Paris Fashion Week SS23 - Four Style Trends

Making a come-back after two years of hybrid presentations, Paris Fashion Week for SS23 was deemed a wild success by editors and buyers alike. There were several trends that mimicked the previous weeks and some that stood out as uniquely Parisian. Here are the four major themes of the week.

Matchy matchy

Several designers presented tailoring with coordinated separates. The Vetements show was held in a space that was once the classic French store Tati. Among the more expected streetwear and denim, Guram Gvasalia presented a series of tailored looks where everything matched. That included some styles rendered in a checkered pattern and texture reminiscent of Tati shopping bags. Look 19 was a wide lapeled belted raincoat over a shirt and overlong pants, all in a striking blue and red plaid.

At Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello delivered an elegant collection that stayed true to the roots of the brand. Look 48 included an oversized blouse with a neck scarf and overlong pants, all rendered in a bold black and cream polka dot print.

Christian Wijnants also invested in a series of coordinated tailored outfits. For look 36 the designer showed three pieces in acid green parachute silk; an oversized blouse and knee length shorts under a trench coat.

Chinese brand Dawei showed a collection of classic, minimalistic but sophisticated daywear. Look 5 consisted of celadon green pants and a blue and white striped shirt under a matching raincoat.

Leather Lovers

Demonstrating the tougher side of fashion, head-to-toe black leather and ‘pleather’ looks, especially shown in separates, could be seen on many PFW runways.

From Christelle Kocher at Koché, look 4 was a black leather cropped zip up jacket and matching pants with a western style belt.

At Miaou, a black leather halter neck zip up top was shown with cropped moto pants.

Monot showed one of this season’s key items, the bralet, in black leather matched to a black leather pencil skirt.

Among the neutral colored tailoring and many rainbow bright dresses, Albert Kriemler at Akris showed a few strong looks in black leather. Look 32 consisted of a cropped jacket and pleated front pants embellished with gold buttons, both in black leather.

Utility Chic

Para-military, utilitarian style has been shown on high fashion runways for the past two decades and this season was no exception. If anything its influence has grown. At Givenchy, for look 36, Matthew Williams showed loose-fitting khaki knee-length cargo shorts, with a gray hoodie, and a contrasting sparkly gold jacket.

Beautiful People showed a collection filled with military references. Look 8 was a tawny colored ribbed tank top and an olive khaki full-length skirt with several utility pockets.

At Isabel Marant, look 17, modeled by Gigi Hadid, was an oversized jacket in a camo print that looked sun-bleached.

Look 24 at Miu Miu consisted of a khaki shirt and shorts with a matching cargo pocket fanny pack and contrasting bright orange sandals.

Asymmetric Hemlines

Many designers took a novel approach to hemlines this season. Rather than decide if minis or maxis were ‘in,’ they hedged their bets with skirts and dresses that were short on one side and longer on the other.

At Sacai, by Chitose Abe, Look 9 was a white techno look with a hemline that was asymmetric with a broad black border.

This was the first Issey Miyake show since the founder’s death in August. For look 16, designer Satoshi Kondo showed two pieces in ribbed red jersey with a beige trim, and the slideways ‘mullet’ hem.

At Coperni, for look 5, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant showed a white tee and black vest with a white skirt that was short on one side and long on the other.

Right out of the gate, look one at Stella MacCartney consisted of a black gabardine suit with an exaggerated asymmetric hem under a double- breasted blazer and white shirt.