It was a season of firsts, as well as a few lasts
And so the sun has finally set on the beginning-of-year fashion marathon as (a very summery) Paris womenswear week comes to a close. It was long – there were more shows than ever packed into the ten-day schedule – yet we were rewarded with one of the most promising seasons of recent years, despite the dizzying game of musical chairs that continues at the industry’s top houses.
The week began with Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Orlando-inspired show for Dior (a fashion favourite literary reference), while Anthony Vaccarello also looked to the past to consider femininity: “a sensitive body inside strong clothes” is how he described his collection for Saint Laurent. Nicolas Ghesquière however took us on a different kind of journey – a voyage, in homage to Louis Vuitton’s history as the purveyor of luxury luggage.
With his third collection at Alexander McQueen, Séan McGirr seems to have found his stride with a show that recast the spirit of dandyism on our contemporary times. His predecessor at McQueen, Sarah Burton, made a measured debut at Givenchy by dialling design back to the house’s founding principles. Haider Ackerman’s debut at Tom Ford, on the other hand, was an explosive start to what is promising to be an exciting revival of the label.
In yet another tale of switching creative directors, Demna presented, what we know now, was his last collection for Balenciaga, following his surprise appointment at Gucci. The Italian house’s alumni, Alessandro Michele, hit a radical reset on Valentino’s frilly sensuality with a sexy collection presented in a bathroom (albeit, one covered in Valentino red). Chanel played it safe as the industry awaits Matthieu Blazy’s arrival.
But the week belonged to fashion’s enduring leading women Rei Kawakubo and Miuccia Prada. At Comme des Garçons, Kawakubo revolted against “big fashion” (and perhaps also the patriarchy) with her Smaller is stronger collection of just 20 looks. For Miu Miu, Mrs Prada presented a cast of “feminities” continuing her clever challenging of society’s static hold on women that started with her Prada show, presented just weeks before.
Rick Owens stripped away the spectacle for a pared-down collection that still spoke volumes despite the absence of fanfare. Heavy on wardrobe staples, each garment had Owens’ macabre twist: leather-lined bombers, hoodies woven from natural rubber, and coats – some free of his usual Dracula collar – with shoulders exaggerated just-so. Models' eyes were obscured by black contact lenses, as Owens’ version of red lipstick: “There’s this sense of ‘my soul is opening to you.’” Even in restraint, Owens’ power to provoke and captivate remains unmatched.
Margaret Howell
Margaret Howell shot her lookbook on models in motion to capture the wonderful wearability and elegance of ease of her clothing. While her work is shaped by functionality, she often takes the time to recraft pieces based on customer feedback (take, for example, a coat that is a looser, boxier reiteration of one from her 2023 collection). Smooth, dropped-shouldered tailoring meets trousers neatly at waistlines, layered over easy-cut shirting and knitwear – all in a quintessentially British autumn-come-winter palette.
Zomer
Everything was topsy-turvy at Zomer: the show opened with the finale, garments styled back to front, collars replaced trouser cuffs. A denim ensemble, flipped entirely, set the tone—unexpected, yet instinctively right – and was followed by lamp-shaded silhouettes printed with Moroccan rug motifs, and now-signature tubular knits that rustled with each step. Invisible bags – just handles – offered a deliciously wry touch. For the finale, Danial Aitouganov and Imruh Asha took their bow in reverse, of course.
For A/W25, Jonathan Anderson transformed the grand Hôtel des Maisons into a magical microcosm of the Loewe universe he has flared over the past 11 years. Menswear and womenswear were presented on mannequins – baseball T-shirts draped into capes, thigh-high wader boots, lantern-cut leather coats, cascading eveningwear – and completed by rooms showcasing Loewe’s leather craftsmanship and the various artists brought into Anderson’s orbit. Of particular wonder was the collaboration with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation: woven prismatic coats, hand-embroidered bags, a palette drawn directly from A Homage to the Square.
The weight of expectation loomed large on Julian Klausner: how does one evolve Dries Van Noten without losing its essence? The new creative director answered with familiar Dries-isms – clashes of texture and print that felt instinctively harmonious – paired with his own touches, like sportswear elements layered under opulent, fabric-heavy draping. Fringing and tassels added a theatrical touch, perfectly suited to the grandeur of the Opéra Garnier setting, and drew back the curtains on a promising dialogue between past and future.
Issey Miyake
As they moved through tai-chi stretches centre stage, eight performers soothed the frenetic pre-show airs of arriving guests. Then, they helped each other put on garments strewn across pedestals, following instructions from artist Erwin Wurm’s One Minute Sculptures. This set the pace for the methodical manner in which Satoshi Kondo's cursive design vocabulary was deconstructed and reconstructed across both process and imagery. The collection was perfectly bookended with garments printed with images of those to come, culminating in long, sculpted knitwear that sealed the entire narrative.
Bryn Taubensee and Patric DiCaprio are set to move to Paris later this year, and fittingly, they served up a fantastical mélée of French sartorial classics: the ‘Vaquera Atelier’ emblazoned knits worn by the designers as they took their bow said it all. Comically oversized pearls, faux fur pillbox hats, and dresses with all-consuming ruffles evoked a child raiding their grandmère’s boudoir. Yet any dowdiness was cut by very sharp, very Vaquera additions: shoulder-padded bodysuits, white-painted denim, and supersized low-slung belts.
Isabel Marant
Isabel Marant has always costumed a unique, fierce sense of female power – and under current creative director Kim Bekker, this season positioned the Marant woman at the intersection of sharp power tailoring and grunge-punk aesthetics. Jackets, cleverly buttoned about the body in different ways, revealed flashes of sequins and shirting, both Isabel Marant classics. Fishnets and sheer stockings added a leggy edge – the Marant woman has finally grown into the sky-high slouched boots she commanded the runway in.
Pieter Mulier’s collection of “kinetic sculptures” freed beauty ideals from across time and cultures into a fluid, non-linear, syncretic narrative. Set at the new Alaïa headquarters on rue Servan, the show was framed by Mark Mander’s unfinished sculptures – much like the house’s “ongoing and timeless quest for beauty”. Padded hoods outlined the face, waistlines sat heavily, only to cascade into pleats or weave mindfully around the body, while belted leather coats and side-knotted jersey dresses invoked the house’s body-conscious signatures.
“It’s about being assertive. It’s about strength. About being sexy and sophisticated – and just owning it,” said Nadège Vanhée of her latest collection, aptly titled Leather Dandy. She took Hermès’ signature leatherisms and steered them away from their bourgeois, equestrian roots towards something sexier, fiercer. Slim V-neck dresses, hot pants, and polished overcoats – all in leather – never felt constricting or compromising. They were an elegant, emboldened expression of a woman who makes her clothes as much as they make her.
Courrèges
Inspired by a Dan Colen book filled with imagery of streamers and confetti, for his A/W25 collection, Nicolas di Felice played with what he calls the “One Minute Courrèges Movement”: shaping garments in a single gesture, with long swathes of fabric. Scarves glided into tops and skirts in one fell swoop; single ostrich feathers became tops; mini-skirts wrapped bodily and trailed behind. A fluttering sea of confetti, through which the models walked, suspended the collection in gentle fluidity.
Andreas Kronthaler leaned into the androgynous side of Vivienne Westwood's legacy, splicing the codes of Englishness with his Tyrolean heritage. “Chaos,” noted by dangling earrings, was the theme – but this was carefree, not destructive. Oversized tailoring in Harris Tweed and punkish tartans was styled with trailing ties and teetering furry heels worn by both male and female models. To close, Kronthaler handed out mimosas in celebration of International Women’s Day and the spirit of liberation that powered the knock-out collection.
