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PFW SS20: top 10 shows
9th October 2019 - Aina Matamoros
As they say, Paris is always a good idea and especially when it comes to fashion. Paris is the city of light and this last week all the lights illuminated all the shows that took place around the French capital.
Sophistication, elegance, glamour, and perfection are some of the words we could use to describe Paris' fashion. So many different brands show in Paris and they differ in the style but coincide with the essence. From the romanticism at Valentino to the rock at Saint Laurent, going through the modern sophistication at Chanel and Balenciaga's own world, Paris was a mix of everything we saw in the other fashion weeks but simply better.
It is my favorite fashion week above all, because my favorite designers show in it, that is why it was so hard for me to only choose 10 shows, they were all so amazing. However, life is about choices and here are my top 10 shows from Paris Fashion Week SS20:
My lovely friend Núria Pujol (@nuriarandomthings) picked her favorite look from Louis Vuitton ss20 and made this amazing drawing. It is inspired by the old Parisian posters that were so typical around the Montmartre area in the 19th century, the golden era of artists like Toulouse Lautrec. Montmartre was the arty and bohemian neighborhood in Paris, where all the artists lived. Their work reflected the elegance, the provocation and the decline of the city of Paris at that time.
1. Valentino
Most beautiful collection ever. Pierpaolo Piccioli did it again. His collections are just perfection and we are all here to admire it.
The show started with an All-white opening section (reminding of Valentino Garavani's 1968 All White collection) presenting 12 looks with very different styles (dresses, shirts, shorts) but with some common elements such as the volume and extreme shapes, which showed Valentino's couture sensibility. It felt as if we were in heaven for a moment. Then color started to appear in pink, yellow and orange neon shades, that were still mixed with some more sublime all-white looks.
Valentino's characteristic dresses, fluid but still structured, were presented in green, orange and pink, also playing with jungle prints and sequins for more joyful looks. The collection also included some black and white outfits that led to the final section, where Piccioli showed his even more characteristic fluid long tulle dresses, closing the show with 4 white transparent dresses that included some subtle details in pink or yellow.
Also, shout out to the marvelous beauty look of the show: some of the models were wearing jeweled golden make-up around their eyes, a true work of art made by the great Pat McGrath.
Valentino is the definition of wonderful and effortless beauty. With his latest collections, Piccioli wants to bring couture to everyday looks, for women to feel powerful and always on point.
2. Chanel
It may sound typical but yes, Chanel is my favorite brand. For me, it is the representation of fashion history, it is the representation of the woman's social transformation through the years, all under the lead of the one and only Coco Chanel. She was a revolutionary and we all dress the way we dress. aka as we want, thanks to her.
For the SS20 collection, the first ready to wear solo collection for Virginie Viard after Karl Lagerfeld's death, Chanel presented designs for a younger woman, with models walking on the simulated rooftop of Chanels's building at Rue Cambon. Being the definition of French Girl Style, Chanel has always been a bit old (in the good way of the word), but Viard is trying to transform that into more youthful silhouettes. The Tweed is always the star at Chanel: playsuits, skirt suits, coats, jackets, and dresses presented different tweed styles mixing black, white, navy and red. The following looks included some prints, a pink section I loved, of course, denim and then a section of very French-styled black and white outfits, combining evasé skirts with romantic blouses, adorned by hats and red flowers.
Elegance, modernity, boldness, sophistication and a lot of class, that was this collection and that is Chanel.
3. Saint Laurent
Under the watch of Eiffel Tower and accompanied by thousands of spotlights pointing to Paris' night sky, models walked the runway for SS20 Saint Laurent show. The setting was just awesome. Saint Laurent is one of the firsts shows of PFW and it always attracts a lot of people that want to see it even if it is from the outside.
For this collection, designer Anthony Vaccarello started the show presenting some relaxed looks including very mini shorts, vests, ripped cyclist jeans, and tailored blazers paired with big black sunglasses and Western leather knee boots. In the following section, Vaccarello showed his more sensitive site, with some slightly unusual romantic/ hippie-glam styled looks: gold embroidered fluid dresses and blouses together with leather mini shorts or skirts (that maintained the darker side of the brand). The final section went back to the roots and models started walking wearing all-black looks, mixing a few mini bodycon dresses with daring necklines with the Saint Laurent's signature tuxedo suits. The suits were presented in different styles: some sequined, some with very short shorts, some showing see-through shirts under the blazers. But the best was Naomi Campbell closing the show, wearing an all sequined tuxedo with her endless beauty and perfect walking, sending a message that Saint Laurent's designs (and her elegance and awesomeness) are timeless.
4. Balenciaga
Balenciaga always comes up with something different and crazy, and this season was nothing less than that (That is why it is one of the most influential brands in the industry at the moment) For the SS20 collection, designer Demna Gvasalia chose to show in a political arena, all carpeted in blue fabric (floor and walls), because the collection was inspired by how women politicians dress and how it can be turned into cool designs.
First with all black, navy or gray looks, then colorful looks started to appear in dresses and big coats with a common element: the (huge) big shoulders (there was this amazing faux fur dalmatian printed coat, Cruella de Ville worthy). Then the show relaxed again with slick silhouettes that included the so commented red velvet bike short at the back mini dress at the front worn by Bella Hadid and some daring animal print jumpsuits.
The show ended with 5 awesome ballroom dresses, that reminded the firsts designs of Cristóbal Balenciaga. The skirts were huge and there were 2 types: one gold and one silver dress with a big bow at the back and sleeveless tops and three velvet long-sleeved dresses in blue, red and black.
5. Givenchy
Since Claire Waight-Keller became Givenchy's creative director, the brand changed a little bit of its style, to more feminine and romantic, but also daring and powerful. For the SS20 collection, the designer presented some ready-to-office looks that mixed with more glamorous ones. Two fabrics were the stars of the collection. On the one hand, leather, for some dresses and pants, but especially used in the combinations of crop top and bottom, such as the one worn by model Kaia Gerber: a nude satin bralette paired with a black leather pencil skirt that was just wonderful. On the other hand, and surprisingly, Waight-Keller used denim for some bottoms and a two colors dress. Givenchy's signature floral fluid dresses were also the core of the collection,
6. Issey Miyake
This collection was not one of my favorite ones, but the show was one of the best! Issey Miyake's new creative director Satoshi Kondo created a happy, joyful and super positive show that celebrated the fact of getting dressed and be able to have fun in your clothes. Models appeared dancing, riding skateboards, twirling, jumping and end up doing a circle holding hands altogether.
The show started with some nude/berry tone dresses, followed by some abstract-printed outfits, and then presenting a series of very colorful dresses and combinations, ending with a zig-zag stripe print in white and bright colors. The best part was when the models were dressed by this kind of robots that came down from the ceiling and put the dresses on them. It was beautiful and so much fun.
7. Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney is known for her beautiful collections and for her commitment to sustainability: she was one of the first designers to show the industry how you can create equally wonderful clothes with eco-friendly materials and not using the ones coming from animals.
McCartney's SS20 collection was her most sustainable collection yet, with 75% of the materials being eco-friendly. And that was not an obstacle to create such a great collection. Office ready looks at the beginning mixed with more formal and elegant dresses at the end, which also were fluid and relaxed at the same time. The color palette was soft for the casual looks (pastel blue, green, brown, and black and white) and bolder for the dresses (with darker and brighter tones). Black and white stripes and flowers were the prints she used to give a playful touch to the collection.
8. Lous Vuitton
Louis Vuitton is the last show of Paris Fashion Week (and also the last one of the entire fashion month), so it always has to make a statement. Held under the magic crystal pyramid at the Louvre museum, the SS20 show did make a statement. For this collection, the always ahead of his time designer Nicholas Guesquière got his inspiration from the French Belle Èpoque and took it to the future. The looks were very colorful and mixed prints with mono-color combinations. Office ready outfits that presented big shoulder jackets, high waist fluid pants, and mini skirts, all of them with perfect tailoring and very feminine yet structured silhouettes.
9. Dior
The Dior show, which is said to mark the beginning of Paris Fashion Week, was all about the planet Earth and its preservation this season. The setting was a forest full of trees because, for her SS20 collection, creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri decided to partner with the environmental design collective Coloco to create a common project: soon all the trees that were on the show will be planted around Paris.
Following this idea, the collection was inspired by nature and also by Christian Dior's sister Catherine Dior. The looks were based on earthy tones and nature-inspired prints, which also mixed with some tie-dye pieces. Chiuri's signature lovely embroidered tulle dresses for Dior were the star of the show, which also presented some raffia pieces combined with masculine blue shirts or black elements and tailored jackets. For the accessorizes, almost all the models wore raffia hats paired with two relaxed braids for the hair.
10. Alexander McQueen
What a wonderful collection. For SS20, Alexander McQueen's creative director Sarah Burton presented one of her best collections ever, while maintaining the same style. First of all, she recycled materials from past collections and used them to create the new designs and she also created a project with Central Saint Martin's design students to teach them how to sew the way she does. Tow facts that show her commitment to the future of fashion, regarding sustainability and new generations.
Burton always gets to mix the dark, punk side of Alexander McQueen with a more romantic and delicate vibe, a combination that results in amazing designs. The show started with black leather and white lace looks, the clear mix between rock and romantic styles, creating perfectly tailored dresses and office suits that highlighted the woman's silhouette, also thanks to the signature big black leather waist belt. The last section was more romantic, including floral prints, tulle, embroideries, ruffles, and big sleeves. Two dresses stood out, from my point of view: one blue and one pink (this one worn by Kaia Gerber) short dresses that imitated flower petals ended in white details. Just look at them below and you will understand how beautiful and perfectly made they were.