Celebrations of past and present at Paris Fashion Week

If there’s one place where you’re sure to experience real-time moments of fashion history, it’s at Paris Fashion Week. Nicolas Ghesquière, who is celebrating his 10th year as Louis Vuitton’s artistic director of womenswear, acknowledged that in a personal note provided to guests attending the autumn/winter 2024 show.

“You were with me, the 5th of March 2014, one morning. You are here again with me today, this evening,” he wrote. “I remember the feeling of ‘beginning’, the immense joy I felt to be among you. This joy is still here.”

Staged inside the oldest courtyard of the Louvre, where a custom-made electrical orb hung from the ceiling, Ghesquière and some 2,000 Louis Vuitton employees — who had been invited to the show to celebrate the anniversary — gave us the full package we had been waiting for all season.

Brocade jackets featured alongside asymmetrical dresses with contrasting fabrics that under a less skilful hand might clash but here wove together in harmony. Skirts ranged from short and mini to long and flouncy. They were accessorised with square-toed boots in lively shades of yellow, green and blue, as well as more classic white and grey. Furry mittens and pointed-eared beanies offered some childish fun; one could imagine them being worn by Blackpink singer Lisa, who sat in the front row.

And let’s not forget the bags, which Louis Vuitton has built its fortune on. From monogrammed mini-trunks to larger carryalls, there was something for everyone — and why wouldn’t there be, when business is good?

Parent company LVMH reported a record year of sales in 2023 as it reached €86.2bn in annual revenues. While the group does not typically break down revenue per brand, last year it shared that Louis Vuitton had become the first luxury brand to surpass €20bn in sales. In its latest quarter, LVMH noted that sales at Louis Vuitton and Dior, its two largest houses, continued to be in line with its growth rate. 

Another defining moment took place when Seán McGirr presented his first collection as new creative director of Alexander McQueen. Set in the 13th arrondissement at a subterranean venue that once served as a train station, the show opened with a black dress made from laminated jersey. The model wearing it tucked her hands into pockets that ran across her body — like some kind of voluntary straitjacket.

Exaggerated funnel-neck knits and calf-hair tops that covered the models’ heads riffed on the kind of desirable madness often imbued in McQueen’s designs. The show closed with a trio of bell-shaped steel dresses in black, blue and acid yellow — the same shade of the blankets provided on the seating for each guest.

Backstage, McGirr discussed his fascination with “characters with a very strong personality — people that I’d be curious to meet on the streets” and the “tattered opulence” so often seen in London’s East End. Asked whether he felt intimidated by his predecessors, the late Lee Alexander McQueen and Sarah Burton, who presented her final collection last September after 13 years at the helm of the label, he sidestepped the question. “I don’t really see it that way,” he said. “I’m into this idea of anti-politeness, because we live in a very polite world, so I think [McQueen’s] message is more relevant than ever.”

While the designer had plenty of ideas to offer, I wasn’t able to discern who the brand is for today. The arbitrary choice of attendees, which ranged from Stray Kids singer I.N and musician Shygirl to YouTube sensation Emma Chamberlain, didn’t help either. Perhaps a clearer perspective will come in time. It’s no easy feat joining a house with an established ready-to-wear history. But how much time can be afforded by Kering, which reported a sales drop of 4 per cent in 2023, while its “other houses” division, which includes Balenciaga as well as Alexander McQueen, fell 9 per cent?

It also posits the broader question of whether — and how — labels can outlive their founders in a way that retains their original essence without becoming a pure drive for profit. It’s something that several brands in Paris will eventually have to address, or run the risk of operating as a ghost ship; a vessel with a name, but not much else to it. It was a fear I felt, watching the delightfully theatrical collections of Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, whose influence has been profound since their arrival in Paris in the 1980s and whose eventual retirement is sure to leave a gaping void.

Surname-less Demna at Balenciaga has been mired in his fair share of controversy, but has a clearly defined vision, even if it’s a point of view that is not for everyone. The designer showcased pleated skirts, layered camisoles and padded jackets with wraparound visors and pointed-toe footwear. Slogans such as “Planet Earth” and brand tags still attached to bags and clothes in a tongue-in-cheek manner offered recognisability. 

Digital screens made up the four walls of the venue and transitioned from nature landscapes to an endless scroll of social media, serving as a metaphoric transformation from good to bad taste — the boundaries of which easily blur, according to Demna. The intention was to challenge society’s widespread adoption of technology and consequent “overload of content” — “something that I consider quite dangerous”, he explained in between posing for photos with brand ambassador Kim Kardashian.

Clothes for “real” women were a focal point for several brands. Was it due to an increased consciousness of the lack of female designers in fashion? “I love that I can create clothes that I desire and what I believe women also want to wear,” said Victoria Beckham, who presented a more arty collection of wardrobe separates, including three new trouser styles. The wide leg is her favourite because of its ability to “elongate” the silhouette, although being on crutches this season prevented her from wearing them, she told editors ahead of the show.

At Hermès, Nadège Vanhee brought the rain indoors, as models strode forward in clean monotone looks alongside a cascade of water. Chanel creative director Virginie Viard transported us to the French seaside resort of Deauville, presenting tweed suits in sunset and sorbet colours, long overcoats and pretty dresses — some paired with wide sun hats or long ribbons in hair. Pretty, too, were the cascading dresses at Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Valentino — this season, they came in all-black — although the bags could have been more desirable.

Sacai’s Chitose Abe and Stella McCartney offered sensible but attractive takes on outerwear, while Prada’s sister brand Miu Miu transitioned from its trendy hot pants to a more grown-up offering of full skirts, Oxford shirting and other wardrobe classics, worn by an eclectic cast that ranged from actor Kristin Scott Thomas to rapper Little Simz, driving home the notion that the Miu Miu customer can really be anyone.

Elevation is top of mind for Pelagia Kolotouros at Lacoste, a label that is rich in history and with a diverse customer base, but whose offering has traditionally not been considered luxurious or fashionable. Her debut collection was heavily branded with the signature crocodile motif, even if it was interpreted in different ways. Styles such as the pleated skirts, cut high in the front and low in the back, were more interesting.

“There’s definitely a renewed energy around the woman, in particular with women reclaiming their space within a typically male-dominated environment,” mulls Kolotouros when I visit the brand’s studio. “It’s about doing things in an organic and authentic way instead of being pushed into a particular aesthetic.”