- Fashion Week Amidst Unrest: Paris Fashion Week Kicks Off Despite Civil Unrest and Criticism
- Controversy and Sensitivity: Debate Over Materialistic Displays and Fashionistas’ Lack of Sensitivity
- Couture Collections Unveiled: Designers Present Haute Couture Collections Amidst Protests and Violence
Amid five days of violence in the city, Paris’ fashion week started with the participation of celebrities and designers.
Cardi B, Camila Cabello, and Maisie Williams are among the celebrities in the French capital.
As a result of severe civil unrest, however, there is apprehension regarding the materialistic displays of the ultra-rich.
Some claimed that catwalk displays and cocktail parties should be canceled, while others claimed that fashionistas lacked sensitivity.
Lisa Armstrong, the director of fashion at The Telegraph, wrote: “These heavily scented, diamond-encrusted, removed-from-every-reality clients can appear strange even in normal times, but this week, they appear almost surrealistically tone deaf.”
She added that one attendee remarked that it was “quite strange to see that the major French brands have not acknowledged what’s happening in their own country.”
After police shot teenaged Nahel M during a traffic stop, Paris and other French cities calmed down by Monday.
Also on Monday, the first haute couture collections were unveiled. Haute couture is the most prestigious segment of the fashion industry, where gowns are custom-made for clients at exorbitant prices.
Only one major brand, Celine, cancelled a show owing to the riots.
Sunday’s menswear show, supposed to feature live music to represent French youth, was not on the fashion week schedule.
Hedi Slimane wrote on Instagram that “a fashion show in Paris at a time when France and its capital are bereaved and battered seems… insensitive and completely misplaced.”
On Monday, Christian Dior, Schiaparelli, and Iris Van Herpen showed collections inspired by Greek deities, fine art, and mermaids.
Jess Cartner-Morley of The Guardian wrote, “The fact that they are proceeding unimpeded in less affluent areas of the city may reflect the polarization that underpins the situation in France.”
EJ Dickson of Rolling Stone magazine added that certain influencers acted as if they were “mildly inconvenienced” by the protests.
‘Beautiful’
Cardi B traveled to the French capital and attended the haute couture fall/winter 2023-2024 presentation by Schiaparelli.
The celebrity praised the performance as “beautiful” on Instagram, where she also shared a photo of her attire. She later told Vogue, “They always have an amazing show, so what’s new?” “It never fails to surprise me.”
In the garden of the Musée Rodin, Dior displayed its latest classically-inspired collection, emphasizing beige, gold, and cream hues and fabrics, as well as basic “ancient garments” such as tunics and capes.
The creative director of the brand, Maria Grazia Chiuri, stated that such items were “not only for the red carpet” but were intended for “building a wardrobe”
Van Herpen, who appears in Beyonce’s Renaissance tour, showed a futuristic and aquatic collection to Cabello and Williams.
On Tuesday, actresses Margaret Qualley, Lupita Nyong’o, and Jenna Coleman, along with rapper Kendrick Lamar and directors George Lucas and Baz Luhrmann, attended the Chanel show on the banks of the Seine.
Monday marked the couture debuts of American designer Thom Browne and 26-year-old Charles de Vilmorin. Who presented his brand after serving as artistic director of Rochas for a limited period.
Frenchman told AFP, “I’m ecstatic to have survived all of this and to have performed my first show.”
