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Code-keepers and rulebreakers: Top trends from Paris Fashion Week Fall Winter 2024
This week of Paris runway shows conjured a melting pot of discussion surrounding house codes, designer legacies, and whether certain collections or trends still have (or will have) legs.
It also prompted many invitees to wonder if it's your right to wield your camera at any given show — The Row clearly sees it as a privilege, imposing a total photo ban for the FW24 collection.
As discussed during this past January’s Menswear fall collections, the access of at-home on-phone fans to fashion week is unbridled and unparalleled in today’s digital landscape.
Especially when joining influencers’ Instagram broadcast channels can offer you insider knowledge as though you can hear the second-row whispers. This level of audience engagement makes for tonnes of online threads of — hearty — discussion.
And so the push and pull of who gets the final say in the success of a collection is widely broadened; the consumers, the influencers, the editors, or the designers themselves?
Yes, Paris Fashion Week AW24 proved quite a turning point for the industry in many ways. Significant outings for houses (with the most passionate fans and followers) included Chemena Kamali for Chloé, Seán McGirr for Alexander McQueen and Stefano Gallici's second collection for Ann Demeulemeester — all sparking one main question;
can a new creative director ever live up to an icon? And, are they supposed to?
These creative directors are asked to compete with the gods; Karl Lagerfeld, Phoebe Philo, Lee McQueen and Ann Demeulemeester — all predecessors who transcended the idea of fashion in their time. Nicolas Ghesquière seems to be the only one competing with himself at a major brand, celebrating ten years at the helm of Louis Vuitton.
But, onto the fashion! Is boho back? Sienna Miller-style?
Chloé’s debut was one of the most talked about of the week (feeling very 2008) especially where the notion of single-item promotion was clear.
Where now the show-goers don complete outfits as the selling point to onlookers, the line-up of identical wedges in the front row harked back to the PR days of spruiking a label’s one buzzy bag, or must-have shoe.
Amongst the 70s wedges and clogs, Chloé embodied a number of the season’s most recurrent themes; cape coats, sheer pastel silks and chiffon and large checks on larger coats.
Other questions arose such as; how much longer can we wear sheer garments, and why the rise and rise of fur coats, accessories, and trims?
Many maintain it’s the way of the #Mobwife (she’d never wear fake) while other fur purists insist on its biodegradable nature and vintage advantage. PETA, cover your ears!
Outerwear had the biggest ideas across the week with piled-on volumes of fluffy coats, capes, trapeze shapes, an abundance of variations on the traditional khaki trench, and leather outwear that took shape in long coats, bombers, bikers. Monochrome outfitting stood out as the taste-maker's powerplay at Acne, Balenciaga, and Coperni and Courragés.
Olive green continued its ascension at Saint Laurent, Dior, Ann Demeulemeester, Isabel Marant and Chloé.
Feathers, shearling, and shag occupied many a coat and jacket especially at Rick Owens, while off-kilter sleeves and off-body garments skewed normality at Victoria Beckham, Balenciaga, Loewe and Saçai. Did we mention there were no micro-mini skirts at Miu Miu?
Now, let’s discuss the top four recurring trends at Paris Fashion Week FW24.
Fine Wine
Burgundy leather surpassed its rock ‘n’ roll cousin (black) as the color choice for fashion’s toughest fabric. The Hermés collection dedicated to motorbikes and horses no less opened with 6 fitted monochrome leather looks, featured bombers, equestrian jackets, and zippered skirts. Isabel Marant and Chloé patent versions added a slick touch perfect for the elements, while Ann Demeulemeester draped duster coats over loose layers and slouchy pants. Zimmermann’s utility bomber worn by Jessica Stam is enough to seal the deal.
All the Trimmings
Imaginative takes on the classic aviator jacket supplemented many a collection with cozy shearling, cashmere, and fur lining; from the shorn to shaggy. The emphasis on softness doesn’t come without a sense of strength; these overcoats and jackets from Chanel to Victoria Beckham and Loewe were intended for the elements. And it didn’t stop with the jackets; fur accents were worn as winter gloves at Louis Vuitton, held under the arm at Saint Laurent, and as the finishing touch to minimal column dresses at Coperni.
In the Trenches
Utility outerwear is nothing new, but it didn’t stop designers musing on ways to wear the storied trench coat. Look out Burberry — Acne showed ominous volume at the collar, Balmain and Courragés played with hooded silhouettes, while Dior channeled post-war femininity through various iterations on the khaki coat. At Saçai, a checked silk trench with handkerchief layers underneath was intended to be worn as a dress.
Under Renovation
Same-same collection fatigue and a chance to see the world differently took hold of several brands, including Balenciaga. The displacement, deconstruction, and over-layering of jumpers, skirts, tanks and sleeves were intentionally disruptive. Victoria Beckham surprisingly shook up her chic brand demeanor to include coats that hung off the front shoulders and exposed the back and comically tall stand collars. Elsewhere, Courragés got tongues wagging with that particular pocket placement, among deconstructed apron dresses and wrapping sleeves around the shoulder. The reason? Just take it from Demna, “What’s more important, perfection or imperfection? For me, it’s actually this coexistence of both.”
