Six things to know from Paris Fashion Week

This season, Paris was in a state of transition.

“It was a strong Paris season with many great new ideas, but it definitely had its ups and downs,” says Julie Gilhart, former long-time fashion director at Barneys who recently restarted her consultancy Gilhart & Co. “I don’t think it was an ‘in flow’ season. New York had a great flow from high to low with the shows and presentations. Paris — partly because of the weather, a very intense schedule and traffic — was harder to navigate, despite some great showings from large and small designers. Paris didn’t seem 100% ‘in flow’ because there is so much change in the houses — both new and anticipated. It’s a transition time with a lot of hope for the future.”

Here are our final takeaways from Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2025.

A strong debut and some strong rumours

The key topic of conversation this season was the designer musical chairs.

Alessandro Michele’s much-anticipated debut at Valentino did not disappoint. It made a big bang, garnering a unanimously positive reaction.

Elsewhere, the rumour mill kept churning. Who’s going to snatch the top job at Chanel? Is Jonathan Anderson leaving Loewe? Is Pierpaolo Piccioli going to Fendi? 

Meanwhile, Hedi Slimane released an unannounced Celine SS25 film on Sunday titled Un Été Français. The Parisian designer sent out a tweed-heavy collection, prompting commentators to believe he is leaving for Chanel. When the announcement came at the end of Paris Fashion Week that Slimane is leaving Celine after 7 years, commentators wondered: where will Slimane land in his next act?

Also, what’s next at Margiela?

Pared-back runways and parties galore

Many brands eschewed major sets, performances or celebrity casting this season. “You can clearly see budget cuts with some show sets,” says Hélène Guillaume, fashion editor at Le Figaro, a sentiment echoed by show-goers throughout the entirety of the week. Instead, brands favoured high-energy chart-topping soundtracks to drive buzz and social re-shares, including Charli XCX’s ‘Guess’ at Dior, Britney Spears’s ‘Gimme More’ at Balenciaga, and Jamie XX and Robyn’s ‘Life’ at Louis Vuitton.

That said, despite the tough economic environment, there have never been so many events, says PR guru Lucien Pagès, which proves just how essential communication is. “We had, some days, more than three to four events besides the fashion show. If you want to be seen, you have to be in Paris,” he tells Vogue Business.

Exclusivity and serious prices

Le Figaro’s Guillaume says: “Beyond the catwalk, what we talk about in the ‘fashion circuit’ is prices. Some brands have become unreasonable, and it’s not because one sells less that one has to sell at higher prices. Nowadays in fashion, with €1,000, you don’t get much.”

Still, The Row, the American luxury fashion brand known for its $600 T-shirts and $9,000 handbags, just opened a store in Paris that already has an hour wait to enter.

Young designers grow up

As with the first half of PFW, many young Paris designers have matured this season, with increasingly robust collections, boosted brand awareness and bigger, more sophisticated shows. LVMH Prize finalist Niccolò Pasqualetti staged his first on-schedule show on Saturday morning, which Mytheresa chief commercial and sustainability officer Richard Johnson notes as a highlight. It was a big step up from his modest presentation last season, featuring more daytime attire and wearable separates, priming him for a sales pick-up.

Likewise, Dutch designer and LVMH Karl Lagerfeld Prize winner Duran Lantink showed for the second time on the official schedule this season, presenting a much bigger and slightly more wearable collection of his sculptural, bulbous designs in 3rd arrondissement’s spacious Lycée Turgot venue. Buzzy brand All-In pulled a big — and high-profile — crowd to a high-energy off-schedule show on the 14th floor of the Montparnasse Tower. Guests raved about it in the elevator down, and for the days that followed. Viral accessories designer Abraham Ortuño Perez, known for designing famed footwear like the Jacquemus double stiletto and the Loewe cracked egg heel, staged his first on-schedule show this season, with cheers from the crowd as he took his bow.

Young designers have been impacted severely by the crumbling of multi-brand e-tailers. Ester Manas staged a show against the backdrop of an elephant-shaped sculpture, of which she says: “The elephant in the room is that lots of brands go out of business today, small brands are the first to be affected, we are here and are very proud that we manage to show. Isn’t fashion week the elephant in the room?”

Best kept secret: Medium-size brands

“I think one of the best kept secrets are the medium-size brands like Mugler, Carven and Cecilie Bahnsen that delivered solid, precise collections,” says Gilhart.

Intermediary brands impressed. Victoria Beckham is going from strength to strength with a collection at Château de Bagatelle. A Netflix crew was filming, with the stunning venue likely to be featured in an upcoming show focusing on her fashion and beauty business.

Carven showed in an old apartment of the Carven building (above the store) with a sprawling view of Paris. “There’s a feeling that the clothes aren’t made for her. She borrowed them, inherited them,” creative director Louise Trotter says of the collection.

Hearst returned to Paris Fashion Week with a bang. She showed in the garden of the Hôtel Pozzo di Borgo, Lagerfeld’s former hôtel particulier. “That’s a lot to live up to,” wrote Vogue Runway and Vogue Business global director Nicole Phelps, who notably praised the collection’s strong tailoring and romantic dresses, as well as the “truly excellent cowboy boots”.

Trend spotting: Eclectic looks and lace

When it comes to trends, the mood has been eclectic this season. “It’s a season of contrasts, very eclectic; delicate femininity with lingerie, ’70s silhouettes with a sporty-casual, chic attitude, the revamp of a baroque aesthetic with brocade and lace, and the continuity of a contemporary powerful woman dressing with strong shoulders,” Morabito says. Dark, autumnal tones for spring also represented a shift in tone.

In addition to fringing, boho influences and balletcore, all spotted in the first half of the week, new trends gained steam during the second half of PFW. Heavy embellishments and metallics appeared at Louis Vuitton, Dior and Isabel Marant. And after the panties of previous seasons, lingerie — including bodysuits and lace corsetry — was a major trend for SS25 at Stella McCartney, Victoria Beckham and even Balenciaga, where designer Demna paired suspenders and stockings with an oversized cropped bomber, or a full set of lingerie with a loosely worn coat. “I really wanted this kind of — not boudoir, because boudoir sounds very old — but something very sensual and almost erotic to it, in a way that I never really tried to show, but it’s always been part of who I am as a designer,” Demna said of the collection. 

Backless bodysuits, tops and gowns are also among key trends — from monochrome, geometric backless separates at Courrèges, to sculptural asymmetrical tops at Victoria Beckham.

Elsewhere in the industry this week:

• The impact of backstage beauty moments has waned. Now, brands are reworking their fashion month strategies for greater effect.
• It was an energising season with playful eye looks, beauty as fashion accessories and brand debuts. Here are our four beauty takeaways from SS25 fashion month.
• One-legged pants were seen at Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta and Coperni for Spring/Summer 2025. Buyers have mixed views on whether it will take off commercially. Will anyone buy one-legged pants?