PARIS — A week of torrential downpours did nothing to dampen the mood at Paris Fashion Week, with buyers lauding the French capital for turning out fresh versions of wardrobe staples that retailers hope will have cash registers ringing come fall.
From men’s wear-inspired tailoring to Eighties and Nineties influences, streetwear, ath-luxury, Americana and punk, a myriad of attitudes were at play for next season. Key ingredients included velvet, tartans, checks, metallic, the color red, glitter and lashings of fur — of the faux and eco varieties.
Among the standout shows of the season, buyers cited Balenciaga, Dries Van Noten, Off-White and Valentino. Also highly lauded were Dior, Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Loewe and Fenty Puma by Rihanna.
Coco Chan, head of women’s wear at Stylebop.com, said the collections overall were more grounded. “The ‘reality principle’ that has taken root in fashion definitely shaped the Paris shows, but that doesn’t mean the magic was missing from the catwalks — it was just of a more practical sort, and that might be the news of the season,” she said, citing Balenciaga and Céline as front-runners of this trend.
“This bodes particularly well for business come fall as most, if not all, of the collections can be distilled to focal
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