During the lenghty Paris Fashion Week exists strategic slots. For a brand, closing the fashion week is a way of signifying that the marathon can end now that it has delivered its stylistic message. Usually, it's Louis Vuitton, the most powerful in terms of sales, that takes on this role.
But for this Fall-Winter 2024-2025 women's fashion week, the schedule for the finale on March 5 was shaken up a little. In addition to Chanel in the morning and Louis Vuitton (LVMH) in the late evening, Saint Laurent (Kering) caught everyone off guard by adding a men's show at 9 pm, thus closing the ball. These three competing brands positioning themselves on the same day have in common the use of shows to underline their position as patrons or connoisseurs of the arts.
Chanel, for example, is multiplying its investments in French cinema institutions and film production. The house is also a partner of festivals, such as the Deauville American Film Festival, which happens to be the main inspiration for this collection. The show opened with a short video featuring two superstars, Penelope Cruz (brand ambassador since 2019) and Brad Pitt (who was the face of the Chanel Number 5 perfume in 2012), in a kind of remake of A Man and a Woman, a movie directed in 1965 by Claude Lelouch in the Normandy town.
"Deauville is where it all began for the house," recalls designer Virginie Viard. In 1912, Gabrielle Chanel set up a hat store there, then developed the first clothing with a singular style for the time: shortened skirt, unstructured waist, and soft fabrics. "The story of Gabrielle Chanel's beginnings is very close to my heart," says Virginie Viard, who wanted to create a "very warm collection with layered materials, colors and volumes."
The base is "Chanel-esque," with oversized shouldered and long belted coats, reminiscent of dressing gowns worn over tweed suits. Virginie Viard sprinkles it with sailor references – chunky knits, sweaters depicting Deauville landscapes, silk blouses with sailor collars. The Normandy wind is symbolized by the lightness of ruffled, low-cut tops and negligées. The palette of pink, mauve, orange and pale blue evokes a twilight on the beach, while prints of 35-millimeter film or movie tickets are a nod to the seventh arts. House aficionados will be delighted.
Louis Vuitton, a patron of the Louvre, has become accustomed to staging the spectacular fashion shows of Nicolas Ghesquière, who is celebrating his tenth anniversary with the house this year – and whose contract has been renewed for an additional five years. For the occasion, a temporary structure was erected in the middle of the Cour Carrée: a large greenhouse dotted with luminous globes connected by cables. Designed by artist Philippe Parreno, the setting is reminiscent of a science-fiction film, although it's not clear what it represents.
In this sense, it aligns perfectly with Nicolas Ghesquière's collection. The designer likes to mix genres and avoid literal references to known things. This season in particular, he summons inspirations from the past decade, and eclecticism reigns: futuristic geometric outfits cut from technical materials, gilded jackets embroidered with stones evoking the opulence of the Sun King's court, experimental textiles, sober dresses with perfect draping, knits structured as if sculpted...
In this creative abudance, it's often the purest silhouettes that are the most convincing, because one can project oneself into them. But the stylistic intention is undoubtedly less important here than the overall message: Louis Vuitton is the brand that has exceeded €20 billion in revenue in 2023, and can deploy the most resources, and it's Nicolas Ghesquière who helms the ship on the women's side (with Pharrell Williams for men). In his statement, the designer "thanks Bernard Arnault [CEO of LVMH] for his trust."
For its surprise show, Saint Laurent took over the Bourse du Commerce, the exhibition space housing François Pinault's (father of Kering CEO François-Henri Pinault) art collection. In this men's "winter 2024" collection, presented under the central rotunda, Anthony Vaccarello offers "falsly classic" suits: silk georgette makes them as supple as pyjamas, but the shoulders are sharp. Collars are high, jackets a little long, ties wide, shoes square-tipped, colors unusual (rosewood, saffron, anthracite, salmon...) "like a slightly faded bouquet of flowers," comments the artistic director.
The 70s allure of the double-breasted jacket and slightly flared pants recalls that of young Yves Saint-Laurent, an impression reinforced by eyeglasses similar to those worn by the founder. The collection, clear and very elegant, is an exercise in style disconnected from any commercial strategy. In line with his recent shows, Anthony Vaccarello chose to explore a single idea in its entirety, with no accessories. "This show is about sartorial desires, reactions to what I've done in the past. Without any constraints," asserted the Belgian creator.
The last day of Fashion Week saw a range of very different, and in some ways complementary, proposals. Paris can rejoice in being the battleground of ambitious groups: it reminds the world that when it comes to fashion, everything happens in the French capital.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.