Luxury brands, designers and more commercial international labels met in Paris to present their fall/winter 2024/2025 collections. Each of them used Paris Fashion Week in their own way to put themselves in the spotlight.
The first thing to keep in mind is that the term Paris Fashion Week is a term protected by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (FHCM), which includes over 120 fashion shows and presentations as well as other related events. As part of Paris Fashion Week, participants not only have a schedule that allows them to see almost everything depending on their endurance, but they also benefit, among other things and last but not least, from a shuttle service, essential to get from one place to another reach.
The rest, i.e. trade fairs, showrooms and labels that organize shows, presentations, cocktails and the like, fall into the area of side events of Paris Fashion Week. The calendar of these events is more difficult to keep track of because it is so extensive.
This also applies to the young designer AlainPaul, who worked under the direction of the Gvasalia brothers for Vetements and then with Virgil Abloh’s creative team at Louis Vuitton. AlainPaul held his second fashion show at the Théâtre du Châtelet, with Sarah and Colette Andelmann, who once ran the boutique Colette, and Linda Fargo from the New York department store Bergdorf Goodman sitting in the front row.
Luxury brands are joining the market trend towards lifestyle consumption
Of course, there were also plenty of celebrities to be seen at the luxury brands’ fashion shows. Compensation for expenses, from make-up to hairstyle to accommodation in a Parisian palace, chauffeur, gifts and so on, is the basis of every contract. In addition, there is a sum of between 10,000 and 150,000 euros for an appearance in the front row at a fashion show, including a photo call.
But in addition to the famous bankers who draw huge crowds at every show, this season is also marked by the lifestyle turn that luxury is taking. In addition to fully booked palaces (a sign that the industry is doing well), the new places the fashion world visited during fashion week were created by luxury brands.
These new trendy places include the Café Maxime Frédéric at Louis Vuitton and its pastry tasting, the Dior restaurant and its museum or the new Saint Laurent Babylone cultural space.
Young fashion designers are looking for collaborations
On the other side of the media and social scale are the up-and-coming designers. In the past, it was almost an insult to say, “That’s commercial.” Today it’s a compliment. It has to be said that times have changed.
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In the past, a brand would build its DNA, refine its production facilities and pamper its wholesale distribution network before diving into the big bath of a fashion show or an exhibition for the general public. Today it is exactly the opposite. You show yourself first, create an image, the rest follows. Or not. But is it worth the risk?
At the end of Paris Fashion Week, where the fall/winter 2024/2025 collections were presented, the thought arose that aspiring designers cannot make a living from their own brand. You can’t rely on retail to make ends meet. It is, one word uttered by several people, “suicide.” You definitely need to find adjacent resources.
An example is the independent designer Alexandre Vauthier, who canceled his presentation for autumn/winter 2024/2025 and is now in the legal restructuring process, in particular due to a PGE (Prêt Garantie par l’Etat) that he received during the Covid-19 pandemic. crisis and it was no longer manageable. Among the French structures, he is not the only one to suffer from this loan, which is proving more difficult to repay than to underwrite.
The way out can lie in collaboration, as in the case of the designer Alphonse Maitrepierre, who is working with the Spanish brand Desigual for the third time and has entered into a collaboration with Carel for his fall-winter 2024/2025 baby shoes. Or Kevin Germanier, who designed a collection for the luxury goods group LVMH on the occasion of the LVMH 360 Summit. It can also be the auction of items worn by celebrities, as seen at KWK, a brand that walks the catwalk in London.
Does this mean that being a young designer is a highlight? Frédéric Maus, CEO of WSN Développement, told FashionUnited that young designers invest a lot in their personal projects, but also have different sources of income, especially creating for specific houses or studios. They are both designers and entrepreneurs. Many established brands need to renew themselves to bring a breath of fresh air. Business today is multi-pronged: This generation does several things at the same time.
Physical wholesale is taking revenge on online retail
In a context where there are many appointed and few elected, it still seems that the famous “return of the buyers” is not just an empty phrase. The managing directors of Tomorrow ltd, who are invested in the brands Coperni, A-Cold-Wall*, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Colville and Martine Rose and act as agents for Ester Manas, Ottolinger or Rochas, are of this opinion report a return of grace to the physical distribution network.
“Last season, the independent store segment experienced a remarkable upswing, as orders in the US increased by 25 percent compared to last year,” says Valeria Garnica, head of brand experience and communications. “This growth is not just a fad, but sustainable, as the number of our active partners increased by 8 percent year-on-year.”
The reason given is easy to understand: during the Covid crisis, online retail experienced a sales boom. But this “bubble” has now run out of steam and many are left with inventory that they can no longer manage. The result is numerous late payments and even unpaid invoices that brands have to cover. This environment benefits shoppers in physical stores. If the phenomenon is visible in North America, it is likely to cross the Atlantic, in favor of brands that are “well positioned”, as Boris Provost, managing director of the Tranoï trade fair, would say.
“The brands that exhibit in the middle of the nave of the Palais de la Bourse make their living from wholesale,” he explains to FashionUnited. They are often the result of a team of two: a sales representative and a design studio. They accompany buyers by adapting to special orders. “This ability to personalize and individualize is very well received and is a success factor.”
The proof: Many multi-brand shops and department stores list brands that do not really invest in Google search, social network algorithms or the press and do not communicate through presentations or fashion shows during sales campaigns.
At a time when show buzz and celebrity over-mediaization have overtaken Parisian fashion, the thought is that shoppers from around the world still travel to enjoy a simple collection and perhaps the Finding a seasonal pearl is a reason for joy for fashion enthusiasts for whom a cake, a piece of furniture or a cosmetic cream does not have the same taste as a beautiful pair of shoes or a coat with well-cut broad shoulders in the color of chocolate.
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.fr