Paris Fashion Week Autumn Winter 2023

by Cecile Paul · Published March 7, 2023 · Updated March 23, 2023

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From Fifties ‘New Look’ Silhouettes at Christian Dior and Balenciaga to ‘Make Do and Mend’ at Dries Van Noten and Tributes to Icons Paco Rabanne and Vivienne Westwood, there’s a definite nostalgia for the past at Paris Fashion Week.

A leafy and structured metallic corset. At Alexander McQueen

Image Credit Paris Fashion Week and Vogue

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN

Wow! A knockout, standout and dramatic collection – amongst stiff competition in Paris – was delivered by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen. Naomi Campbell’s 90s walk lead the way in a black corset evening gown, pure simplicity bar one large cascading earring dangling for effect. From then onwards, piece after tailored piece reminded one that old-school meticulously designed clothes are thankfully still very much alive and well.

Corsets, cutouts, 3-D embellishments, printed surfaces, pinstripes, sculptural sleeves, peplums, fringing, draping, slashing, metallics, knits, digital prints, asymmetry … all the tricks in the book were carefully considered to create a collection that is, yet again, one to remember for a long time to come. Oh, and let’s not forget the breathtakingly extraordinary and oversized pieces of jewellery! These beauties were most certainly the gems in the McQueen crown.

Watch Alexander McQueen’s show here:

Naomi Campbell in a showstopper gown. At Alexander McQueen

Extraordinary jewels complete the picture. At Alexander McQueen

3-D embellishments and cut-outs. At Alexander McQueen

Theatrical fringing. At Alexander McQueen

Knitted slashed cascade down. At Alexander McQueen

A nonchalant asymmetrical draped collar. At Alexander McQueen

Simplicity in slate grey. At Alexander McQueen

A masterpiece of a trench coat in grape, complete with gloves. At Alexander McQueen

A classic trench with a pop of red in a handbag. At Alexander McQueen

Corseted elegance. At Alexander McQueen

Sculptural scallops, drapes and frills. At Alexander McQueen

PACO RABANNE

This collection evidently paid tribute to the late Spanish-French designer Paco Rabanne (Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo) and founder of the brand who died on Feb 3^rd, 2023, and boy oh boy, did it make a big splash (or rather, noise) on the runway in Paris!

Known for their tactile garment construction, what can only be described as a spectacular array of frocks created from miniscule metallic components and fringing, chainmail, plastic pieces, crystal flowers and light-reflective feathers came clanging, rattling and clattering down the runway. That it was a celebration of the sixties – Rabanne’s heyday – was evident in the shapes of the slinky mini shift dresses as well as in the surrealist Dali-esque digital prints of the slashed and cut-out dresses. This is without a doubt one of those iconic collections at Paris Fashion Week that properly got the chins wagging – for all the right reasons!

Watch Paco Rabanne’s show here:

Crystalfringing. At Paco Rabanne

Plastic crystal flowers. At Paco Rabanne

Chainmail and metallic fringing. At Paco Rabanne

Plastic chainmail and flowers. At Paco Rabanne

Silver chainmail and mesh. At Paco Rabanne

Pink metallic feathers. At Paco Rabanne

A surrealist sky blue and gold creation. At Paco Rabanne

Cut-outs, sequins and metallic shimmer. At Paco Rabanne

Dali-esque. At Paco Rabanne

Surrealist slashes and digital prints. At Paco Rabanne

A tribute to Salvador Dali? At Paco Rabanne

A draped and slashed tangerine satin dress. At Paco Rabanne

CHRISTIAN DIOR

What a romantic and glamorous offering at Christian Dior for AW 2023! Creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri evidently looked back to Christian Dior’s New Look post-war fifties woman for inspiration. The quintessential Dior silhouette of cinched waists, rounded shoulders and full skirts was placed in the spotlight once again in Chiuri’s collection, but this time in a modern guise.

This collection celebrates strong women of today, just as it celebrated in women who emerged from the war resilient, confident and independent in the fifties. The cocktail dresses in the collection, the pleated & plaid skirts, rounded-shoulder coats, nipped-waist dresses and cloche hats all had a vintage feel to them, but at the same time felt sexy and contemporary in the surface prints and textiles used. Particularly memorable is the charming emerald green colour way that featured in many ensembles – utterly ‘must-have-able’.

Watch Christian Dior’s show here:

The Dior show took place underneath a giant octopus. Image Credit Style Magazine. At Christian Dior

A standout colour combination. At Christian Dior

Fifties-inspired! At Christian Dior

Plaid and a vintage-inspired full skirt. At Christian Dior

A knitted plaid sweater worn over a fifties-style pencil skirt. At Christian Dior

DRIES VAN NOTEN

The undisputed maestro of colour, texture and prints, Dries van Noten, delivered a collection that was as intimate and boudoir-like as it was enchanting. Sticking to a palette of mostly understated warm amber, rust and ochre shades juxtaposed with some lavender and peach florals, Van Noten’s pieces all had a modest, unassuming and home-spun feel to them, as if these were frocks – albeit beautiful heirlooms pieces– that have been old friends and cherished pieces in our closets for many, many moons.

Organza, satin, leather, devoré, sequin and shaggy fur garments had a decidedly retro, lived-in and familiar feel to them, as if one has owned something similar to these at some point in one’s life. No wonder ‘Make do and Mend’, war-time austerity, recycling and upcycling all spring to mind when drooling over this endearing collection.

Watch Dries Van Noten’s show here:

Vintage-looking devore. At Dries Van Noten

‘Make do and Mend’ with some gold paint! At Dries Van Noten

A nostalgic, floral coat. At Dries Van Noten

Devore flowers and a peach floral fifties printed skirt. At Dries Van Noten

Sequin flowers embellish a transparent organza ensemble. At Dries Van Noten

Shaggy fur looks lived-in. At Dries Van Noten

BALMAIN

Creative director for the House of Balmain, Olivier Rousteing is no stranger to drama and theatrics when it comes to his offerings of over the past 12 years. However, this season the House of Balmain delivered – alongside some rather dramatic pieces – many delightfully easy-to-wear co-ords and ensembles.

The predominant sihouette was a fifties-style one with New Look skirts, luxe mohair drapes, pleated peplum tops, shapely silhouettes created from pearls and crystals, off-the-shoulder pieces, chic Parisian berets and a good dose of rather dramatic and sculptural asymmetry and extensions (like the silver metallic minidress with its theatrical wing-like peplum-appendix). Pops of bright colour – emerald green, red and shocking pink across mohair knits and satin, juxtaposed the otherwise neutral palette of black, white, beige and silver.

Watch Balmain’s show here:

Shiny polka dots in this fifties-inspired skirt. At Balmain

A draped mohair shoulder piece and matching beret. At Balmain

A fifties-style, nipped-in-the-waist pleated peplum. At Balmain

Cinched waist glamour in this metallic and pearl dress. At Balmain

A touch of drama in this metallic dress. At Balmain

A New Look silhouette constructed from pearls. At Balmain

Sculptural and pearly. At Balmain

Chic and elegant in an off-the-shoulder pillar box red jacket. At Balmain

A soft teal green mohair suit and matching beret. At Balmain

An oversized sculptural bow in mohair. At Balmain

ANDREAS KRONTHALER FOR VIVIENNE WESTWOOD

Vivienne Westwood passed away on December 29, 2022, leaving an unrepeatable and groundbreaking body of work that spanned 4 decades. Her husband Andreas Kronthaler presented the first collection since her death at Paris Fashion Week, and unsurprisingly, all the stops were pulled out to pay tribute to the late provocative genius and a host of the design elements she adored most – and made so famous over the years.

We saw Vivienne Westwood’s favourite cloth, tweed, in the tailoring right across the collection, her beloved tartan and plaid featured prominently too, so did her signature corsets and balconettes, her trademark voluminous ‘milkmaids’ skirts, her prized stripes and iconic custom digital prints. Various ensembles celebrated Vivienne Westwood’s uncanny ability to effortlessly combine eclectic elements – fabrics, colours, shapes – perfectly convincingly into one outfit, from bucket hat to petticoats and platform shoes!

It’s a well-behaved collection (it is, after all, the first one since the great designer’s passing), filled with serious pieces of tailoring in beautiful cloth, but just from time to time the frivolous, the provocative, the pieces that blatantly push the boundaries, sneaked into the mix, as if Dame Viv is winking from above.

Watch Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood’s show here: