Fluffy textures and feathery floating dresses complete bold black and white styles with occasional color. Somewhat safe but also classic collection is a well played move by Seán McGirr for Alexander McQueen’s Spring-Summer 2025. “Who’s show is this?” – a stranger’s voice is asking in front of École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts. “Alexander McQueen’s”. “Isn’t he already dead?” – the stranger replies. This has been a quick exchange between our photographer Tomasz and a random Parisian rushing though the crowd of influences, photographers and curious city dwellers in front of one of the busiest Paris Fashion Week runway shows this autumn
Other commuters do not seem to care or understand the reason for the sudden crowd clogging the streets in the least expected places. They hoot angrily trying to make their way though, while being guided by the security guards with marshaling wands glowing in the city dusk. You could not miss the cyclists too, gravitating to places where they can give their attitude to as much people as possible. As the rush hour unfolds, restless crowd of hype mongers shoots real and fake celebrities as they walk in and out of the venue. The fashion week spirit is alive and well and everyone here shares the experience.
The Spring-Summer 2025 shows of this autumn feature classic elegant looks, still echoing the 90s inspired power look of the last season, yet with more vivid color accents and with less gloomy seriousness. In the times of uncertain everyone seems to stick to what feels secure and self confident.
Even Vivienne Westwood’s collection at PFW SS25 appears to cling to brand’s roots. This approach seems a good step towards rediscovering brand equity to keep the legacy alive. Boutique windows facing the Place de la République might have seemed defaced with graffiti but turned out to be a meticulously crafted decoration, invoking brand’s punk spirit. It seemed a brilliant anti-establishment move, as the show was visible from the street through the graffiti. Quite a tongue in a cheek for the most elitist and hard to get into fashion week in the world.
The looks on the runway were comfortably loose with well balanced color palette of beiges and off-whites countered by black, graphite and carmines. Stylish and well balanced the collection transpired rebellious spirit by the bold use of the classic. After all Vivienne in her late interviews emphasized that the aesthetics of rebellion, the very style she helped to induce into mainstream fashion, has became meaningless and perhaps the new non-conformism should be found in what is less loud.
After the Olympics Paris seems a bit neater, unlike in New York there are still newsagent kiosks around selling Le Monde and Vogue. Middle aged French gentlemen casually stroll in their navy blue jackets and leather loafers. The smell of freshly baked chestnuts fills the streets. Ashtrays have not been banished yet from public spaces, leaving some room for harmless disobedience in the self proclaimed health-conscious world. Buying baguettes in a local bakery next to our flat in La Chapelle neighborhood – so much discouraged by Trip Advisor – or flocking to the runway show entrance and being asked by locals ‘what’s going on’ does not feel like a ‘tourists vs purists’ fashion week experience at all.
Author: Szymon Wachal
