Paris Fashion Week highlights: teddy bears, protesters, and a phone ban
Paris, France - Sacre bleu! It's Paris Fashion Week already?!
Paris Fashion Week, which runs until Tuesday, has seen no shortage of eye-catching moments this week!
The shows have been full of memorable looks and impressive staging as well as a few surprises!
The Paris runways for fall/winter 2024 featured everything from simulated rainfall to real-life animal rights protests and the Olsen Twins putting the kibosh on phones.
There were even a few coats made out of sewn-together teddy bears for a vibe that might be taking faux fur a little too far.
Here are a few of the fall/winter Paris Fashion Week 2024 highlights!
No phones?!
OMG! Fashionistas at The Row's show were told they were not allowed to use their beloved phones, meaning that photos of the runway offerings are hard to track down.
The label of TV star sisters Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen instead offered guests a notebook and pencil to record their impressions the old-fashioned way.
Chloé's new mama
There was a rare moment of spontaneity and family love at Chloé, where German designer Chemena Kamali made her debut with a collection that returned to the 1970s heyday of the house.
When Kamali came to take the customary bow at the end of the show, her 5-year-old son couldn't resist running onto the catwalk for a hug in front of the ranks of the fashion elite.
The adorable moment – which the audience seemed to get a kick out of – added some warmth to the often stoic domain of the runway.
Surprised and delighted, Kamali took her son in her arms before quickly passing him back to her partner and rushing backstage.
PETA's Beckham protest
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) disrupted Victoria Beckham's show on Friday.
The runway crashers sported shirts and signs emblazoned with slogans like "Viva Vegan Leather" and "Animals Aren't Fabric" before being bundled quickly off the catwalk.
Teddy bear chic
Vetements, the subversive brand that was launched back in 2014, vowed that its latest show was the one "you've been waiting for for 10 years."
The brand drew attention with hugely oversized suits and a Ronaldo jersey turned into a dress.
One crazy look was a coat made of teddy bears!
Was creative director Guram Gvasalia having a dig at his estranged brother Demna, who quit the brand to work for the Kim Kardashian favorite Balenciaga?
The brand ended up having a huge controversy around an ad campaign featuring BDSM teddy bears, remember?
This might be true, although Vogue pointed out that the teddy bear look is also a near-direct copy from the various works of Jean-Charles de Castelbajac in the '80s and '90s, who made a similar coat for Madonna.
Highland Sam Smith
British pop star Sam Smith made a surprise appearance on the catwalk for Vivienne Westwood in a very short and rather revealing tartan kilt under a red shawl.
The Unholy singer, known for daring red carpet outfits, re-emerged later in a long shredded black coat over a polka-dot top.
DVN's "audacious everyday"
Known for meticulous craftsmanship, Belgium's Dries Van Noten presented another eclectic collection that spawned a possible new trend tag from WWD: "audacious everyday" has apparently replaced last year's "quiet luxury."
The runways featured sleek lines and muddy lip colors with deconstructed sweaters turned into wraparound shawls, kimono-like coats, big furry shorts, and bags.
Dries Van Noten's color palette was also interesting, with a cheerful pastel range of pink, aniseed green, and butter-yellow hues.
Textured accents of fur, wool, denim, and shining silky finishes in the different elements of each outfit created an interesting vision for the collection.
The runway show attempted to balance stylish restraint and exciting statement – and it achieved this goal in spades.
Ahead of the game
Charaf Tajer's label, which joined Paris Fashion Week last year, has built a lot of hype with its luxury sportswear.
Its second show, named after '90s Björk hit Venus as a Boy, introduced more stylish nightwear – ranging from a blood-red cocktail dress to a semi-sheer rhinestone blouse to a pearl-encrusted mini-dress – and played with imagery from Ancient Greece including laurels, pottery, and sandals.
But in the ring of the Winter Circus, the clothes were almost overshadowed by an incredible troupe of synchronized arm dancers in the background.
Raining on Hermès
It was a rainy week in Paris, and Hermès brought the wet indoors, too, with a curtain of rain pouring down through the middle of the catwalk!
But don't worry – the rain didn't come down directly over the models, instead falling over vented panels next to the runway.
After all, water isn't good for fine leather goods!
The collection, "midway between equestrianism and motorbikes" according to creative director Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, offered luxurious ways to keep dry in the elements.
The looks ranged from biker-style jackets and tight-fitting coats with wool sleeves to rocker-style rivets or ostrich feathers.
These leather-heavy looks had a noticeably narrow palette of burgundy, green, black, and grey for a largely unified – if a little bit limited – color story.
Which were your favorite highlights from Paris Fashion Week for fall/winter 2024?
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot/X/@groundeadtv & MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP