Paris Fashion Week drew to a close on 4 October after a chock-a-block schedule. Drapers examines the French capital’s biggest trends.

Paris Fashion Week ran for a bumper nine days between 26 September to 4 October. The spring/summer 23 season brought two notable firsts: Victoria Beckham's debut in the French capital was watched over by the Beckham brood, and it was Off-White's first season with under new art and image director Ib Kamara, who took the helm in May this year, following the death of founder Virgil Abloh in November 2021.

The French luxury labels were out in full force. At Dior, creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri showed an intricate collection, underlined by delicate black and white lace and broderie anglaise. The mood was modern at Saint Laurent, where models took to the catwalk in billowing overcoats, and sleek, asymmetric dresses in purple and olive tones.

Heavyweights Chanel and Louis Vuitton closed Paris Fashion Week on Tuesday. Monochrome looks took over the Chanel catwalk (main image above), where creative director Virginie Viard updated the house's classic bouclé twinsets with knee-length shorts and hotpants. Kim Jones's collection for Louis Vuitton included comically oversized details such as zips, belt buckles and pockets.

Model sisters Gigi and Bella Hadid took Paris by storm this season. Both sisters walked for Victoria Beckham’s first show in the French capital, Givenchy, Stella McCartney and Isabel Marant. Bella also took to the catwalk for designers including Vivienne Westwood and Courrèges.

She was the star of the Coperni show on Friday 30 September, where she stood on the catwalk while a dress was sprayed directly on to her. Manel Torres invented the liquid fibre Fabrican, which dries on impact with any surface, including liquids, in 2013, and personally applied the technology to Hadid.

A statement by Coperni explained the technique, which "consists of short fibres bound together with polymers and bio-polymers, and greener solvents that deliver the fabric in liquid form, then evaporate when the spray reaches a surface. The texture of the fabric can be changed according to the fibres (synthetic and natural, such as cotton, linen, polyester or nylon as well as recycled) and binder used, and how the spray is applied.”

However, Paris Fashion Week was not without controversy.

Artist Kanye West, currently known as Ye, opened the Balenciaga show for its creative director, Demna Gvasalia, on 2 October. He then presented the ninth season of his Yeezy brand off schedule on 3 October, and T-shirts with the slogan “White Lives Matter”, which were widely condemned by the fashion industry and press.

Drapers examines the leading trends from Paris Fashion Week SS23.

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Silhouettes exaggerated at the hip were a recurring trend at Paris Fashion Week, harking back to shapes synonymous with the 1800s. Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri’s SS23 collection was ornate, with intricate lace-adorned dresses and skirts, corset shapes that evoked the Victorian era, but the look was modernised with bomber jacket shapes, bralettes and drawstring details. Decadent opera gloves, a micro-trend that was also seen on the London Fashion Week catwalks, also featured. Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson, at the helm of both his label, JW Anderson, and Spanish luxury label Loewe, showed strapless dresses with exaggerated bustles at the hips, while Olivier Rousteing, creative director at Balmain, included the shape at his future-facing Balmain Festival show.

The utility-inspired, pocketed cargo trend has made its way on to the catwalks of Paris. The trend was given the Miu Miu treatment, with oversized pockets adorning micro-skirts and waistcoats, alongside teeny bra tops and pencil skirts. Givenchy showed a selection of knee-length, loose-fitting shorts in distressed denim, while Isabel Marant departed from her signature boho chic by showing slouchy co-ords with multiple oversized pockets and strap detailing. The trend was also seen in Milan at Jil Sander, Fendi and Diesel.

Not a trend for the faint hearted, figure-fitting catsuits popped up on the catwalks of Paris for the SS23 season. Danish men’s and women's wear brand Acne Studios showed a patchwork denim catsuit that flared slightly over the ankle and foot, while Stella McCartney added a glamorous touch to her collection by sending model Bella Hadid out in a shimmering, skin-tight iteration. Ib Kamara, the new art and image director of Off-White, took a futuristic spin on the trend, showing a panelled catsuit complete with a balaclava-hood and gloves.

Luxury powerhouses Chanel, Valentino and Louis Vuitton all caused a flutter with feathery textures in their SS23 collections. Virginie Viard, creative director at Chanel, showed a mainly monochrome palette punctuated with flashes of very pale pink and lilac. Traditional Chanel bouclé blazers and twinsets were adorned with marabou fringeing. At Valentino, feathers were in the spotlight, adding texture and depth to a series of cream designs. While full of boxy shapes and details, Louis Vuitton’s SS23 collection was softened with the use of plumes, which were added to ornately embellished lace mini-dresses.

The cold shoulder was given on the catwalks of Rick Owens, Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood. Subversive designer Owens showed a sharp silhouette with exaggerated shoulder pads that towered to a peak, seen in a series of mini-dresses and boxy bomber jackets. At Saint Laurent, the emphasis was slightly more subtle, with flowing longline coats and leather jackets balanced heavily at the shoulder, giving a triangular silhouette. Vivienne Westwood stayed at home to support the national strikes taking place on the day of her show, 1 October, but husband and co-designer, Andreas Kronthaler, sent Bella Hadid on to the catwalk in a cream satin jacket with heavily padded shoulders – and teamed it with matching boxing gloves, of course.

Showing at Paris Fashion Week for the first time, Victoria Beckham’s show centred around tassels and fringing. Heavily fringed vests were added to figure-fitting dresses, while fringed miniskirts were worn over mesh catsuits. The designer also included a more relaxed take on the look with cape-like fringe detailing (seen below). Looks were accessorised with heavily fringed clutch bags. French luxury label Giambattista Valli showed a take on the tassel trend that would be perfect for the beach – with a lilac matching mesh co-ord. Belgian designer Dries Van Noten layered tie-dye crochet dresses over his bright, floral-patterned pieces for a summery take on the trend.

Tags catwalks Paris Fashion Week Paris Fashion Week SS23

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