Meanwhile, at Acne Studios, the show space was filled with playful upholstered sculptures by artist Jonathan Lyndon Chase. The collection, dominated by jersey and knitwear, was commercial with some interesting twists.
From boho to ballet: The key emerging trends
The first few days of Paris have continued to deliver on the romanticism we have been seeing so far on the season’s runways. “Delicate lace at Chloé, silk and organza at Dries Van Noten, and chiffon maxi dresses at Saint Laurent have floated down the runway, paying homage to brand heritage in their own distinct way,” says Kate Benson, buying director at Net-a-Porter.
In the spirit of boho, fringing was a key trend for Milan and continues to show up at Paris shows, with designers exploring different iterations beyond suede. From all-black fringed skirts at Dior to fringed zips or belts at Hodakova and colourful fringed coats at Benjamin Benmoyal, we can expect to see the style across the rest of the week.
The Olympics may be over but sport continues to inspire Paris designers. At Cecilie Bahnsen, the designer translated her signature puffy dresses into gorpcore, creating beautiful floral printed and cinched windbreakers, coats and trail shoes as part of a tie-in with The North Face.
At Dior, Italian artist and competitive archer Sagg Napoli shot arrows down the centre of the runway throughout the show. The collection featured ballet-inspired bodysuits paired with track pants, sporty accessories and moto jackets styled with dresses or blazers. From Napoli to the pumping soundtrack, including FKA Twigs’s Eusexua and Charli XCX’s Guess, it was a high-energy show for Dior, LVMH’s second-biggest brand, which had Brigitte Macron among guests.
France’s first lady also attended the Balmain show, which, according to Poppy Lomax, head of superbrands & international designer at Harrods, was “overall great for the Balmain client, full of iconic mini and maxi dresses, as well as skirts with embellished jackets adorned with pearls, embellishments, and gold chains”.
“I love the feeling of female empowerment seen so far, for example, at Saint Laurent and Cecilie Bahnsen, where model casting has included a more diverse range of faces from rugby players to rock climbers,” Benson says.
