The Best of Paris Fashion Week SS17
Paris is without doubt the crème de la crème of fashion week. It’s the most dramatic, elegant, and established and for SS17 it showed it too, was as current as its London or New York counterparts. Long showing those big names – Dior, Givenchy, Valentino – Paris showed its creative, younger side that embraces the here-and-now this season; there was Demna Gvasalia’s signature take on Balenciaga, Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut collection for Dior (the first woman to hold the position of creative director at the house. How modern) and Karl Lagerfeld’s digitally-charged show for Chanel. Paris is keeping up with the changes that are happening in fashion – and it worked. Discover the best of Paris Fashion Week SS17 below.
Fashion isn’t exactly known for being a political platform but that’s what Acne Studios’ creative director Jonny Johansson did with his latest collection at Paris Fashion Week this season. Referencing the refugee crisis that has taken over Europe this year, the collection took inspiration from traditional Syrian motifs, heavy kaftans worn by tribes in the Sahara and those loose, long layers typical of those countries that have been so badly affected by this decade’s events.
Sarah Burton looked to the wild Shetland Isles for the Alexander McQueen SS17 collection. Long, delicate wool lace dresses with tough leather bralets and belts layered over the top made up the collection, creating an almost medieval feel, while kilts and tartan were referenced in sharp tailoring that first made Lee McQueen famous in the early stages of his career.
Jean Touitou has been doing simple clothing for 30 years – and this was not the season to deviate from his so well-executed aesthetic. Denim – as ever – played a big part of this collection in the form of chambray tunics, denim knee-length skirts paired with indigo shirts, shorter skirts worn as though back-to-front, striped dungarees and (personal favourite) a pair of cropped, wide legged pale jeans, complete with boxy matching jacket. Look out for the new tan cross body that might just overtake the Half Moon Bag.
Chanel is the one show that dominates most headlines come Paris Fashion Week, largely in thanks to Karl Lagerfeld’s affinity for creating a theatrical set for his models to parade along. We’ve had the airport, the brasserie and the supermarket, and this time it was the turn of the ever-so-glamorous…data centre. The techie was Chanel-ified with caps worn sideways, jewel-encrusted lanyards and digital prints covering long, floaty dresses. The most memorable? The inflatable Stig-like robots that made their way down the runway in Chanel’s signature tweed skirt suits.
Humberto Leon and Carol Lim looked to KENZO’s origins and the label founder’s 1977 show at Studio 54. They mixed it with utilitarian sportswear for a truly modern look; metallic gold dresses were worn with white parkas, high-waisted ‘70s-esque wide leg trousers came in camo print and the glamorous cape dress came in fabric resembling a raincoat. This was a collection that was bold, striking, and undeniably KENZO.
