Paris, France – Victoria Beckham remained undeterred by the PETA protesters who disrupted her show, gracefully concluding the fifth day of Paris Fashion Week at the opulent Salomon de Rothschild Hotel on Friday night.
Beaming in the presence of a front row adorned with her family, acclaimed designer Simon Porte Jacquemus, fashion icon Anna Wintour, and the former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld — who attended on crutches due to a reported foot injury sustained while working out a few weeks prior — Beckham showcased her latest collection, adding another British touch to the Parisian runway.
Paris Fashion Week has become a second home for the fashion elite from across the Channel, featuring notable presentations by Louise Trotter, former creative director for Lacoste, who unveiled her inaugural collection for the French heritage house Carven. Meanwhile, Seán McGirr, an Irish-born talent trained at Central-Saint Martins, made his debut for Alexander McQueen, succeeding the renowned Sarah Burton. Ibrahim Kamara, the London-based editor-in-chief of “Dazed & Confused” magazine, also presented his creations as the head of Off-White after a hiatus following founder Virgil Abloh’s untimely death.
Over at Nina Ricci, Anglo-American designer Harris Reed showcased a collection merging “a fine-art approach with Paris’s classical way of doing things,” aiming to challenge norms on inclusive bodies and sexualities.
Paris Fashion Week has a rich history of welcoming designers from around the globe, offering a unique outsider perspective on French chic, from Karl Lagerfeld to Yohji Yamamoto. However, its most enduring cultural dialogue has been with Great Britain, dating back to the 19th century when English couturier Charles Worth established himself in Paris, earning the moniker “father of haute couture.”
In the 1990s, a wave of British designers, including Stella McCartney, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, and Phoebe Philo, brought a subversive flair to Paris’ fashion scene. Today, in a post-Brexit and post-Covid world, maintaining this creative dialogue poses challenges due to complex funding, revised import regulations, and difficulties working with European stockists and ateliers.
As Serge Carreira from the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode explained, “London is a scene of revelations, where one puts down creative roots, whereas Paris is a destination once the brand is established, to reach a more global audience.” However, if the trend of shrinking shows in London and the burgeoning showcase at Paris Fashion Week continues, London may find new ways to contribute to the cultural fashion dialogue.
Melody Thomas, a professor in fashion criticism at Parsons Paris, noted the emergence of an avant-garde movement, with off-calendar British brands such as Corteiz pointing to a generation questioning the traditional fashion system, favoring creative drops, collaborations, and capsules over big runways.
As the fashion landscape evolves, the dialogue between British and Parisian designers takes on new dimensions, with both cities influencing and redefining the global fashion narrative.
