Paris Fashion Week always manages to take ideas and trends to new levels. This season, several designers demonstrated that in shows that took familiar clothing and concepts a step beyond the ordinary and, occasionally, out of this world.
Otherworldly moments on the runways included face braces that gave unsettling smiles to models in the Maison Margiela show, along with conical burlap hats at Comme des Garçons that almost scraped the ceiling. The Matières Fécales show featured demonic makeup that made models seem as if they had come from the underworld. At Thom Browne, some models wore alien masks with fanciful tailored attire while walking to the soundtrack of The Carpenters’ “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft.” And at Chanel, fashion week’s final show, the runway was a starry path set among large illuminated replicas of planets and the sun.
That wasn’t to say that the clothes were science fiction. Many brands (Dior, Loewe, Chanel, to name three) showed collections with pieces that had people in the crowds buzzing about how wearable they were. Wearability was also a theme connecting standout looks on the streets. Some involved practical trench coats, others were built around shades of brown, and a few showcased sashes and ruffles in surprising ways.
Simbarashe Cha is a Times photographer and visual columnist documenting style and fashion around the world.
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