Here’s everything you missed at Paris Fashion Week

After Milan Fashion Week set the stage, Paris swiftly took the spotlight.

The world’s top designers flooded the French capital, just ahead of its hosting of the Olympic Games next month, to showcase their latest and finest menswear designs.

From the third-ever Vogue World event, which celebrated 100 years of French fashion, to bidding a final farewell to Dries Van Noten, a luminary of the influential “Antwerp Six,” it was an unforgettable extravaganza of glitz, glamour and haute couture.

In case you missed it, here are some of the standout highlights from the week:

A century of style and sport at Vogue World

In a spectacular homage to fashion and sports, the star-studded Vogue World event transformed the magnificent Place Vendome into a makeshift runway, setting the stage for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.

Clothing designs were showcased to a backdrop of tap dancing, pirouetting red-wine-holding waiters, and even models clutching baguettes.

Tracing a century, each decade was paired with a designer and style era. Highlights included Chanel and Schiaparelli’s ’20s cycling attire and Dior’s ’50s equestrian-inspired looks.

The event featured a stylish mix of celebrities who walked the runway, including Sabrina Carpenter, Kendall Jenner, Katy Perry, and tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams, as well as live performances from Maluma, Bad Bunny and Aya Nakamura.

Jared Leto, being Jared Leto, also caused quite a stir with his vampiric-themed chic…

A final goodbye to Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten bid farewell to the fashion world with his final show at Paris Fashion Week, after 38 years and 150 collections.

Celebrated as a member of the influential “Antwerp Six,” Van Noten’s final collection showcased his innovative blend of familiar and avant-garde elements.

The event featured a bedazzling silver runway under an 8-metre disco ball, set to Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love,” with guests including Diane von Fürstenberg and Thom Browne.

The collection wowed with inventive fabrics like semi-sheer crinkled polyamide and “one-sided foils that shift, liquid-like, between silver and gold.” Van Noten also incorporated a traditional Japanese marbling technique called suminagashi, dating back 1,000 years. This method involves floating ink on water and then transferring it to material, creating unique, organic patterns.

Throughout his career, the 66-year-old designer has been celebrated for riffing on historical and subcultural references. This final show was no exception, seamlessly integrating disco influences with his unique take on modern gender-fluid masculinity.

He will be missed!

Raining cats and dogs at the Dior show

Kim Jones’ starry collection for Dior was the fruit of an encounter with ceramicist Hylton Nel, whose pottery and ceramics, including animal motifs, gave the spring collection for the Parisian powerhouse a fun, arty and domesticated lift.

Dior’s runway decor, inside the grounds of the Left Bank’s grand 17th century Val-de-Grace, consisted of sculptures depicting ceramic reclining nude felines and cheeky canines, inspired by Nel’s collection of trinkets.

Creative director Jones, known for his cultural inspirations, continued this tradition with bird motifs on tailored jackets and gender-fluid hats adorned with reclining nude felines. The collection also highlighted airy silhouettes and muted pastels reminiscent of glazed ceramics, accented by innovative tailoring and juxtapositions of delicate and strong elements.

ADVERTISEMENT

Louis Vuitton honours human beauty and diversity

Louis Vuitton showed its spring-summer 2025 menswear collection outside on the rooftop of the UNESCO building in Paris – a roll of the dice in this city where lately it seems to rain every day.

Yet, the weather gods favoured the powerhouse brand, allowing models to strut on grass painted in LV’s iconic checkerboard pattern under a rain-free sky.

Creative Director Pharrell Williams titled the collection “Le Monde est à Vous” – or “The World is Yours” – symbolising not only luxury but a global unity and wanderlust integral to Louis Vuitton’s DNA.

The collection brought together global influences in its sophisticated designs, featuring everything from aviation jackets to sleek double-breasted coats, each representing the skin tones of all the humans on the planet, ranging from deep black velvet to a butterscotch mink cardigan to a stone-coloured trench.

A$AP Rocky makes his fashion debut

Rapper and partner of signer and billionaire Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, debuted his first-ever AWGE “American Sabotage” show, marking his first foray on the international fashion stage.

ADVERTISEMENT

Models zoomed down the runway in a mix of suits – some paired with shirts and ties, others with low-rise skirts – billowing T-shirts, heavily layered tank tops, and baggy jeans.

Designs weren’t shy of political statements. Some t-shirts featured emblems declaring “Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,” a significant hub of the American Underground Railroad Network that aided in the escape of enslaved people during the 19th century.

One piece resembled a bulletproof vest, reminiscent of the iconic Banksy-designed stab-proof vest worn by Stormzy during his headline performance at Glastonbury in 2019.

“American Sabotage is more than just a brand – it’s a movement. We’re wrecking boundaries and making statements through every piece, reflecting the spirit and resilience of our communities. This is fashion with purpose, where art meets activism” said Rocky.

The show also previewed a taste of Rocky’s upcoming, highly-anticipated album ‘Don’t Be Dumb’, and announced its release date on 30 August.

ADVERTISEMENT