The fashion season picks up on Tuesday with Paris Men’s Fashion Week. Musician and designer Pharrell Williams is the figurehead of an industry increasingly dominated by celebrities. Trends evolve at lightning speed in the age of TikTok, but brands are still hoping that some concepts will attract as much attention as “Quiet Luxury” or “Noughties Nostalgia” in 2023.
Big show at the center
Louis Vuitton has relied on the power of celebrity to stay at the top. As the first brand to reach €20 billion in sales last year, it welcomed Pharrell as its new creative director. The hip-hop star is making his second appearance at Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday after taking over the entire Pont Neuf bridge last summer, painting it gold and filling it with stars like Jay-Z, who… appeared on the show.
Such events, which are guaranteed to flood social media with brand-building images, are in many ways more important than the clothing to the top labels. This time his show will take place amid the rides of the Jardin d’Acclimatation in western Paris, likely featuring the brand’s newest celebrity ambassador, basketball player LeBron James.
Other brands are trying to keep up, as several big-name designers have recently been let go in the cut-throat competition for profits. Givenchy parted ways with its menswear boss Matthew Williams this month – his successor has not yet been announced. Gucci, Chloe and Alexander McQueen had new creative directors last year.
Fashion weeks at a glance
There are few major changes this week, although Balmain is taking part in a men’s fashion show for the first time in several years. Some brands have opted to stay away from the official calendar, notably Saint Laurent, Celine and Jacquemus – the latter is holding its show on March 29. January in Provence. 42 brands will host catwalk shows during men’s fashion week, and another 32 will organize presentations of their new collections. The pace is relentless. After menswear comes haute couture week for the most luxurious and tailored outfits. After the fashion caravan has already crossed Milan (ends on Tuesday), it continues to Miami, Copenhagen, New York, London and then back to Milan and Paris in February for the women’s fashion shows.
The French capital “remains the hotbed of fashion,” according to Vanity Fair fashion expert Pierre Groppo. Big names like Chanel, Dior and Hermes still dominate global trends, but (slightly) cheaper but high quality labels like AMI and Officine Generale are also present.
The big brands have managed to go beyond making clothes, he added. Their shows are “transmitters of cultural messages… they are entertainment channels” at the intersection of fashion, music and celebrity.(AFP)
This translated and edited post previously appeared on FashionUnited.com.