As was expected, the usual suspects of high-brow designers let their imaginations loose at Paris Fashion Week, staging sets and runways as elaborate and well-conceived as the garments themselves. Held September 23 to October 1, the fashion industry gathering offered an array of inspiring visuals—from Dries Van Noten’s magical dreamscape and Balenciaga’s new creature-of-the-night aesthetic to Kenzo and Chanel's outings, both of which showcased wares against gritty city backdrops—proving, once again, to be very Instagram-friendly.
Photo: Olivier Saillant/Courtesy of Chanel
The Dries Van Noten show, held on September 24 at the Grand Palais, featured a runway-cum-carpet hand-tufted by the Buenos Aires-based artist Alexandra Kehayoglou. With a collection inspired by the magical woodland in John Everett Millais's painting "Ophelia," dusky golden lighting complemented the mossy forest floor that will be reused for events around the world.
Photo: Courtesy of Dries Van Noten
Following the runway finale of the Villa Eugenie-produced Dries Van Noten show, the models leisurely sat down on the more than 300-foot-long runway carpet in the form of hipster nymphs, allowing show attendees the opportunity to get a close-up look at the garments.
Photo: Courtesy of Dries Van Noten
In making the bold decision to host his Balenciaga show at 8 p.m. in lieu of the 9 a.m. time slot the brand has occupied for more than a decade, Alexander Wang also moved the outing's venue from the Observatoire de Paris to the Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine. To reflect the change of energy of the show, a black tent was erected over the empty fountain behind the Palais de Tokyo. The underlit runway became a clear grid reinterpretation of a classical French-tiled floor, with swirling vapors of dry ice visible underneath, complementing the after-dark vibe of the show. OBO co-produced the show with Prodject.
Photo: Courtesy of Balenciaga
Held at a skate park on the northern outskirts of Paris near the Périphérique (the border separating Paris proper and the outlying suburbs), the Villa Eugenie-produced Kenzo show featured a female avatar on large digital screens greeting arriving guests with messages of environmental protection (last spring's show highlighted the preservation of the world's oceans). Models were strategically placed on the park's concrete curvatures.
Photo: Courtesy of Kenzo
Kenzo creative heads Humberto Leon and Carol Lim used their skate park venue's natural surroundings (i.e. the graffiti) as a raw and gritty backdrop for their collection. The juxtaposition of aesthetics allowed the collection to be presented in a more vibrant manner.
Photo: Courtesy of Kenzo
After last season's supermarket blitz, Karl Lagerfeld's Chanel show returned to the Grand Palais, this time with attendees entering into a streetscape "Boulevard Chanel" to celebrate female—and fashion—power. For the September 30 event, Villa Eugenie built a 427-foot-long runway, flanked by façades soaring some 82 feet into the air that mimicked life-size Haussmannian buildings. Scaffolding across one façade supported the runway lights while "standing room" guests were kept behind faux metal police barricades.
Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
At the conclusion of the show, Chaka Khan's anthem "I'm Every Woman" played over the sound system as the show's entire cast of 85 models stormed the runway with picket signs ("Tweed we need!" "Make fashion not war!") and megaphones done in Chanel's quilted leather.
Photo: Courtesy of Chanel
As a preview of its highly anticipated Fondation Louis Vuitton opening, Nicolas Ghesquière staged his spring Louis Vuitton show at the Frank Gehry-designed mega arts center on October 1. Guests arriving at the KCD-produced show were led into the lower-level space shrouded in black.
Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
The venue's lower level was set up with a maze of angular black seating. Guests found their seats thanks to paths illuminated by diagonal spotlights. On a series of glass screens were projections of multiethnic young faces that delivered a chorus of words once the lights went off and the walls were lit.
Photo: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
