If there's one area in which Paris Fashion Week outstrips the competition, it's staging. Driven by brands with the means to match their ambitions, the French capital is rich in fashion shows set in prestigious historic locations, where the decor plays a real role in the sartorial narrative. This was once again demonstrated at the Spring-Summer 2024 edition, which ran until October 3.
Loewe showcased at a château. On the esplanade of the Vincennes fortress stood a vast opaque tent where six bronze sculptures evoking strange snail shells broke up the space. They are by Lynda Benglis, the American postminimalist artist who, in the 1970s, created live sculptures in galleries to highlight the creative process. This approach is similar to that of designer Jonathan Anderson, who likes to emphasize the artisanal dimension of his garments.
The collection opened with a series of knitted capes, with stitches so large as to appear zoomed in, as if viewed through a microscope. This was followed by wool Bermuda shorts fastened with an XXL needle, symbolizing the designer's work. Jonathan Anderson had fun making legs look endless with pants whose waistband was so high it almost reached the chest, or a flesh-colored polo shirt with a print that was impossible to tell if it was transparent or a reproduction of flesh.
"This collection really represents Lynda at every moment of her life," explained the designer. "The hypersexualization in Artforum [a magazine in which the artist, in 1974, appeared naked with a dildo between her legs], the success, the moment when she broke the rules..." It's a welcome heterogeneity, in which the most experimental pieces gave food for thought and the more classical ones aroused desire.
At the Célestins barracks, headquarters of the Republican Guard, a branch of the French Gendarmerie that carries out formal and security missions, another tent was in place. Hermès' guests made their way between ears of corn and field flowers, a meadow in full springtime bloom. "It's the simple theme of the picnic, an invitation to get away that can happen at home, in the garden," explained Nadège Vanhée. The picnic was subtly evoked by small-checked dresses that can be used as tablecloths; a dress with embroidered white straps, reminiscent of household linen; and a gigantic smooth leather basket-bag capable of holding all kinds of food.
Above all, the picnic offered a poetic setting for imagining the ideal summer wardrobe in Hermès shades, sumptuous gradations of red, taupe, white and black. A bra, halter top, bolero, short shorts and openwork leather skirt revealed the skin. Models were at ease in leather-covered stretch knits, drawstrings allowed trouser closures to be adjusted, snaps allowed the upper part of a skirt to be removed and sandals featured grippy soles. "I want to make clothes that can go through the different stages of life, that are modular and that adapt to the body," Vanhée elaborated. "And it's up to women to choose how they wear them. It's not in keeping with our times to impose the diktat of one silhouette." Which doesn't mean they can't all be attractive.
Bird chirping at Hermès was followed by ominous croaks at Alexander McQueen's Carreau du Temple, a former covered market transformed into a cultural venue, decorated with four monumental works by Magdalena Abakanowicz, a Polish artist whose organic textile sculptures are inspired by the animal and plant world. She is "a transgressive and powerfully creative artist who refused to ever compromise her vision," summed up Sarah Burton. This was the designer's last show for the brand she had worked at for 26 years, first as Alexander McQueen's right-hand woman, then, on his death in 2012, as artistic director.
A reference to Abakanowicz's frayed fabrics can be seen in the red bangs sewn onto the bib of a black suit, which continue down the sleeves, or in skirts where the silk threads are not woven together but aligned and held together by viscose panels that structure the whole. The anatomy of the female body, another theme of this collection, can be seen on a white dress embroidered with threads representing the digestive organs and lymphatic system, and on a sculptural dress where ruffles, slits and gradations of color evoke the female sex. As always, the garments are openwork, revealing the ribs, part of the back or the chest.
This very "McQueenesque" collection testifies to Burton's desire to leave without making waves, even if emotions ran high when she greeted and embraced François-Henri Pinault (CEO of Kering, which owns the label), Anna Wintour and actresses Cate Blanchett and Elle Fanning. Her departure signals the end of an era, since it is unlikely that her successor will be as close to the founder as Burton was. Kering, which went through a delicate period with the Balenciaga crisis in December 2022 (designer Demna was criticized for using children in an advertising campaign) and Gucci's disappointing results, undoubtedly has plans to give the brand new impetus. With a history as rich as McQueen's, this will be no easy task.
Yet the Balenciaga show seemed to prove that anything is possible, even rising from the ashes. In another huge tent, set up at Les Invalides, Demna imagined a theatrical set, composed only of immense garnet velvet curtains. Isabelle Huppert's voice read the entirety of a "Guide to the traditional assembly of a suit jacket," reminding us how much work goes into making a simple jacket. At the last show in March, which came after the controversy, immersing himself in the making of pretty clothes helped the designer regain his footing. "Afterward, I said to myself that this collection was too polished, it didn't look like me," said Demna. "That's when I stopped thinking about other people and did what I liked."
On the catwalk, his mother opened the show and his husband closed it in a wedding dress. In between, were friends, colleagues and a few models. The notion of couture was ever-present through the deconstruction and reconstruction of vintage pieces: five evening dresses merged into a turquoise sheath that was turned upside down, reassembled raincoats became a four-sleeved trench coat and pieces of denim transformed into patchwork pants steeped in history.
Everywhere was amusing trompe-l'œil, from a wallet that looked like a passport with a train ticket tucked inside, to a flowery leather dress that looked like it was cut from oilcloth. And there was an abundance of details that made a normal silhouette special, such as formal jackets inlaid with pleats or coats with a wide, flattened stature because they had no shoulder pads to add volume. The collection was both striking and absolutely recognizable: This was Demna on the top of his game for Balenciaga. It remains to be seen whether the brand's customers still want it.
Valentino took over the palais des études of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, inspired by Italian Renaissance palaces, and invited singer FKA Twigs to deliver a hybrid performance between dance and concert, in resonance with a collection designed to highlight the female body: "A man can be a feminist in the same way as a woman," designer Pierpaolo Piccioli said. "It's all about state of mind." The Italian designer relied on short dresses, openwork fabrics and a particular technique, altorilievo ("high relief"), which involves assembling 3D floral embroidery to create a dress or coat. The sculpted effect was quite striking, and the technique also had the advantage of showing a lot of skin, because there's always a bit of empty space between two embroidered orchids or daisies.
In addition to the perfectly executed technique, Piccioli's simple, effective wardrobe – T-shirt, white shirt, jeans – used precious materials that lend it nobility. In the Beaux-Arts building, where the vibrant voice of FKA Twigs resonated, there was nothing anodyne about it.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.