Men's fashion returns to Paris with an intense poster and Louis Vuitton is once again the protagonist

After generating global buzz in June with his first pharaonic show at the Pont-Neuf for Louis Vuitton, Pharrell Williams is on his way to doing it again. On Tuesday, his show will surely cause a stir at the opening of Paris Fashion Week, dedicated to men's collections for fall/winter 2024/25, which runs until January 21 and promises to be intense. Along with the star house LVMH, other names will shine with a total of 74 brands present, 41 of which will leave their mark on the catwalks.

All the big names in luxury are present, from Dior Homme to Hermès, including Loewe, Dries Van Noten, Paul Smith, Rick Owens and Givenchy, which will show without its creative director Matthew M. Williams, who left at the beginning of January. alongside leading Japanese designers and creative brands such as Wales Bonner, Botter and Lemaire.

Following the fall 2024 men's pre-collection presented in Hong Kong in November, all-rounder Pharrell Williams will present his third men's collection for Louis Vuitton on Tuesday, January 16. After the Pont-Neuf, this time he has set his sights on the Acclimatization Garden in the Bois de Boulogne, for a show halfway between carousel, fashion and music.

But there's more to Paris than Pharrell! Other must-see events include the Louis Gabriel Nouchi show, recently awarded the Andam Prize. His show is expected to draw a large crowd on Wednesday, January 17 with the presentation of his new collection inspired by Guy de Maupassant's Bel Ami. The next day, on Thursday night, the Ami Paris show by designer Alexandre Mattiussi, a regular at big media events, will also be packed with celebrities, as will the show on Saturday, January 20, by the American brand Kidsuper. , whose last show in June – a real performance at the Théâtre de l'Odéon – saw a frantic crowd invade the square. A show that will not be forgotten.

Last season, Paris Fashion Week featured 43 shows. For this winter edition, eight names have dropped out. These departures from the official calendar were offset by six new and returning names. Starting with the Japanese brand Auralee, known for its textured and luxurious fabrics, which opens the show on Tuesday, followed by the American brand Winnie, with its timeless elegance that combines traditional tailoring and multicultural references, and the Chinese Ziggy Chen, which will close the week on Sunday. , January 21st.

The three have already left their mark in Paris. The Auralee brand was founded by Japanese designer Ryota Iwai in 2015 and joined the presentation program in March 2019. Nigerian-American designer Idris Balogun, who trained in London and has worked for brands such as Burberry and Tom Ford, has been presenting their work. in the capital since 2020. He launched his brand Winnie in 2019 and won the Karl Lagerfeld prize at the LVMH Prize 2022 competition. Shanghai-based Chinese designer Ziggy Chen, who has run his own brand since 2012, also joined the presentation calendar in January 2020.

Also notable are the long-awaited returns of Valentino, which moved to Milan in June, Balmain Homme, which has opted for presentations in recent seasons, and the German brand GmbH from the designer duo Serhat Isik and Benjamin Alexander Huseby, which since October 2022 had moved to the women's calendar, later abandoning the parades for presentations.

While some young French brands, such as EgonLab and Bluemarble, continue to venture onto the Parisian catwalks, many are leaving the catwalk program for this winter session, such as Christelle Kocher's brand Koché, which is currently undergoing a major reorganization. , having repositioned itself on the men's calendar last June. Ludovic de Saint Sernin, for his part, will not participate, since he will exceptionally show at New York Fashion Week on February 11.

Some houses are changing their strategy. Marine Serre, for example, will no longer show the men's and women's collections together during Men's Fashion Week, preferring to organize a presentation event dedicated to a men's collection, while showing the women's collection during Women's Ready-to-Wear Week . For its part, Études Studio is skipping this season to work on a new project. Among the young international brands, Hed Mayner and Lazoschmidl are also missing, opting for presentations.

In the presentation program, Paris Men's Week welcomes three new brands: Kartik Research, founded in 2021 by Indian designer Kartik Kumra, semi-finalist for the LVMH 2023 prize and previously called Karu Research; Meta Campania Collective, the discreet luxury brand born in Paris under the impulse of Jon Strassburg, Heiko Keinath and Constanze Walcher; and another French label, Ouest Paris, directed by Arthur Robert, who will join the Sphère showroom, from January 17 to 21, together with Jeanne Friot, Steven Passaro, Lagos Space Programme, Rolf Ekroth and Valette Studio.

Finally, in terms of events, Paris Fashion Week should not disappoint with a series of parties, including one to celebrate the Coperni x Puma collaboration on the 18th, and a cocktail party to present Stéphane Ashpool's Olympic collection on the 19. Not to mention, of course, a packed program of parallel events.