5 SHOWSTOPPERS FROM PARIS FASHION WEEK

WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS!

Will we though? Paris Fashion Week, like every event around the globe, has had to majorly adapt to pandemic restrictions. The usually traditional Federation de la Haute Couture de la Mode, the governing body of Paris Fashion Week, allowed brands this year to show digitally. Did it work? Was anyone watching? Here, some of this season’s standouts. By Claire Kalikman.

Comme des Gar?ons and several other Japanese brands who usually show in Paris have left the City of Lights for Tokyo. Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent opted out of the season entirely. 

What was left? Sixteen in-person, ready-to-wear runway collections, with masked guests. Around 20 in-person presentations, and several dozen completely digital shows streamed online with promotional videos.

A few major themes have emerged. Protection is on everyone’s mind. From Marine Serre’s bodysuits and masks to Kenzo’s veiled hats, designers are feeling the need to cocoon. Loungewear also emerged as a trend (if you can lounge in a Dior multi-thousand dollar, artisan-made caftan, that is). But Xuly B?t and Chanel prove that joy can be a strong antidote to our present moment. Here, we examine five top shows and see how designers are responding to the unique circumstances.

Marine Serre SS21. Image via Vogue Runway

MARINE SERRE

1. Marine Serre ‘s video presentation was equally chic and disturbing. The figures sported her signature, skintight crescent-adorned body suits - a motif that she extended to hands and foreheads. The effect was disconcerting. It feels like the personages don’t quite exist in our world. Maybe it’s apt for this moment though. Serre knows how to create an atmosphere, and perhaps she’s physic too. Or at least good at predicting what’s next. One of the first designers to show masks on her runway, she also brought together luxury and upcycling way before it was cool.

Oh, and her team actually began working on the SS21 collection back in October 2019, because in previous years they’d experienced wrinkles when it came to delivering their upcycled pieces to stores on time.

Dior SS21

DIOR

2. Dior held one of the few traditional physical shows. The clothing was the kind of upscale loungewear Vanessa Friedman predicts will be our future. The show space was transformed to look like a cathedral, complete with an all-female choir. Maybe a reference to the burned out Notre Dame? In a very 2020 moment, a protestor from Extinction Rebellion popped onto the runway with a banner reading “WE ARE ALL FASHION VICTIMS” - and nobody could tell if she was part of the show or not. Maria Grazia Chiuri is known for politicising her catwalk, working with feminist artists in particular. So it wouldn’t have been that surprising for her to have some sort of meta-commentary about fashion during the pandemic. Alas, it was another eye-catching stunt by XR. But was it fair? Dior is hardly fast fashion, and Chiuri is a designer who tries to address big issues through her work - we’re not sure she deserved to be singled out.

Xuly B?t SS21

XULY BET

3. Xuly B?t held a small in-person show at Paris’ l’Aiguillage, an old SNCF train station that’s been converted into artist residencies and photo studios. The clothes were a riotous mix of flowers, glitter, and African prints drawing on designer Lamine Badian Kouyaté’s Malian-Senegalese heritage. The versatile jumpsuit reigned supreme, reimagined in a red and pink print with a yellow racing stripe, an eye-catching red, and mint green. The designer used his own fabric archive and recycled most of the materials that were used in the collection.

Xuly B?t has long celebrated diverse models, from shape to age to ethnicity, and this year was no exception. The models were the designer’s friends and family, including Miss France Flora Coquere, Brazilian singer Flavia Coelho and comedian Ayoub Layoussifi. Good friends to have! Some of the looks featured masks, but this was largely a collection devoted to joy and the pleasure of getting dressed, not the terror of the pandemic.

Kenzo SS21

KENZO

4. This month marked the sad passing of the founder of Kenzo Takada, just days after his eponymous house showed its SS21 collection - which embodied the exuberance and creativity he was known for.

Felipe Oliveira Baptista, who took over the creative reins last year after the departure of Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, presented a collection that was actually inspired by bee-keeping (hence the floral prints) but looks pandemic-ready. Baptista is working to embrace sustainability: he has partnered with the World Wildlife Fund to double the population of Kenzo’s trademark tiger. He’s embracing circular materials, and in this collection referenced the film Honeyland, about the plight of the bees. Most looks were paired with a matching hat/mask combo resembling a beekeeper’s bonnet that attaches to the garment. We never knew protecting each other from the virus could look so chic.

Chanel SS21

CHANEL

5. It wouldn’t be PFW without Chanel. Along with Louis Vuitton, the brand closed out in-person programming on October 6th. The live show presented at the Grand Palais was suitably luxe, featuring a set piece composed of hugely oversized letters spelling out Chanel. Again, Virginie Viard presented a very Classic Chanel collection composed of cropped jackets, belted pants with little quilted bags attached at the hip, and lots of pink and black tweed. These are not WFH clothes; these are wear-forever clothes, pieces that will look as stylish in 20 years as they do today. A black-and-white floral print appeared in many incarnations, reminding us that Spring always comes. Looking at this collection, you would never know that there’s a pandemic. Sometimes the best thing to do in the worst of times is pretend there’s nothing going on and focus on the positive.

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