Despite featuring an unprecedented 111 fashion brands, in my opinion, you didnât miss much. Rewatching some of the sets, I wouldnât have been able to tell you if this was Paris 2025 or Paris 2010.
This article does not concern the âwhoâs there wearing whatâ, but rather asks the question: is Paris Fashion Week still relevant? Or has it begun to fall short of the mark? The worldâs most influential fashion show was founded in 1973 – now, fifty years on, does it still have a place in the industry?
In the age of social media, viewing the events is easier now than ever before. CNN found, however, that this mass coverage and engagement were not translated into sales, calling it the global luxury slowdown. Vogue noted that some brands did not live up to expectations. Large houses released longer sets, not necessarily showcasing more designs, but rather the same outfit in different colours. Smaller brands, in order to match this volume, released designs that perhaps werenât quite completed, and fell short of the mark. Vogue did do something clever on LinkedIn – posting about the five key takeaways from Paris Fashion Week, followed by successive posts on sustainability and diversity. I see you, Vogue! But more on that later.
For me, the large fashion houses are not particularly appealing. Honestly, if you showed me a picture of a piece by Chanel and one by Balenciaga, I couldnât tell you the difference. The shows that stand out to me are the ones with a true message. LâOrealâs âYouâre worth itâ slogan, for example, was strongly embodied in their set. The fashion looked amazing: flattering and truly making each one of the models shine. A sea of red, black, gold and white, with interludes of beautiful performances from dancers, was backdropped with images of Paris. Statements of âWeâre Worth Itâ and âEquality, a power to shape a world we all deserveâ made the set engaging to watch. The models themselves were diverse in every way: gender, age, body type, ethnicity – it was amazing to see. What surprised me was the appearance of a model with a double arm amputation. Elegantly adorned in a simple black floor-length dress with accompanying silver jewellery, she looked stunning. Every model looked like they were enjoying themselves, waving to the onlookers and smiling, which I rarely saw in other sets at the weeklong event. The show ended with the group walking down the runway, a collection of diverse models all enjoying each otherâs presence, a true sisterhood.
Did any other brand or house hit the mark as well as LâOreal did? Certainly not the big ones – the likes of Chanel, Balenciaga, Dior and Louis Vuitton. The models looked the same, stone-faced. The fashion was unflattering and often confusing, with no real purpose or message. How do these brands expect people to make very expensive purchases without seeing models that look like them displaying the fashion? While LâOreal used its platform to say something meaningful, most brands seemed content with saying nothing at all.
Itâs all well and good to issue statements about âlooking intoâ change- the perfect way to appear proactive while doing absolutely nothing. Sustainability has fallen out of focus over the last couple of years. Many companies made their pledges, got their pat on the back about their 2030/40/50 marks, and then proceeded to do nothing. Is sustainability just not on trend anymore? Unfortunately, the planet does not care about what is on trend, and the tipping point for action is now.
So… what does this have to do with Paris Fashion week? Fast fashion is a prevalent issue, with Vogue reporting an average showcasing of 60 looks per featured brand. Donât forget London, New York and Milan Fashion Weeks alongside this. The business is constantly churning synthetic materials- and what happens when these âHot New Looksâ drop off trend and the next wave comes in? More fashion, more material, more mass-market businesses making cheaper alternatives to everyday consumers. Itâs a never ending cycle of waste.
A number of houses have taken a direct approach to be celebrated. Stella McCartney, the originally vegan brand, did not disappoint in the creation of fun, sophisticated looks, without costing the planet, with 98% of materials being environmentally conscious and 100% cruelty-free. For those of you not in the know: this considers the sourcing of a material, what it is made from an end-of-life strategy. Was the material sourced ethically without harming the environment, indigenous animals and using fair labour practices? Is the material all natural, are chemicals used in its making, and what is its carbon footprint for production? What happens once it has had its use? Can it biodegrade? Is its lifespan a few months, or will it last generations?
Stella McCartney has eliminated furs, feathers, leathers and exotic skins, whilst not falling into the synthetic plastic trap. Rather, they have innovated their materials through the circular economy, taking waste and making it new. Examples include exploring mycelium as an alternative to leather, fibres from pineapple leaves and bio-based inks in a bid to move away from petroleum. If Stella McCartney can do it, why canât everyone else? While these efforts come with a hefty price tag, so do the practices of other large houses in their use of cheaper synthetic materials. We might assume that with McCartney, you are receiving a carbon-negative and longer-lasting product, while from the megahouses, you are just getting a name. I know which one I would choose if I had the money.
Other notable sustainable fashion brands pushing this message at Paris Fashion Week include Marine Serra, with bold upcycling techniques, and Gabriela Hearst and Jeanne Friot, championing philosophies on zero-waste fashion. With the amount of showcased work, however, the messaging being pushed is often getting lost in the noise.
So, back to my question: is Paris Fashion Week still relevant, or has it fallen off the mark? With everything going on in the world, it is an event that can completely pass us by, aside from coverage by a couple of news outlets and influencers, if that is the type of content you follow. This is definitely an event tailored to the wealthy – I certainly canât afford a weeklong trip to Paris, and then a ÂŁ1500 bag as a souvenir. The show looks no different now than it did 10 years ago. Aside from the select few brands I have talked about here, there has been no real innovation. Paris Fashion Week could still matter – if it stopped dressing up as the past and started designing for the future.
Editor: Lauren Harker