March 2 through March 10 was Paris Fashion Week, and all the celebrities, designers and models were out to celebrate haute couture’s upcoming fall and winter collections.
Held semi-annually, Paris Fashion Week is one of the “Big Four”, which includes Milan Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week and London Fashion Week. To participate, brands must prepare 35 looks, including day and evening wear.
Jonathan Anderson, the creative director for Dior, presented his second womenswear collection in a breathtaking show in the Tuileries Gardens. Models walked down a runway suspended across a pond filled with lily pads, a nod to Monet.
Anderson said he was inspired by the age-old tradition of the promenade, when people would dress their best to walk about with the sole purpose of being seen. The garden setting only served to emphasize the breezy, floral-inspired designs of the collection.
Chanel’s creative director Matthieu Blazy returned for his sophomore womenswear collection as well. The show took place inside the Grand Palais, an exhibition hall from the 1900s, with the set resembling a construction site. Blazy took inspiration from the classic Coco Chanel style, featuring her characteristic tailoring that is relaxed, comfortable and easy to move in.
Louis Vuitton closed fashion week with characteristic grandeur and theatrics. The models strolled through a set built by “Severance” production designer Jeremy Hindle, which was designed to look like a futuristic landscape with jagged mountain peaks and a fake river. Inspired by the natural world and the clothes traditionally used to navigate it, protective outerwear and shearling dominated the runway.
Some common themes from the designers were predominant use of florals, faux fur and nature-inspired embellishments. Nothing was too bright or colorful, with most of the designers opting for more neutrals and muted tones.
The models were also less stylized than in the past, with many wearing minimal makeup looks and simpler, less polished hairstyles. Overall, the trending theme was not one of grandiosity, but of wearable fashion.
Sitting front row at fashion shows, celebrities draw as much attention as the clothes themselves. Zendaya, always noted for her fashion sense, drew much notice at the Louis Vuitton show. The bridal white of her shirt and skirt, coupled with a new gold band, did little to quell the rumors that the actress and her fiancé, Tom Holland, secretly tied the knot earlier this year.
Among other big names in attendance was the ever-stylish Teyana Taylor, sporting newly platinum hair and a see-through trench coat at the Chanel show. Even the figure skating Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu showed up to the Louis Vuitton show, sporting a slouchy denim jacket and jeans.
While haute couture on the runway may seem far removed from the clothes ordinary people wear on a daily basis, the choices designers make trickle down from their high fashion versions into affordable iterations in stores like Old Navy and Target.
The fabrics, colors and silhouettes seen at Paris Fashion Week will inevitably be reflected in the retail options available in the late summer and fall of this year.