Paris Fashion Week SS’17 may go down in history as the time that Kim Kardashian was robbed in her hotel room in between shows but despite that frightening incident it’s important to remember the reason that the reality superstar was in the City of Lights in the first place – beautiful clothes, beautiful clothes, and more beautiful clothes. Some of fashion’s biggest names showed their latest collections between September 27th and October 5th. In case you missed out, The Untitled Magazine has the rundown on the best shows of the week, including Alexander McQueen, Chanel, Christian Dior, and more.
Saint Laurent
The first day of Paris Fashion Week went off with a bang. On September 27th, Anthony Vaccarello made his Saint Laurent debut and where Hedi Slimane was a purveyor of rocker swagger, the current creative director delivered a collection full of sex, sex, and more sex. Models in leather bustier tops opened the show and smoking jackets were paired with super sheer tops. A Lil’ Kim classic even got a Saint Laurent remix – model Binx Walton, walked the runway in a one-breasted leather mini dress complete with a sequined heart nipple pasty.
Balmain
At Balmain on September 29th, Olivier Rousteing was one of the only Parisian designers who didn’t showcase giant shoulders on the runway. In fact most of the 80 looks (amped up from 60 looks last season) in the SS17 collection were shoulderless due to strategic cut-outs. Peek-a-boo panels were also present in highly-slit skirts and bandage tops in earthy tones à la Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” era. Rousteing did have his 1980s moment in the flashy metallics of the final looks. The usual Balmain surface embellishments were absent this season but Rousteing made up for this with his refreshing use of color. Jewel tones had their hey day in monochromatic head-to-toe ensembles, stripes, and even snakeskin printed chiffon.
Christian Dior
At Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri made history on September 30th by becoming the first female creative director in the fabled brand’s history. Her debut Dior collection highlighted this fact – femininity reigned supreme in floaty tulle skirts and beautiful dresses embellished with Tarot card imagery. Chiuri wasn’t all ladylike details though. Her tough side came out in the structured jackets of the opening looks, quilted leather bodices, and t-shirts that read “We should all be feminists.”
Alexander McQueen
For Alexander Mcqueen’s latest collection on October 3rd, Sarah Burton revisited the late designer’s Scottish roots. Fairytale florals and traditional sweater prints showed up on dresses and separates. Fair Isle was transformed into floaty lace. Ethereal maxi dresses combined with rocker leather and punky plaids married highland heritage with edgy London cityscapes. Another push towards blurring boundaries was seen on the runway – models walked on more than 200 Shetland wedding blankets, tapestries combined of two halves to represent the bride and groom, or in this case, perhaps the carpet was a call towards unity – there are rumblings that Scotland is planning to leave Britain as the UK finalizes Brexit plans.
Chanel
On October 4th the latest Chanel collection (which included a staggering 84 looks) was debuted to a front row that included Usher, Lily-Rose Depp, Courtney Love, and Frances Bean Cobain. Although Karl Lagerfeld was inspired by the “intimate technology” of the future there were also quite a few nods towards the retro. With the exception of the Storm Troopers that opened the show, models rocked side ponies and baseball hats as they walked through a fantastical set constructed to look like the inside of a giant computer. Typical Chanel tweeds were paired with lingerie dresses in an example of one of this season’s burgeoning trends – bedroom wear as outerwear.
Kenzo
The same day that Lagerfeld got techy at Chanel, Carol Lim and Humberto Leon brought the party to Kenzo. The designing duo based the SS’17 collection on Kenzo Takada’s famous 1977 Studio 54 show. Metallics reigned, shoulders were significant, and oversized t-shirts were printed with Antonio Lopez’s famous Polaroids of the original Kenzo supermodels, including Jerry Hall and Pat Cleveland.
While the runway was all about fabulous fun there was a more meditative element at play in the background- nude models of all shapes and sizes stood in formation painted to resemble pastel statues, perhaps to make a statement about standing together despite differences in color.
Louis Vuitton
On October 5th Nicolas Ghesquière presented the latest Louis Vuitton show at the location of the brand’s future flagship store. The designer showed a dressed up SS17 collection for the occasion – sophisticated maxi-dresses were draped at the side and sexed up with side slits and shoulder cut-outs. Ghesquière nailed the accessories this season – we’re sure fashion It-girls everywhere will soon be on the hunt for pointy-toed mid-calf high-heeled boots.