Botter

A riot of colour and subversion, Botter’s S/S24 collection – self-proclaimed “Caribbean couture” – honed in on the centuries-old Haitian religion of vodou and the misconceptions surrounding it. Set to the sombre sound of Michael Andrews’s Mad World, design duo Rushemy Botter and Lisi Herrebrugh sent out models in skew whiff tailoring, suits in plasticky upcycled scoubidou weave, semi-sheer floral shirts, puffed-up Reebok sliders, and buoyant waistcoats – all topped off with the addition of nightmarish miniature plastic dolls and tolls hanging off necks and waists. “I think it’s more important now than ever to realise that everything is connected, and get that individualistic mindset out of our system,” said Herrebrugh backstage. “We all need each other.”

Read AnOther’s feature on the show here.

Rick Owens

Dispelling the common misconception that goths don’t know how to have fun, Rick Owens’ S/S24 show was about “considering joy a moral obligation”. Staged under drizzly skies in Palais de Tokyo’s open-air courtyard, the Californian designer sent out an army of vampiric models in rippling black ensembles to the beats of an earth-shaking industrial score, amid pops of multicoloured fireworks. “With our world conditions under increasing threat, jubilance seems like the wrong note but maybe it’s the only correct moral response?” wrote Owens in his show notes. “Beyond being nice to each other, isn’t personal joy what we are put on earth to do?”

Read AnOther’s feature on the show here. 

Dior Men’s

Applause erupted when the floors opened up at Dior’s menswear show, as a still and silent troupe of models were lifted onto the runway. The French house called it a ‘mechanical garden’, as if the models were flowers sprouting in Dior’s stark grey box setting. It was Kim Jones’ fifth-anniversary show after all, and if there’s ever a time for some gag-worthy staging, it’s now. Titled New Look to New Wave, the collection whipped through a madly eclectic tapestry of inspiration, nodding to London’s 80s club scene, the 60s couture of Yves Saint Laurent and Marc Bohan, down to the quilted cannage pattern lifted from chairs of Dior’s original salons. “What was so remarkable – and has been, throughout Jones’ tenure – is how those elements of the past, when re-energised, could appear entirely modern, even forward-thinking,” Alexander Fury wrote in his show review. “[But] there was no nostalgia here, rather using the romance of the past to create a brave new future.”

Read Alexander Fury’s collections digest here.

Walter Van Beirendonck

“We really are fighting with reality today,“ Walter Van Beirendonck told AnOther days before the presentation of his new collection. “It’s becoming more and more difficult to understand what is real and what is not real.” Finding its inspiration in something decidedly not real, the starting point for the S/S24 show was a lost ancient city, a hoax, said to be home to tribes of bug-like beings, sun-drenched ruins, and a treasure trove of gold. Looks came padded, protected, while his usual kaleidoscopic use of colour reduced only to the colours of safety – yellows, blacks, reds and whites. “I think that today we are crash test dummies for all of the misery and aggression happening all over the world. You’re constantly under attack, almost,” he said. Closing the show with a parade of models bound in transparent bags with skeletons painted on, is Van Beirendonck’s optimism for the future running dry? Perhaps! But nose-to-nose with impending doom, the Belgian designer’s transportive offering is reflective of an uncertain world – one very much grounded in the new reality of our times.

Read AnOther’s feature on the show here.

Loewe

Jonathan Anderson’s latest menswear collection for Loewe truly came in all shapes and sizes. Like Julien Nguyen’s XXL paintings at the centre of the A/W23 menswear presentation, and the hyper-sized, plasticky anthurium at the heart of the S/S23 womenswear show, this season, the parade of models were dwarfed by the monumental water-spouting fountains of Lynda Benglis. But, never to be upstaged, the collection made stiff competition for the limelight – from the ground, shoes grew into legwear, busts compacted under a high waists, and a swarm of crystal embellishments flickered on the surface of shirting and trousers. The creative director’s quirky Anderson-isms manifested in unexpected tops that were like giant swathes of fabric replete with foot-long needles, and all-in-one leather rompers. A study on perspective, over and undersized clothes played tit for tat in Loewe’s remarkable twists on convention.

Kiko Kostadinov

As far as Paris venues go, Kiko Kostadinov gets full marks for his recurring men’s show location; on the top floor of Lycée Henri-IV, a prestigious secondary school in the Latin Quarter, under an 18th-century fresco amid shelves of books locked behind metal grates, guests sat at old-fashioned school desks watching the action unfold. This season, the Bulgarian designer’s references included Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1962 short film La Ricotta and the conceptual work of American artist Tom Burr, with models wearing exquisite lacey skull caps (the effect was like lingerie attached to the head, bra straps flailing), strong gilet jumpsuits, roomy tunics, glittery tops, and striped scarves in cobalt blue, lilac and cadmium yellow.

Louis Vuitton

As the most hotly anticipated debut of the season, Pharrell Williams was bound to pull out all the stops for his first show as men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton. And with rousing musical performances from Virginia choir Voice of Fire, Jay-Z, and Pharrell, and a front row packed with celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Tyler, the Creator, Beyoncé and Skepta, Pharrell boldly ushered in a brave new era of luxury fashion, wherein LVMH taps people for their creativity and influence rather than their design CV (a change ignited by Williams’ predecessor, Virgil Abloh). “When I was given this position to rule, I accepted it, knowing that I was going to be a perpetual student,” Pharrell said of his appointment. “Clearly the sun is shining on me and everybody that’s on my team.”

Read Alexander Fury’s collections digest here.

Dries Van Noten

The phrase “disrupted elegance” opened the show notes for Dries Van Noten’s S/S24 collection. At this point in his career, elegance is both intrinsic and expected from the Belgian designer – disruption, less so. The disruptive element made itself known quietly. In elongated silhouettes, defined waists and lengthy, billowing trenches, the collection swept through the desolate venue, and opted for a departure from the signature vibrant prints. Instead, the prints were quiet suggestions, as if worn away through years of wear and leaving only a shadow of its motifs. There was a lightness in the textiles that flowed in their enveloping length, with sheer mousseline and gauzy technical fabrics appearing to float over the body, revealing bare skin beneath. In stripping away the noise, Van Noten proved that, in gentle elegance, there’s bustling, desirable strength.

Comme des Garçons Homme Plus

“In order to find a new world, we have to go beyond reality,” wrote Rei Kawakubo of her latest Comme des Garçons Homme Plus show. As usual, one cryptic quote from the legendary Japanese designer acted as the perfect jumping-off point for interpreting the collection – and, indeed, there were plenty of surreal aspects at play in the show. Courtesy of set designer and artist Gary Card, models’ dramatic grey wigs had miniature sculptures nestled in them – cutlery, wine glasses, whales, fish and sharks – while many of the clothes were printed with trompe l’oiel elements, like rainforest landscapes, red theatre curtains, leather chesterfield chairs and majestic frescoes. Furthering the dreamlike mood were black leather Oxfords, the toes uncannily twinned.

Givenchy

Since Matthew M Williams’ arrival at Givenchy in 2020, the American designer has been steadily rising through the ranks as a commandeer in the global streetwear scene. His new collection, presented in the main courtyard of the Hôtel National des Invalides, home to the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte, cycled through a plethora of formal fashion archetypes which seeped and blended into one: fluid tailoring flowed into schoolboy uniforms, military wear into precise black tie tuxedos. Less of the ‘kitchen sink’ method of design (despite the oversized grommets on his shirting being vaguely reminiscent of plugholes), Williams’ streetwear prowess made itself known in utilitarian accessories, replete with signature buckles and utility belts. Through Williams’ rummage through the classic gentleman’s dresser and the new culture of masculine dressing, he digs out a wardrobe for all ages, placing an unexpected twist on Parisian savoir-faire.

Amiri

For Los Angeles-based fashion house Amiri, the namesake label of Mike Amiri, streetwear should pulse with an expressive, creative attitude. The brand’s second show at Paris Fashion Week Men’s was reflective of the transatlantic journey to Europe, building an aspirational wardrobe crafted from artistic impulses and found fabrics, while embracing the romance of tourism. Piecing together subcultural Americana with the tropes of holidaying, traditional tailoring is relaxed, vintage clothing is reworked and embedded in youth culture, often embellished with light, cascading sequinning or flecked with shimmering tinsel, and memories of LA become intricate Swarovski embroidery mirroring the curling surf waves of Malibu. Through Amiri’s show in Paris – styled by AnOther’s own Ellie Grace Cumming – the label offers a globetrotting spin on Parisian tradition, embracing the romance of the foreign land.