The Standout Women’s Shows From Paris Fashion Week S/S24

Rick Owens

A self-proclaimed pessimist, Rick Owens’ credited a recent Björk concert for changing his gloomy tune. And there was a certain positivity to his S/S24 collection, presented, as usual, at the Palais de Tokyo: the models towered through yellow and pink smoke clouds in elegant, body-binding dresses, billowing silk capes, and pleated tulle “donuts,” which Owens sweetly described as “sugar candy.” 

See Paul Phung’s photo essay from the show here.

Vaquera

How do celebrities navigate a life barraged by cameras? Does it really matter when life is filtered through a lens anyway? These were the questions toyed with in Vaquera’s S/S24 show, presented at Dover Street Market’s 3537 complex. With more commercial offerings than previous seasons, this collection marked a sharpening of their business acumen. But they still managed to throw a few wrenches … like an oversized faux fur dress and hat. Fur for summer anyone?

Read AnOther’s feature on the show here.

Peter Do

Following his debut collection for Helmut Lang in New York, Peter Do made another first this season: presenting his namesake label in Paris. The designer affirmed that he “wanted to make grown-up clothes” – and that he did, in the form of meticulous luxury tailoring. Of note were his trousers, some of which were split vertically to reveal splices of skin or coloured chiffon. Every few steps the models made a graceful spin to show the movement within his masterful tailoring.

See Paul Phung’s photo essay from the show here.

Kiko Kostadinov

The starting point of Laura and Deanna Fanning’s new Kiko Kostadinov women’s collection, presented at the Palais de Tokyo, was ephemerality: how textile, draping, and construction can transform a silhouette from one moment to the next. By tapping into their extraordinary knowledge of art history and design, the designers crafted a ‘glamourous’ (in the Old Scottish sense of the word) collection full of rippling dresses and bias-cut trousers, Sonia Delaunay-inspired stripes, and intarsia knit dresses and coats.

Read AnOther’s feature on the show here.

zomer 

zomer’s debut collection was guided by an unbridled, childlike curiosity for creativity (the show was closed by two children standing in for the designers.) But that doesn’t mean the garments were simple: from lithe painterly dresses in leather to perfectly tailored coats and trousers seamed together with swathes of colour, the collection was a refined offering of lightness, elegance, and ease.

Read AnOther’s feature on the show here.

Undercover

Jun Takahashi has long established himself as one of fashion’s most innovative designers, but his S/S24 collection took his boundless creativity to new heights. At the end of the stunning presentation of sheer tailoring, skirts featuring prints of his own oil paintings, and a trench hiding feathered wings, the lights dimmed: three models appeared in glowing ‘terrarium dresses’ filled with flowers and butterflies. Reckoning with grief, the designer explained through an interpreter that “he feels he is stuck in the world, but he wants to release himself.”

Dior

For Maria Grazia Chiuri’s latest Dior show, models walked down a candy-striped runway in thready lace dresses, spidery printed skirts and coats, singed denim ensembles, and holey Bar jackets – perhaps a reference to a female forebearer of fashion, Rei Kawakubo. On her mood board for the collection were images of Ingrid Bergman as Joan of Arc, Maria Callas as Medea, and Simone Signoret in The Crucible, suggestive of the witchiness cast over the collection. Now, more than ever, Chiuri’s Dior woman seems ready to rise from the ashes and reclaim her power.

Saint Laurent

Back at the house’s favourite venue, the Eiffel Tower, Anthony Vaccarello presented his S/S24 collection within a set made entirely from marble (complete with an art deco swimming pool). The designer wanted a “clean canvas,” to start a new chapter for Saint Laurent: the collection was predominately crafted from cotton, aside from three evening gowns. Far from being quiet luxury, the designer proved that sometimes the simpler a garment, the chicer it is.

Read Alexander Fury’s review of the collection here.

Alexander McQueen

Sarah Burton’s final collection as creative director at Alexander McQueen was inspired by the female anatomy, Queen Elizabeth I, the blood red rose, and Magdalena Abakanowicz, “a transgressive and powerful artist who refused ever to compromise her vision.” The standout was two sculptural dresses, folded and pleated to resemble roses – or vulvas. There was also a nod to McQueen’s 1996 Hunger collection with a black mini dress, slashed and sutured with gold embroidery. For the first time in her ten-year tenure, Burton made a full circuit of the runway to a standing ovation that she so richly deserves.

Read Alexander Fury’s review of the collection here.

Loewe

In a grey box constructed within the courtyard of the Chateau de Vincennes, Jonathan Anderson presented his S/S24 collection for Loewe, which he described as a “stringent proposal for daywear.” Models weaved their way through metal sculptures from the American artist Lynda Benglis in sky-high waisted trousers (fitted with mini corsets to keep them in place like the trousers of a matador … a nod to the Spanish roots of Loewe?) with tucked-in shirts and zip-up knits. It was day wear, yes, but in true form, he subverted the status quo to innovate a novel silhouette.

Balenciaga

If Demna’s last collection for Balenciaga read as a safe apology for the 2022 Balenciaga scandal, this was a full-blown return to Demna-isms: the designer’s friends and family walked the show in oversized tailoring, enormous sneakers, acid-bright floral dresses with leather-bound grocery bags in tote – all set to a soundtrack of Isabelle Huppert reading instructions on how to tailor a coat. “This collection is a celebration of everything that I love about fashion,” said the designer.

Read Alexander Fury’s review of the collection here.

Louis Vuitton

On a runway built by production designer James Chinlund to look like the interior of a hot air balloon – in Louis Vuitton orange, of course – Nicolas Ghesquière presented his breezy S/S24 show for the house. The collection was heavy on layers of silk and mousseline to craft summer silhouettes that were as light as possible, but still exhibited the designer’s increasing penchant for weaving couture into his ready-to-wear collections. 

Chanel

Virginie Viard continues to prove that her collections for Chanel are about the lived experience of the Chanel girl. S/S24 was about her holiday, at the Villa Noailles in Hyères – the inspiration for the show. The Noailles, wealthy art patrons, were, after all, close friends of Coco Chanel and the house sponsors the International Fashion and Photography Festival held there each year. The collection was full of chic, holiday-ready attire: flip flops, swimwear, capes-turned-towels, and slinky ensembles that recalled the ‘beach pyjamas’ trend of the 1920s.

Givenchy

The setting for Matthew Williams’ S/S24 Givenchy show – a white cube built in the grounds of the Ecole Militaire by his architect and friend Gabriel Calatrava – reflected the collection: clean, light, and streamlined. Aside from obvious references to Audrey Hepburn (the house’s original muse) in black evening gowns and chiffon opera gloves, the rest of the collection bore the hallmarks of Williams’ contemporary approach with wide-shouldered tailoring and high-notched collars.

Miu Miu

Over the past few seasons, Miuccia Prada has sculpted the character of the Miu Miu girl: and here she was in all her glory for S/S24, greasy-haired in perfectly wearable polos, blazers, and Oxford shirts. Styled, of course, with the usual fun Miu Miu trimmings: brightly coloured panties, overflowing bags, and even neon-coloured plasters. But perhaps, as the background video installation from artist Sophia Al-Maria alluded to, the Miu Miu girl is every woman, battling the daily grind to assert our place in this world.