Before you call us out, yes, this story will make you crave a Croissant.
The celebrity style set is on the last leg of their month-long transatlantic tour, arriving in Paris to close out the end of fashion month. Time really flies when you’re having fun.
Paris Fashion Week may be the last stop on the highly stylish proverbial map, but just when you thought our favourite international designers in New York, London and Milan had presented every iteration of Spring/Summer womenswear imaginable, in came the French.
French fashion has long been the aesthetic du jour that designers try to emulate thanks to its signature sensual style and effortless elegance. This season it’s no different.
The reigning king of sexy evening wear Anthony Vaccarello took us to the base of la Tour Eiffel for a star-studded Saint Laurent collection that recontextualised 80s silhouettes with a modern take.
From second-skin slips and covetable leather jackets to Grace Jones inspired hoods and structured shoulder pads, Vaccarello continues to deliver a fresh take on body-conscious dressing.
Across the Seine, Dior took an autobiographical response to the upcoming season by sartorially exalting the house’s creative director, Maria Grazia Chiuri, by examining the history of an 16th Century Italian aristocrat who worked in fashion in Paris. The metaphor isn’t lost on us.
Typical MGC-isms, seen in the detailed embroidery on a billowing evening gown, is contrasted and humbled by a more wearable approach to spring fashion, seen here by a beige tank top and classic blue jean denim trousers.
Of course, that’s not to mention the shows that have served as the epic finale for this season’s runway presentations. From Australian darling Zimmermann and Victoria Beckham’s eponymous label making their Paris Fashion Week debut, to the surrealist LOEWE and Coperni shows subverting our expectations for the calibre of performance art disguised as a fashion show should be, this is one week you won’t want to sleep on.
Below, our edit of the best moments from Paris Fashion Week SS23.
Dior Looks Back To The 16th Century To Cement Their Future
An Italian in Paris may sound like a riff on the iconic Sex And The City season finale, but for Maria Grazia Chiuri it’s her modus operandi.
And after five years at the luxury French maison, it seems that only now is MGC comfortable to explore this dichotomy and tension between these two European sense of styles.
Dior’s classic cinched waist were juxtaposed with voluminous petticoats that evoked a feeling for a renaissance court room.
Perhaps MCG has been watching House Of The Dragon, because these looks are fire.
Saint Laurent Continues To Dominate The High Fashion Glamour Game With A 80s Inspired Collection
Is it possible to already have a favourite collection from a week that’s only just begun?
Of course, it’s like choosing a favourite child (meaning there will definitely be more than one), but Anthony Vaccarello is already front of mind for us.
We’re not sure how he topped last season’s collection, but he’s managed to out do it again, proving that there really is no replacement for the classics.
Synonymous for their edgy approach to body conscious design, here Saint Laurent laid the template for the summer dressing formula: a skin tight, ruched capuche dress paired with a cropped leather aviator-style jacket.
Big shoulders. Bold beauty. Perfectly polished.
Botter’s Latex Inspired Accessory Is A Refreshing Take On Pandemic Dressing
How soon will it be before designers start subverting tropes of pandemic dressing in their collections?
For Dutch menswear brand Botter, they responded with a reply that will tug on the heartstrings of any fan of The Smiths: how soon is now.
Given that COVID-19 saw the increase in protective garments like gloves and our hands thrust to the spotlight to combat the spread of the virus, Botter is recontextualising what a latex glove looks like by wrapping models hands in an aquatic inspired miniature tank.
Not practical in the slightest, but that’s Paris fashion for you.
Cher Closed Balmain’s SS23 Show Which Featured Ready-To-Wear, Menswear And Haute Couture
Fresh from his haute couture debut with Jean Paul Gaultier, Olivier Rousteing took his learnings to his own house for a technical yet almost futuristic show that combined womenswear, menswear and couture.
However, all 98 looks we’re soon forgotten about when 76-year-old icon Cher walked on stage to close the show. Balmain’s shows are almost like fashion’s superbowl, with A-listers and supermodels mingling alike.
Last year, Cher’s god daughter Jesse Jo Stark opened the show, so keeping in Rousteing’s familial approach to dressing it only seems fitting that Cher would do the honours this season.
Oh to be a fly on the wall backstage…
Kylie Jenner Sits Front Row At Acne Studio’s 10 Year Anniversary Show
It’s not everyday that reality-star magnate Kylie Jenner graces the front row for your fashion show, but by the looks of it, Kylie is just as enchanted by the Scandi cool-girl brand as the rest of us.
“I just love how it makes me feel”, she said to press from the media wall, referring to her new-season, fresh from the runway maxi dress.
It takes a certain celebrity to wear a look from the collection to the show you’re about to see for it. But that’s Kylie for you, and after 10 years in business it seems that Acne is confident enough in their offering to give us a sneak peak.
It’s hard to think that the avant-garde, It-girl favourite synonymous for leather, denim and edge would deliver something so soft and feminine.
But if there’s one thing we’re certain off, these looks will be flying off the shelves before they even hit stores.
Nicolas Di Felice Brought The Desert To Paris For Courrèges’ Surrealist Spring/Summer 2023 Show
Courrèges’ creative director, Nicolas Di Felice, had clearly binge watched Netflix’s top-streaming drama The Sandman ahead of his Spring/Summer 2023 show, which saw him forgo a traditional runway in favour for a subversive sandstorm.
For a Spring/Summer collection the prevalence of sand is fitting. It evokes a sense of balmy nostalgia where nights out on the town turn into days by the shore, where the night blends into the day and you can only tell what time it is by the fact you may be wearing yesterday’s clothes.
“The most important time is the first time…The most important time is the second time…And after that the third time… and we start again…,” wrote di Felice on Instagram, highlighting the importance of the passage of time in his show. Of course, if this metaphor was lost on you than you need only look to the sand installation in the centre of the runway, serving as a symbolic hourglass.
The collection itself summoned a sense of summertime simplicity—seen by a low rise trouser paired back with a twisted crop top or sun kissed bandeau with a midi skirt—silhouettes you can return to again and again.
At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson Cements His Reign As The Surrealist King Of Contemporary Fashion
Loewe’s Paris Fashion Week SS23 show was clearly the place to. From JW Anderson muses Charli XCX and Emily Ratajkowski, to Los Angeles natives Kylie Jenner and Emma Chamberlain, members of the celebrity style set gathered on the front row to witness Jonathan Anderson’s next foray into his surrealist world.
The bold anthurium was centre stage at his show, and it was impossible to miss. From the large-scale instillation that took over the La Garde Républicaine, to the white lace leaf reinvented as a asymmetrical top or a tounge-in-cheek bralette, Anderson’s refreshing take on statement dressing was certainly a highlight.
What’s special about Loewe is the brands ability to combine frivolity with earnestness, seen through the clashing of the real and unreal. Glitched pants and pixilated jumpers contrasted with monstera adorned high heels and softly drapped silhouettes.
In Anderson’s phygital world, reality and fantasy live side by side. We can’t tell which is which, but we wouldn’t want it any other way.
Coperni Stages An Immersive Performance Art Piece For The Ages, Ushering In The Future Of Fashion
Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant, Coperni’s co-founders and creative directors, always know how to deliver something a little off-kilter. At the forefront of this modern approach to sensual dressing, one that’s infused with 90s and Y2K undertones and sex appeal, Coperni’s SS23 exceeded all expectations of what we expected from their Euphoria-esque high school themed fall collection.
While their slinky fairy-core inspired asymmetrical midi skirts and edgy cargo pant and corset combo’s certainly spoke to the designer’s penchant for being on the beating pulse of the cultural zeitgeist, their spray-on dress worn (erm, spritzed?) on Bella Hadid proved their virality.
Sartorially referencing Alexander McQueen’s iconic robotic spray-painted dress from 1998, Coperni delivered a piece of performance art, or a coup de théâtre, that sent the internet into a tail spin. The synthetic polymer spray on dress had been in development for six months, and is a glimpse of fashion’s foray into a brave new world of sustainability and style.
Made with synthetic fibres that harden when hitting the body (and can then be returned back into a solution to then be sprayed on again), Coperni is certainly in tune with what we expect from the bourgeoning French brand.
Victoria Beckham Makes Her Paris Fashion Week Debut In A Collection That Combines Family And Edgy Femininity
“Bisou Paris…”, Victoria Beckham wrote on her Instagram a few days before runway debut at Paris Fashion Week. In case you hadn’t noticed the Beckham’s arrival, the viral video of a teary eyed Posh Spice walking down the catwalk at the close of her SS23 collection certainly proved that the British designer had proved her prowess for high-fashion in the French capital.
Sitting on the front row was VB’s fierce supporters, including her husband David, her daughter and soon-to-be fashion star Harper, and newlyweds Brooklyn and Nicola Peltz Beckham, although her daughter-in-law did look stoic at times.
As for the actual collection itself, Beckham’s signature effortlessly elegant dresses took to the forefront in this flirty and fringy-heavy season. The collection, which was equally stripped back as it was layered and voluminous, with bridal whites cut on the bias with lettuce-trimmed fringe edges or slinky slips paired with latex-looking stockings.
This is VB’s new way of working, and it’s clear the future of her brand has Paris front of mind.
Hermès Took A Luxury Approach To Gorpcore And Rave-Ready Design
This season, Hermès’ creative director Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski is pioneering for a new type of Hermès women. Rather than the one who peruses #bikrintiktok from their members-only wellness centre, or the equestrian loving leather-wearer, Vanhee-Cybulski is pushing for the Hermès women to take to the dunes.
“The Hermès girls are taking a bivouac, a big hike in the desert, and setting up a camp at sunset to have a party, a big rave,” Vanhee-Cybulski said backstage in an interview.
In the centre of the runway was a kaleidoscopic and psychedelic sand dune instillation that provided context for her vision of the upper-echelon party girl. The result? Streetwear approved silhouettes that saw all-condition gear like a technical jumpsuit or a coat disguised as a handbag take to the runway.
Balenciaga Forgoes “Boxes” And “Labels” For A Collection Aimed To “Dig For Truth” Ground Us “Down To Eath”
“I hate boxes and I hate labels and I hate being labelled and placed in a box”, Balenciaga’s creative director Demna wrote in a show letter ahead of the maison’s SS23 show.
“Every day becomes a battle to defend this unique identity…the set of this show is a metaphor for digging for truth and being down to earth.”
And thus commences Denma’s newly publicised modus operandi and means of working. One in which will see hims forgoes labels like “luxury, street, couture, seasons” and embrace the individual. How he plans on doing this? “I’ve decided to no longer explain my collections and verbalise my designs, but to express a state of mind.”
For this collection, we’re guessing Denma’s preoccupied with this notion of being on the frontline. In the trenches of the battle with oneself, so to say. How to portray yourself, how to perceive others, how to be perceived. Anonymity and identity battle in this rave-themed setting that, of course, calls to mind the mud fields of the recent Splendour In The Grass festival.
But for Demna, a refugee who fled war-torn Georgia, the more literal definition of a battlefront can be deduced. His mud-splattered ready-to-wear designs are his armour, and his ready to go to war to protect his ideals.
Valentino Unboxed Their Next Era Of Design In Almost 90 Looks Of Bold Neutrals
If you thought you’d be seeing more of PP Pink on Valentino’s runway, than you’d be sadly mistaken. Instead Pierpaolo Piccioli is exploring the idea of “unboxing” their house codes.
Across 90 looks, which is a feat in itself even if some felt a little repetitive and monotonous, Valentino offered their own definition for what luxury fashion should be by deconstructing every element of design from shapes and size to cuts and codes.
“Unboxing an image means unboxing an idea. Get rid of the structure and you ill see what’s inside,” said the brand in a press release.
Three years after the pandemic it seems that designers are fixated with what luxury fashion truly represents in today’s society. As for Valentino’s offering? A decisively simple approach to dressing that exalts the figure and the technical creation of a garment. Italian luxury at it’s finest.
Stella McCartney Throws It Back To Her Time A Chloé For An Extra-Noughtie Collection
Residing at the intersection where sustainability meets style is none other than Stella McCartney. Poster child of the eco-conscious luxury fashion movement. She’s never wavered from this stance since the inception of her eponymous label, however for those unfamiliar with her start in the industry, Stella’s used her Spring/Summer collection to remind us all.
For her first outdoor show, Stella took us all the way back to her roots as creative director of French luxury house Chloé. While the style set and Depop girlies may be ransacking vintage marketplaces for archival Louis Vuitton Murakami Almas, Stella McCartney is proving that everything old is indeed new again by reviving some of her most memorable silhouettes from the luxury maison.
But not without a sustainable touch of course. Everything in this collection is 87% sustainable (her most sustainable yet), so everything from the hip-cut out trousers modelled by Bella Hadid, which Stella and Liv Tyler wore to the 1999 Met Gala ‘Rock Style’, to the slinky gold chain tops had a considered touch.
The best part about this throwback is that we won’t be able to tell what’s vintage and what’s new season when the celebrity style set come to don these designs. But that’s the point of the circular fashion economy. Who knew that Stella would be the one to make it a reality?
Givenchy Puts A Street Wear Edge On French Feminine Dressing
From Riccardo Tisci’s tenure at Givenchy, the heritage maison has always infused an edgy and gothic undertone to it’s classic French silhouettes.
Now, Mathew Williams is taking these undertones one step further by adding an element of streetwear, his signature, that will undoubtly give the label clout on the streets.
Working with the legendary Carine Roitfeld, Williams brought classic French-girl staples, like the one and done black midi dress or tweed two piece set, into the next era of style: one that favours comfortability and ease.
Highligts include the ecru cargo pant and leather jacket combo which will soon be picked up by Hailey Bieber and the tweed blazer and deconstructed denim trouser that will need to be spotted on Camille in Emily In Paris season four.
Australian Darling Zimmermann Infused Eastern Suburb’s Style With Edwardian Cues For Their Paris Fashion Week Debut
Tamarama, or ‘Glamarama’ as it’s known to Sydney locals thanks to it clientele of beach-goers who visit the coastal suburb to be seen, may not be a globally-renowned beach, but thanks to Australian darling Zimmermann, it’s getting its rightful time in the sun.
For their Paris Fashion Week debut, the Australian sister duo Nicky and Simone Zimmermann took the Petit Palais to showcase their signature high-octane approach to leisure dressing that has become a mainstay on the resort wear roster of It girls around the world.
Never without a personal touch, Zimmermann infused the silhouettes of their Easter Suburb’s upbringing with Edwardian styles that would’ve been spotted on the nouveau riche Sydneysiders who frequented the ‘Wonderland’ amusement park in Tamarama in the early 1900s.
1The results? Styles that will soon be spotted on luxury superyachts for seasons to come.
Christian Louboutin’s PFW Show Is Making Us Want To Head To The Dance Floor
The era of nightclubs past has long been a source of inspiration for designers (think Kim Jones’ SS22 Fendi Show or Maria Grazia Chiuri’s SS22 Dior Show), and now, Christian Louboutin is sartorially referencing the greatest nightclub of them all: the Moulin Rouge.
For their Spring/Summer 2023 show, the luxury French brand embraced the red-light underworld to present their new season accessories.
Set in the Eiffel Tower, the classic red-sole shoe takes new forms with functional satin boots and stilettos, complete with a lipstick heel. High-octane fluorescent hues also are ushering in the sun for a balmy season ahead.
Louis Vuitton Supersizes Their Signature Silhouettes With A Fun Collection Rooted In Craft
At Louis Vuitton, the celebrity style set (including Jennifer Connelly, Leslie Mann and Sophie Turner) watched on as Nicolas Ghesquière ushered in a supersized collection. We’re of course, referencing to the heavy zips and belt buckles that we’re blown way out of proportion for the new collection.
2This season, Louis Vuitton is ushering in an era of fun, with checkerboard knee-high boots and leather two-piece suits soon to be taking over the runway. As LV has proven, from little things, big things grow.
Chanel Looks To Their Archives For A Cinematic And Dream-Like Collection
Taking inspiration from a 1961 black-and-white film by Alain Resnais, titled L’Année Dernière à Marienbad (Last Year at Marienbad), Chanel’s Creative Director Virginie Viard tasked house muse Kristen Stewart with modelling their latest creation which infused archival silhouettes with modern details.
Further cementing the synergy between Chanel and cinema, this new collection in all it’s muted, monochromatic glory filled to the brim with all the bells and whistles (think: feathers, tulle, pealrs and tweed) is one we’ll watch again and again.
Miu Miu Moves Past The Mini Skirt In A Collection That Favours Simplicity Above All Else
There’s a reason we return to Miu Miu season after season as a ‘one to watch’. In recent years, Miu Miu hasn’t shied away from this uber feminine and slightly sporty approach to womenswear.
Now, this season Miu Miu is straying away from the trends taking over their contemporaries runways, rather returning to a sense of easy and normalcy.
But regardless of what went down that runway (whether it be the jersey stretched shirts layered over one another, or a sequin embroidered sheer maxi skirt), we would’ve loved all of it.
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