Major Moments: The top trends from Paris Fashion Week SS23

With a jam-packed schedule, burgeoning creativity and high-end wearability, needless to say, Paris Fashion Week Spring Summer 2023 left us with plenty to talk about.

If we thought the viral stunts in Milan were big, well, we just weren’t prepared for what was to come from the City of Lights. And if we’re talking analytics (which, at Style Arcade, we always are), then it pays to know that Coperni’s spray-on dress moment generated $26.3 million in MIV (Media Impact Value). This is essentially the monetary value calculated from online posts, interactions, or articles, and yep, that one got some attention. Even more than say, Cher closing Balmain.

Launchmetrics, which assessed the MIV, reported that $20.9 million of that value came from social media alone. Bella Hadid’s highest-reach post generated $1 million by the following night with more than 2.8 million likes. Does MIV translate into sales? Will spray translate into clothing? Stay tuned.

So, aside from MIV - which is perhaps the ultimate trend - there was a handful of overlap from New York, London and Milan including cargos, low-rise and Y2K-inspired cuts and maxi skirts.

However, when it comes to Paris, this is where fashion’s greatest come to play and the new mood is set.

Throughout the shows, there were all kinds of fresh pleating, shirting, and deconstructed tailoring as well as lavender and yellow being key to the color palette.

Amongst the key visuals of the week, there was a running flower motif - not quite ‘florals for spring’ - with Dries Van Noten’s, Rochas’ and Acne’s rosettes, the enormous sci-fi flower set at Louis Vuitton and of course, Loewe’s anthurium-inspired embellishments and dress shapes. Speaking of Loewe, the enduring creativity of Jonathan Anderson set the tone for surrealist designs with his ‘digital’ shirts; a sense of humor that was echoed in Thom Browne’s Cinderellas and Nicolas Ghesquière’s use of giant zips.

But when it comes to the inherently wearable; according to WWD, the shows the buyers on the side-line had their eye on included Zimmermann, Victoria Beckham and Dries Van Noten, while must-haves that made the list were the Sacai trench, Miu Miu thong sandals and the Saint Laurent jersey dress.  

Here are 5 undeniable trends spotted on the Paris SS23 runways.

All-Out Utility

Luxury goes practical. From Hermès to Sacai, Louis Vuitton to Stella McCartney, the pocket-happy, parachuted and boilersuit utility styles are perhaps preparing us for the future? Sturdy, durable - whatever it is; it’s cool, comfortable and it’s easy to wear.

Hermès paraded parachute pulls through cutaway dresses and trench coats, alongside leather apron dresses. Miu Miu’s slightly less viral collection referenced military uniforms, with its parachute-style dresses and jackets with bulging pockets, while low-slung utility belts were worn as miniskirts.

Cool as Capuche

While the humble hood may have been associated with Balenciaga’s mud-slingers this season, the capuche is the softer, more feminine and even cooler version. The pretty head scarf-cowl combination came atop the models’ heads largely at Saint Laurent on clingy jersey dresses, with sexy, sporty and moodier examples at Mônot, Alaia and Off-White.

Acid Tuxedo

When the blue denim tuxedo isn’t enough, ‘80s and ‘90s acid wash have you covered. Pretty much every Balenciaga look had a stony, acidy denim wash in baggy jeans, jackets and long skirts, while Givenchy fused LA and Parisian codes which resulted in slouchy, gothic-y and oversized jeans, bermuda shorts and jackets. Meanwhile, Ottolinger’s version was leather-look skin-tight sexiness that was crafted from recycled polyester.

From the Hip

The pannier shape presents a very different, albeit more 18th-century-style accentuation of the female body - as opposed to the BBL we’ve come to know.

While probably the least practical of the trends, this one is sure to make a lore more sense doing red carpet rounds and on confident celebs at glamorous parties. Loewe’s version came in velvet, while Dior’s theme was certainly about ’reshaping’ fashion, with Maria Grazia Chiuri’s hoop cages overlaid with black raffia and white lace and paired with pretty crop tops.

The 24/7 Trench

More on the utility-trend train, and ever the wardrobe mainstay - the elegant, trans-seasonal trench coat is the perfect spring layer, and back with a vengeance. Over at Saint Laurent, the trenches came in leather, tweed, or wool with prominent shoulders and column silhouettes.

Sacai offered smart cuts with exterior pockets and dramatic split sleeves, and Rok Hwang of Rokh, used the trench as his base on which to deconstruct it into high-waisted and paneled skirts, cropped jacket and all the cinching, buckling and pleating you can dream of.

Phew! With fashion month done, and not without a dramatic close, stay tuned for our trend wrap from the season that was. We’ll cover and decode the biggest trends in clothing, accessories, and footwear that we’ll be seeing streetside, and metaverse-side, in the months to come. Make sure you don't miss out and sign up for updates here.

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Main Image Credit: Darrel Hunter

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