PARIS FASHION WEEK Spring/Summer 2024: Christian Dior, Saint Laurent, Dries Van Noten, Balmain, Chloe, Schiaparelli

by Cecile Paul · Published October 6, 2023 · Updated October 10, 2023

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Flowers, the Symbols of Consciousness, Bloomed across many Collections;

The World of Sport was also a Trend Contender;

and Solid, Understated Tailoring and a Neutral Palette Underpinned Many Collections.

At Balmain

Image Credit Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week, arguably the most elegant of all the global fashion weeks, showed off not only spectacular collections, but also the picturesque city of Paris across venues indoors as well as outdoors, often collections were dramatically flanked by the River Seine and the towering Eiffel.

The week kicked off with a double-pronged attack: heavyweights Christian Dior and Saint Laurent both showed on Day 2 – the bar couldn’t have been set higher for a week that was jam-packed with arguably some of the most impressive design talent in the world.

We saw floral themes at Balmain and Chloe – a symbol of fashion’s pledge to consciousness and a green footprint. Classic neutrals underpinned by extraordinary tailoring and craftsmanship graced many runways, notably so at Saint Laurent, Dries Van Noten and Christian Dior. Dries Van Noten put a decidedly sporty spin on his collection this season – a nod to the France-hosted Rugby World Cup? Schiaparelli’s offering was a delightfully tongue-in-cheek tribute to surrealism and the human body – both entertaining and thought-provoking.

Enough said, sit back and indulge in these wonderful treats!

At Dries Van Note

SAINT LAURENT

Watch Yves Saint Laurent’s show here:

In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, on an opulent marbled stage was where creative director Anthony Vaccarello chose to lay on a spectacle so wonderous that Paris – and its star-studded front-row cast (the likes of Kate Moss, Zoe Kravitz and Hailey Bieber) simply won’t forget. From the moment the first jumpsuit and aviator specs hit the runway, to a hypnotic beat (that was arguably one of the finest runway tracks ever), we knew we were in for a mammoth treat.

Impeccably tailored jumpsuits, multi-pocketed khaki safari-skirts and trousers pared with the sheerest of vests and tank tops were not only a celebration of the past 70 years at Saint Laurent, they also paid tribute to stylish female aviators through the decades. The signature Saint Laurent silhouettes of slightly mannish shapes gave way towards the end of an epic show to the dreamiest and floatiest of floor-sweeping chiffon gowns. Classic cream, khaki, burgundy, brown, mustard and black were a palette that couldn’t have been more classic Saint Laurent if it tried. This is one to remember!

At Saint Laurent

At Saint Laurent

At Saint Laurent

At Saint Laurent

At Saint Laurent

At Saint Laurent

At Saint Laurent

CHRISTIAN DIOR

Watch Dior’s show here:

Creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, known for her ingenious interplay between femininity and feminism in her collections for Christian Dior, made another bold statement. To a bright pink backdrop and artist Elena Ballantoni’s installation entitled ‘NOT HER’, the message couldn’t have been clearer. Slogans and stereotypical gender-biased advertisements hammered down the message of women’s rights in a male-dominated world and celebrities like Alexa Cheung showcased a bra and skirt ensemble to fully make the point.

A sheer frilly black lace and ruffles set the scene for a predominantly black, white, grey and navy collection that was as revolutionary punk rock as it was avant-garde and artful. White shirts in many guises, oversized blazers (a big trend this season) Bermuda shorts, asymmetric tops, dresses with bold fringing, coats and voluminous 50s-style skirts in subtle digital prints made for a collection that stayed true to the Christian Dior silhouette but looked razor-sharp and contemporary. Black gladiator-style flats with dangerously pointy toes, sleeked back hair and dog-collar chokers added the extra oomph to a very gutsy collection. (Just in case the written message and colour statements weren’t obvious enough.)

At Christian Dior

At Christian Dior

At Christian Dior

At Christian Dior

At Christian Dior

At Christian Dior

At Christian Dior

DRIES VAN NOTEN

Watch Dries Van Noten’s show here:

The king of colour’s collection started off with rather muted neutrals – tailored blazers and cargo skirts (another big trend this season), denim and knits – and slowly built up colour-momentum as the show progressed.

There was a definite nod to the world of sport (wink wink – is there a rugby World cup happening in Paris perchance?) Hugely oversized boyfriend blazers were pared with broad-striped rugby shirts, trousers came in broad striped fabric and the trims on frilly dresses had old college stripes as embellishment – in fact, the old-gold and maroon stripes made an appearance on many ensembles, even handbags! Knee-length safari-style pants, micro mini jersey panties (a huge trend in both Milan and Paris this season), pinstripe shirts and sporty jumpers infiltrated the typical Dries Van Noten domain of florals and geometric prints.

Stand-out pieces were the extremely cute sporty blazers with their grosgrain trims across various sizes. This is a collection that is fun and function in equal measures, both practical and sophisticated – and some may even go as far as to say it’s a rather unique foray for Dries Van Noten into the realms of 90s grunge.

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

At Dries Van Noten

BALMAIN

Watch Balmain’s how here:

Creative director Olivier Rousteing had a last-minute disaster before the shows – over 50 looks were stolen when a truck carrying these was hijacked. The company ‘regrouped’ and pulled a rabbit from a hat by recreating at the last minute many of the stolen items. The show proceeded with 52 looks, and had one not known about the disaster, you would’ve been none the wiser – the collection looked very together.

The theme of roses (Pierre Balmain was a huge fan) ran through the collection. From a very muted and stark start – black and white mostly – it got more and more riotous and colourful as the show progressed. Roses grew out of garments, bouquets were constructed from latex, rubber, PVC and other fabrics, some were realistic and 3-D, others were stylistic and embroidered. There were rosebuds wherever you looked! They flowered all over the tiny little mirror-embellished dresses, the cage dresses and the miniscule jumpsuits.

Balmain’s signature bustle-hip feature was utilised in many ensembles, so were the nipped-in-the-waist silhouette and deep, deep V-necklines. From elegant and romantic polka-dot dresses and belted floral trench-coats to outrageously teensy PVC dresses complete with fauna and flora, this is a Balmain collection that tries its best to be well-behaved, but inevitably becomes just a tad outrageous – but oh so fun! And who would ever complain about having too much fun?

At Balmain

At Balmain

At Balmain

At Balmain

At Balmain

At Balmain

At Balmain

At Balmain

At Balmain

At Balmain

CHLOE

Watch Chloe’s show here:

After Gabriella Hearst’s 3-year tenure as creative director at Chloe, she exited with a heartfelt collection of food-for-thought pieces. Beside the River Seine and under blue skies she presented a collection that perfectly encapsulated her time at Chloe. Hearst campaigned for sustainability and a green footprint from the get-go, and like many other designers this season she embraced the theme of flowers. They blossomed everywhere, embodying the very idea of consciousness in fashion.

A neutral palette of black, white and cream (bar two egg yolk yellow dresses) worked very well to focus all attention on the tactile surface and clever design details on the ensembles: we saw ruffled sleeves, 2-D stylistic bodices created in the shape of flowers, curly hems and seams, 2-D daisies covering an entire dress, cutouts mimicking the clean shapes of lilies and curved, and balloon-like sleeves reinforcing the organic flower theme. Stamens-shaped beaded embellishments dangled from dresses and fringing resembled roots of flowers on ensembles – all quietly underpinning the theme.

As ever, this was a collection that celebrated femininity: it’s girly, frilly and very, very chic. But make no mistake, there is nothing frivolous about the ethics that Gabriella Hearst embedded deep into this organic garden: all this fabulous luxury and beautiful design come with a clear conscience.

At Chloe

At Chloe

At Chloe

At Chloe

At Chloe

At Chloe

SCHIAPPARELLI

Watch Schiaparelli’s show here:

The ultimate surrealist, Elsa Schiapparelli created a brand in the late 1920’s onwards that was as much art as it was fashion. Today creative director Daniel Roseberry continues to deliver tongue-in-cheek collections that will have made Elsa Schiaparelli smile! (Who can possibly forget the recent 3-D faux taxidermy collection with its realistic lion head perched on a jacket collar?) We all eagerly awaited the marvels Roseberry had up his sleeve for an expectant audience – and this season didn’t disappoint. Many of the party pieces and mammoth jewels were once again inspired by the human body: the eye and ear pieces, the gilded nipples, the anatomical toes, the skeleton …

But it was Shiaparelli’s famous Dali-inspired lobster dress from the 1930s (designed for the Duchess of Windsor, featurin a huge orange lobster-print rather suggestively positioned on the crotch-line of a skirt) that Roseberry gave centre-stage treatment again. This time a life-size, gold lobster (and in yet another ensemble, a huge crab) hung from chains around models’ necks. In another tribute to the famous crustacean the lobster was placed directly on the front of a calico dress! On another maverick dress, ‘Schiapareli’ is spelled out in what looks like dripping red nail varnish over a canvas-coloured dress bedecked with life-like cigarettes. References to bygone Greek and Roman ages were also at the order of the day, as seen in a gigantic black raffia collar.

As ever, this is a collection that pushes the boundaries of ‘just fashion’. It’s macabre, playful, beautifully tailored – and conversation-starters. Is there any more we can ask of our fashion?

(Image Credit Fashionela)