Paris Fashion Week 2018 – Highlights and Predictions

Paris Fashion Week starts on 27 February and runs until 6 March and is arguably the most important fashion week for the international fashion industry. Designers from around the world will show their women’s ready-to-wear collections for autumn/winter 2018/19.

The line-up includes the major French fashion houses such as Chanel, Dior, Saint Laurent, and Hermès, alongside other European and international labels including Chloe, Issey Miyake, Isabel Marant, Stella McCartney, and Alexander McQueen.

Dior's Surrealist Inspiration

Dior’s haute couture spring/summer 2018 collection is inspired by surrealist art and based around a monochrome colour palette with lots of sombre blacks and greys highlighted with a few splashes of blood red. The pre-fall winter collection uses a similar palette with lots of masculine tailoring mixed with gothic evening dresses and 1930s silhouettes, accessorised with a simple black or grey fedora hat. We can expect to see a continuation and evolution of the theme in the upcoming women’s Prêt-à-Porter show.

Chanel's Offerings Under Wraps but Promise Greatness

Chanel is showing on the final day of fashion week and always puts on an impressive production with previous shows being styled as an indoor tropical oasis complete with waterfalls, a giant replica of the Eiffel tower, and a Chanel-branded supermarket. We’re sure to be treated to something equally as spectacular this year, but the details are under wraps for now.

The recent Chanel haute couture show was styled as a classical French garden, and the evening wear matched the surroundings with lots of tweed and chiffon in pastel colours. The pre-fall collection couldn’t be more different, with a range of mostly monochrome looks inspired by 1960’s Hamburg. We’ll have to wait and see what surprises Karl Lagerfeld has for us in the autumn/winter 2018 show.

For Saint Laurent, Bet on Black as a Continuing Theme

Saint Laurent (previously YSL) held an amazing show for its spring 2018 ready-to-wear show on location at the Eiffel tower, so big things are expected from the fashion house for this season. Anthony Vaccarello is not giving too much away but based on the spring/summer collection, and from what we’re seeing from the other big labels, black will be a continuing theme.

Hermès Inspired by Retro Vibe

Hermès is a highly influential fashion house for designers in Paris and echoes of their previous collections can be spotted in the shows of other labels for years to come. The pre-fall collection is inspired by the women’s rights movement in a similar way to Dior’s gender-blurring pieces. Silhouettes are loose and flowing, with styles reminiscent of 70s and early 80s fashion. There’s likely to be a continuation of this retro vibe into autumn and winter, particularly in outerwear.

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