçao.
For their SS23 collection, the duo continue to explore “what true sustainability means” by bringing water to the runway, quite literally. As the first model walked out in signature Botter blue pleated trousers, a suit jacket tucked into them as opposed to draped outside, what was more interesting than the latter were his hands — encased in aquarium-like plastic bubbles of blue liquid that bounced down the runway. Models who “don’t fear the deep blue sea”, wore the innovative gloves, which, after a trip backstage, turned out to be made from liquid-filled condoms.
Nonetheless, the designers brought the depths to the runway within the garments as well. Elongated silhouettes called to mind that of wetsuits, and divewear. The impeccable, and environmentally conscious, tailoring took on new shapes, with a number of centre-body cutouts shaped like hearts, the loose fabric moving down the runway with a wave-like effect. In order to design, “in collaboration with nature”, Botter turned to bioengineers and researchers to develop new fabrics made from kelp, which take the form of ankle-length tube dresses.
Few designers approach sustainability as thoughtfully as Lisi and Ruschemy, but also in a way that is ultimately so aesthetically pleasing. “What we do has always been fuelled by a really strong sustainable consciousness,” Lisi told us early this year. “It’s not only about aesthetics, but it’s also about giving back to nature, being very vocal about environmental issues, and implementing circular ways of working both within and outside the company.” And that, we can get behind. ND
Vaquera
On Monday night, designers Bryn Taubensee and Patric DiCaprio opened Paris Fashion Week with some seriously chaotic good energy, as to be expected from the New York label Vaquera. Their SS23 runway show marked their second outing in the city of light, and saw the designers lean heavily into their roots to present a collection that’s distinctly American – with a twist, of course.
“A lot of [the inspiration] is Americana. This is something personal to us and something we’ve been surrounded by since we were children, and so we’re examining that and updating it,” Bryn said backstage after the show. One of their intentions was to capture the weirdness and discomfort of being an American right now, an inherent symptom of our broken sociopolitical system, but through a fantastical Vaquera lens: “Stressed and confused to be an American,” the show notes read, “a group of people leaving Burning Man break down in the desert and are killing time at a bar with the locals”.
The idea of creating characters — and that of slightly outlandish, borderline unwearable designs — is something that Vaquera have moved away from, slightly, as they’ve had their sights on commercial success. So for SS23, the ‘locals’ one might meet in the desert come alive on the runway in the details – acid wash denim, metallic polos and ‘titty twister tops’, satin bullet bras and silver pearl hardware chains, and straps that sport spikes and house keys. There are a few oversized dresses and tops with sailor details that bounce down the runway, styled with white ‘Rock N Roll’ tights, ‘I Love You’ emblazoned belts and sailor hats.
As opposed to one grand finale of a final look, there were a number of climatic moments spaced throughout the show. One model wore a faded American flag dress that was twisted and bustled up around the waist tattered at the hems, while their runaway bride – a little Victorian, a little Las Vegas kitsch, a lot Burning Man – wore micro acid-was denim cutoffs over a bodysuit, a ruffled corset that’s splayed open and a pieced lace veil tied into a bow around the head. “We like to give you a little rollercoaster,” Patric said.
Set in a second-story unfinished space to an amped up, jarring soundtrack by New York’s Physical Therapy – the direction: “give us intensity, painful to be at the show almost” – all of these looks came down the runway with a sense of urgency. It’s in the Vaquera walk, an inimitable “blink-and-you’ve-missed-it stomp” that’s now synonymous with the brand, but also in their authenticity. “We want our clothes to say something without saying something,” Patric said. Showing in Paris makes the designers want to lean into the American spirit, and sentiment a bit more. “Or talk about it more,” Patric adds. “In this way, reaching a wider audience feels more powerful than preaching to the choir.” Or, as Bryn puts it: “New York Fashion Week doesn’t feel right for us anymore, in the way that we aspire to more. We want to move on to the next level.” ND
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