I brought a kid's camera to Paris Fashion Week, because has it ever been that serious? Yes and no. This men's season occurred during one of the hottest weeks in France's recorded history, inspiring that specific kind of mass hysteria brought on by living through another unprecedented moment together: taking over our brains and ruining our plans to wear boots, and a broader reflection on what we were doing there and why. The crowds of teenagers pirouetting towards the Canal Saint-Martin and playing football in the street created the atmosphere of the week. If the world is ending, you might as well swim in dirty water and have fun doing it, right?
As far as shows went, there was the coastal stoner energy of Tokyo-based Auralee (brightly colored leathers and furry flip-flops) that reminded me of the low-key elegance of hanging out in Southern California. At the Rick Owens show, the Rick-heads made minimal, weather-restrictive adjustments to their usual uniforms (platforms, leather, floor wear) making you appreciate the beauty in that level of ascetic dedication. Louis Vuitton built a literal beach as a landing strip, complete with sand and a mirage-like giant wave: Is this a heat-induced hallucination or another fashionable set design under male creative director Pharrell Williams? At the Dries Van Noten show, there was a cooler for ice-cold beer and popsicles, an elegant and inspired detail rivaled only by a collection that was a breath of fresh air during a week in which I Googled heat stroke symptoms more than once. Willy Chavarría's show was air-conditioned, full of Xinú perfume, and felt expensive. Sven Marquardt, a Berlin photographer and Berghain's most famous doorman, was sitting across from me, which I took as an incredibly good omen. The blue painted feet and sunglasses from the Oakley collaboration at the Kiko Kostadinov show were also auspicious.
A look at Auralee's program.
There were conversations about how apocalyptic it feels to be sitting at a fashion show in 100+ degree Fahrenheit weather, with your back soaked and your mind dizzy, when the industry is responsible for something like 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cognitive dissonance contributed to the density of the air that week.
At the Comme des Garçons show, called “If the War Were to End…”, models danced, ran and jumped onto the catwalk for the finale, accompanied by the joyful sound of children singing “You're So Good to Me” by the Langley Schools Music Project. At that moment we were happy, we applauded, we might even have been hopeful. We humans have the ability to hold many things: a fan in one hand while trying not to completely melt in the front row, and the fantasy that there might still be a future where we can wear those leopard-print Dries shoes we fell in love with on the runway.
The moments before the Comme des Garçons show.
Attendees to the Comme des Garçons show.
Comme des Garçons, from head to toe.
The Comme des Garçons show.
The Dries Van Noten show.
A chic detail inspired by the Dries Van Noten show: ice cold beer.
Scenes from the ERL presentation.
The Kiko Kostadinov show.
Taking advantage of Louis Vuitton beach.
Quavo at the Louis Vuitton show.
Scenes after the Louis Vuitton show.
Scenes from the Louis Vuitton show.
Scenes from the Nahmias x Puma dinner at Gigi Paris.
Scenes from On X Online Ceramics are delirious.
En Silencio to see the Venezuelan DJ and producer Safety Trance.
The Willy Chavarría show.
Scenes by Willy Chavarría.
The crowds of teenagers pirouetting towards the Canal Saint-Martin and playing football in the street created the atmosphere of the week.
