Paris (AFP) – Louis Vuitton artistic director Pharrell Williams kicked off Paris Men’s Fashion Week on Tuesday with a VIP-studded event at the Louvre museum. French NBA basketball star Victor Wembanyama was given the spot of honour next to Vuitton owner and luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault in a front row also featuring actors Bradley Cooper and Omar Sy. Arnault, one of the world’s richest men, dashed home after attending the inauguration of Donald Trump in Washington on Monday where he was placed prominently behind outgoing president Joe Biden.
Pharrell’s fifth collection for Louis Vuitton saw models walk a circular runway in the rear courtyard of the Louvre, continuing the US hip hop artist and singer’s habit of using Paris landmarks as a backdrop for his clothes. The Autumn-Winter 2025-2026 collection featured on-trend browns and tweeds heavily, as well as flashes of bubble-gum pink. Baseball jackets were mixed up with long shorts and trench coats in designs that Pharrell worked on in collaboration with fellow designer Nigo, the artistic director at Kenzo. For his debut Louis Vuitton show in 2023, Pharrell turned the Pont Neuf, the oldest bridge in the capital, into a giant runway, even painting its paving stones gold. A historic theme park, the Jardin d’Acclimatation, hosted his show last January while in June he sent models down a lawn catwalk built on the rooftop of the modernist headquarters of UN agency UNESCO.
The opening day of Men’s Fashion Week, which runs until Sunday, also featured an afternoon show by Japanese brand Auralee, as well as an unusual mixed martial arts-themed event by mystery French label Coucou Bebe 75018. “It’s intended to be performance art,” the self-taught designer behind the brand, who goes by the name Kanoush, told AFP of the show in a mock fighting ring. Always photographed with his face hidden, Kanoush also refuses to reveal his identity. Coucou Bebe 75018 — which is a combination of a greeting used by prostitutes and the postcode of Kanoush’s Pigalle area in northern Paris — has earned a growing following thanks to its collage-laden jackets with references to French politics.
Ahead of Fashion Week, experts had said that the aesthetic dominance of streetwear was fading, with designers increasingly focused on “casual tailoring,” emphasising suits and structured pieces with a relaxed twist. A major trend from the Spring-Summer 2025 collections was dubbed “workwear,” featuring trench coats, Barbour-style jackets, duffle coats and loafers. “There’s a classic, slightly dandy but chic, elegant, and casual silhouette emerging,” Alice Feillard, men’s buying director at luxury Paris emporium Galeries Lafayette, told AFP. Browns have dominated for two seasons, and insiders expect them to remain among the key shades at the end of the year.
A number of top labels are luring new designers or looking for fresh inspiration in the increasingly tough luxury market. Lanvin is set to return after a two-year hiatus, presenting Peter Copping’s debut collection as the artistic director of France’s oldest couture house. After completing his first show in September, Valentino’s new artistic director, Alessandro Michele, will return for haute couture week, which follows immediately after the menswear week.
One of the most anticipated shows will be on Sunday by in-vogue French designer Simon Porte Jacquemus, whose Jacquemus brand is making its return to the official calendar after a five-year absence. Notably absences include Givenchy, whose new chief designer Sarah Burton has reserved her first collection for the women’s Fashion Week in March, as well as Loewe, whose artistic director Jonathan Anderson is rumoured to be on the way out. Hedi Slimane left his role as artistic director at Celine in October, John Galliano quit Maison Margiela in December, and Chanel unveiled their new creative director, Matthieu Blazy, only a month ago.
© 2024 AFP
