Fashion-Week in Paris: fall marathon
Paris Fashion Week traditionally concludes the fashion marathon: it starts in mid-September with a fashion show in New York, then moves to the banks of the Thames, bursts with fireworks in Milan and finally arrives in the French capital. This route is used twice a year by the main persons of the fashion industry, fashion experts and critics, journalists from glossy publications, during the March and September shows. In spring, designers present their fall-winter collections, and in fall they determine the face of fashion for the spring-summer season of the next year. Paris Fashion-Week has been held in this format since 1973, but it is quite possible that it may soon change. What will remain unchanged is the beauty of the places in Paris where the shows take place. This is such a significant event for the fashion capital of the world that the city authorities have already allowed the fashion show to take place in the beautiful Tuileries Garden and even in the treasure house of fine arts – the Louvre. It is hard to imagine a more suitable setting for the demonstration of spring outfits. Despite the fact that Paris week is considered the most closed and inaccessible to the general public, you can see the fashion of tomorrow in Galeries Lafayette: on Fridays there are shows of the most relevant models.
Fashion Weeks: change is coming?
Fashion is considered a symbol of fickleness for a reason, and it is not easy to keep up with it. It would be strange to expect the rules of fashion shows to be immutable – they change from time to time. Since 2011, women’s and men’s collections have been shown independently. However, by the beginning of 2016, some fashion brands found it unprofitable for themselves and uninteresting for the public. In recent years, everything has been aggravated by the active change of creative directors and the transition of designers from one fashion house to another.
The main innovation, which is still being discussed – and quite heatedly – concerns the decision of a number of famous designers to sell collections without waiting the usual six months. The principle of “see-now, shop-now” has both unconditional supporters and opponents armed with their own arguments. Paris, as always, has the last word, and the coming year will show whose point of view will prevail. So far, Tom Ford, Tommy Hilfiger and Burberry are among the brands planning to sell clothes from new collections immediately after the shows. A brand like Prada has so far decided to try out a new method by offering accessories for sale.
New people, new images
To debut on the catwalks of Paris is a great honor and responsibility for designers, good luck for aspiring models. Fall 2016 was the first exam for Maria Grazia Chiuri, who headed the house of Dior.
The premiere collection was also presented by Anthony Vaccarello, who became the creative director of Saint Laurent. The course to be followed by the house of Lanvin was set by Buhra Jarrar’s cruise collection. Oddly enough, one of the most anticipated events was the premiere show of singer Rihanna and brand Puma.
Tommy Hilfiger delighted his fans with a real carnival. And you could see it without even leaving Times Square, where a huge screen was set up to broadcast the event.
The decision to broadcast the show to the general public was also supported by Rebecca Minkoff: she equipped her own boutique with the same screen.
And, as always, the “titans” of the fashion world were flawless: Chanel, Balenciaga, Valentino, Nina Ricci, Paco Rabanne, Chloé, Givenchy. Whatever changes lie ahead, fashion will remain a winner!
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