what is a fashion week presentation

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What's the difference: runway show v. fashion presentation.

In general, there are two types of events that take place during Fashion Week: presentations and runway shows. One may think runway shows are superior in terms of garnering press for a brand; however, it depends on what the brand's goals are and its position in the marketplace. For newer designers, it's probably a good bet to have a fashion presentation where you get up close and personal with the press and clients. On the other hand, big established brands can opt for a splashy runway show to flex their muscles in the media.

What's The Difference?

Fashion Presentations

Runway Shows

Press Previews

There is a certain level of intimacy afforded when it comes to fashion presentations. Presentations allow guests to spend time with the pieces as well as meet with the designer and the brand communications team. Guests have the opportunity to aim their attention at the minute details of a garment, accessories, hair, and makeup. Having this intimate interaction with the collection offers photographers and guests an opportunity to capture the full vision of the designer. Another positive aspect of presentations is that each guest feels like they are front row at the show!

“ A presentation means that a designer and their team can literally be on hand to answer questions one-to-one, rather than closing the backstage entrance post-show in exhaustion or only engage in the strange ‘group interviews’ that seem to have become the norm. ”, explains London-based editorial director Olivia Singer who has worked for publications including Vogue, and i-D.

However, with everyone "front row", this means the designer and their team have to constantly behave in the “front of house” because everything is portraying the brand image. There is no “backstage” behavior as you may have during a runway show. Also, models have been known to faint as presentations require models and staffers to be on their feet for 2+ hours.

Since runway shows typically last all of 15 minutes, it's mostly the anticipation and hierarchical tradition that excites both brands and attendees about the format. Runway shows require seating charts, which makes the show more exclusive, especially the guests seated in the front row. However, if there are multiple runway shows happening at the same time photographers, journalists, and celebrities have to pick and choose which shows to attend — like that season when Marc Jacobs ' 7:30 PM show was late, but Rihanna's Savage x Fenty lingerie show was scheduled for 9 PM — decisions, decisions. The guests who attend and are photographed could make the difference in a designer's show being a success or a flop. Whichever format a designer chooses, there will still be swarms of people knocking down the door to be one of the few to see the new collection firsthand.

Lastly, Press Previews and Re-Sees offer brands the benefits of a presentation in the following days after the mad dash of the runway show. Buyers and press can go to a designer showroom to "Re-see" the collection from the runway show. Previews and re-sees are also where stylists "pull" clothing and "looks" for their clients or publication.

What do you think of f ashion shows and presentations? Leave a comment below. Follow Fashion League on Instagram , and subscribe to our newsletter for Faux or Fashion ™ trivia, and the latest job postings from some of your favorite companies.

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How Brands Present Their Collections: Fashion Shows VS Presentations

Fashion shows represent the biggest momentum for fashion and luxury brands to showcase their latest collections. But if so far you have been thinking that this is the only way to present the new collection, that’s not quite right. 

If you go through a Fashion Week schedule, you will notice that two main events take place during Fashion Week: fashion shows and presentations. Presentations are indeed another way for brands to present their latest creations.

In this article, we are going to break down the difference between a fashion show and a presentation, and why some brands use fashion shows and others prefer the presentation format.

Fashion Shows: What is the purpose of a fashion show?

The biggest fashion and luxury brands including Chanel, Dior, Prada, Valentino… stage fashion shows. This is the most well-known format. 

On a practical level, the purpose of fashion shows is to introduce the next season’s collection that will be available in stores about six months after the show takes place. Designers invite editors, press, celebrities, and influencers to attend in person. They report on the collection to the public via articles in magazines and social media posts. This contributes to growing the brand’s visibility and sales later. Fashion buyers are present as well to see the collection. They’ll decide what they will eventually order for their retail during the sales campaign.

Besides the sole purpose of showing the latest collection, fashion shows, especially nowadays are spectacles that tell a story and sell the dream. They are true marketing tools, organized to impress current and potential customers. Nowadays, brands want to stand out. They find themselves confronted with high pressure to compete, sustain, and leave a lasting impression on their audience. Thus, every season they look for more and more amazing locations to stage their runways. 

When do fashion shows take place and where do fashion shows take place?

There are 4 main Fashion Weeks, commonly referred to as “The Big Four”:

• New York Fashion Week
• London Fashion Week
• Milan Fashion Week
• Paris Fashion Week

These fashion weeks are held twice a year in February and September. Each of these lasts approximately one week; hence the name Fashion Week. During which designers, brands, and fashion houses present their latest ready-to-wear collections through runway shows, presentations, and other events.

Besides those 2 big ready-to-wear seasons, there are other fashion weeks staged throughout the year. These focus on specific categories of clothing and design, catering to different market segments and creative expressions:

• Haute Couture Week
• Menswear Fashion Week
• Cruise/Resort Fashion Shows
• Pre-Fall Collections
• Bridal Week
• Swimwear Fashion Week
• International Fashion Weeks

We explain more about the different fashion weeks in this article .

The high investment that flows into staging a theatrical fashion show is not sustainable for every brand, especially young designers or smaller brands. That is where fashion presentations enter the stage.

What is a Presentation and how do fashion brands use it to introduce their collections

Presentations serve the same purpose as runway shows but in a more intimate climate. Their purpose is to introduce new collections to fashion professionals – mainly buyers, editors, stylists, influencers, and the press. 

Instead of models strutting down a runway, presentations often involve models stationed in carefully curated environments, or even the clothing, shoes, and accessories are simply displayed in the room on shelves or other creative arrangements, allowing attendees to observe the garments up close. This format provides a slower, more contemplative experience that allows for a nuanced exploration of the designer’s vision.

Think of presentations as intimate fashion shows that enable fashion professionals to get a more detailed and engaging insight and view of the clothing, fabrics, features, and silhouettes ; photographers can snap more detailed photos of the different looks and accessories. 

A presentation also serves as an opportunity for guests to meet with the designer and the brand’s team, and further discuss the collection with them. 

Where do presentations take place?

A presentation can take place at various locations. A brand can host a presentation at their ateliers/offices if the space allows it, or rent a temporary external place just for the presentation. 

When do presentations take place?

Today, fashion presentations belong to a fixed part of the fashion week schedule. So presentations normally take place during the same week when fashion shows are staged in New York, London, Paris, and Milan. 

A presentation tends to last longer than a 10-minute fashion show. There is a time frame during which brands open the doors to their presentations; it can go from a couple of hours to a whole day or even a week , depending on the time slot the brand has reserved. 

Take a look at any fashion week calendar of New York, London, Milan, or Paris Fashion Week to see which brands have a fashion show and which ones organize a presentation. Fashion shows and presentations are divided into separate pages. 

This is an example of the Milan Fashion Week Fall 2024 schedule of presentations. 

Fashion Shows And Presentations Fall 2024

To give you a better idea of how many presentations are staged compared to fashion shows, let’s look at some numbers from the Fall 2024 Fashion Week.

New York Fashion Week hosted 49 shows, and 23 presentations.

London Fashion Week celebrated its 40th anniversary with 44 runways and 15 presentations.

On the Milan Fashion Week calendar, 56 fashion shows and 74 presentations are scheduled.

While Paris Fashion Week will feature 71 runways and 38 presentations. 

As you can see, many brands rely on the fashion presentation format.

Fashion show vs presentation: Which one to use and when?

There are several things that brands take into consideration when deciding on a fashion show vs a presentation. The choice depends on the brand’s identity, marketing strategy, creative vision, and the result it wants to get from either of these events, as well as on its financial possibilities. However, it’s essential to note that the approach a brand takes can vary from season to season or even for specific collections. 

The type of brand and collection

High-end luxury and fashion brands normally use fashion shows because it’s part of the industry standard. However, some brands might also consider whether there could be a strategic advantage in deviating from the norm. 

Accessories and shoe brands often opt for presentations to display the new products on shelves or other creative arrangements. 

Smaller fashion brands opt for presentations as well mainly for budget restrictions. 

Not every brand – especially an emerging/small brand – has the possibility to pay for a show because on average, a 10 to 15-minute fashion show can cost anywhere from $200,000 to over $1 million!  Brands have to handle costs related to fashion show production, renting the venue, booking the models, lighting, etc. On the opposite, a presentation is less costly than a fashion show; staging a presentation at the brand’s ateliers or renting a temporary space is cheaper than staging a show at a sumptuous venue like the Eiffel Tower.

The latter can be seen as more advantageous, however, the reason why so many fashion brands still rely on the fashion show format despite high costs and the big organization that it involves is because of its theatrical component, as we saw. Nowadays, the need to put on a show can be even more important than the collection itself in order to stand out in a competitive fashion world. 

The experience

The time allocated at a fashion show makes it harder to examine each look in detail, which is easier at a presentation because it lasts longer – not just 10 minutes but a day or even a week! However, the fact that the collection is so close to the audience and happens in a more intimate atmosphere, the brand is more exposed, so everything has to be perfect to ensure the looks are well curated and well explained so the brand image is preserved.  

Pros of fashion shows:

Spectacle: Fashion shows offer the opportunity to create a grand, theatrical experience that can captivate and leave a lasting impression on the audience.

Models and Supermodels Presence: Fashion shows are walked by models and supermodels like Naomi Campbell, contributing to the event’s prestige and garnering additional media attention.

Global Visibility and Media Coverage: Fashion shows during fashion weeks in major fashion capitals provide more exposure and media coverage. 

Atmosphere: The energy and excitement of a live audience as well as the music, the lights and the models walking on the runway contribute to the overall atmosphere, creating a sense of anticipation and exclusivity.

Dynamic Presentation: Runway presentations allow garments to be showcased in motion, providing multiple angles for viewers to appreciate the design and craftsmanship.

Pros of presentations: 

Intimacy: Presentations provide a more intimate and immersive experience, allowing attendees to interact closely with the garments and accessories.

Narrative Control : Presentations offer the opportunity to control the narrative and storytelling behind the collection, allowing for a deeper connection with the industry professionals attending these events (Press, buyers, influencers…).

Detail Appreciation : Attendees have the chance to examine the clothing up close, touch fabrics, and appreciate intricate details that may be overlooked on the runway.

Creative Freedom: Presentations offer more flexibility in terms of venue choice, set design, and format, allowing designers to showcase their collections in unique and innovative ways.

Budget and Resources: Presentations are more budget-friendly when considering venue costs, production expenses, and staffing requirements, making them a more economical option compared to a fashion show.

Salon Shows: the alternative between fashion shows and presentations

In the past years, some designers have been trying to find a balance between a presentation and a fashion show by exploring another format to showcase their latest collections: Salon shows.

If you are familiar with Fashion Week history , you may remember that it wasn’t until the beginning of the 20th century that fashion houses began staging fashion shows. The first-ever fashion week (then known as “Press Week”)  took place in New York in 1943. Before that, houses used to host salon shows.

The concept of salon shows emerged in the 1850s with Charles Frederick Worth , who is widely regarded as the first fashion designer and the founder of Haute Couture . Worth was the first designer to have the idea of organizing events twice a year. He did this so all fashion clients could be in town at the exact same time to view the different collections at the houses’ ateliers. At the time, these events were not called “fashion shows” but “salon shows”.

The main goal of these “salon shows” was not that much for art purposes, but mainly to find clients and sell the collection. Worth started a new tradition of staging “salon shows” dedicated to a sole collection. They showcased a series of garments and designs unique to one collection only. 

Salon Shows

Recently, we’ve been seeing the return of salon shows with brands staging their fashion shows at their salons aka ateliers. For instance, Altuzarra celebrated the 15th anniversary of his eponymous label in the Fall 2024 at his design studio in New York. Another recent example is Valentino’s Haute Couture Spring 2024 show “Le Salon”, which Pierpaolo Piccioli presented at the brand’s ateliers.

Those salon shows are technically “fashion shows” because they use the theatrical component of fashion shows, with a beautiful setting and music, for example, and they also have a running order. However, due to the intimate setting and a limited number of guests, and thus the proximity with them which allows to talk after the show, salon shows are in part similar to the presentation format. We can say that salon shows use the best of both worlds – fashion shows and presentations – to showcase their collections. 

We hope you learned something new about Fashion Week today. If you are interested in the topic, we have other pieces about Fashion Week:

The history of fashion week

How to work at fashion week as a volunteer

Who attends fashion shows

How much do fashion shows cost

7 fascinating insights about fashion shows

17 fashion week terms

How to write a fashion runway review

If you are passionate about fashion and want to work in this industry, check out our online courses that will teach you about it and help you land your dream job in fashion. 

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Fashion Week 101: What It Is and Why It Matters

By Fawnia Soo Hoo

It’s always kind of like Groundhog Day when Fashion Week rolls around. We’ve all been here before, but in the weeks leading up, we’re like deer caught in headlights—anxiously waiting for the frenzy to start. But what is it? Fashion Week can seem like a mysterious, seemingly glamorous machine that churns out countless runway shows, copious amounts of street style photos, and lots of celebrities preening in the front rows. So, before this season’s madness starts on February 12, we thought we’d break it down to the basics. Here we go.

What is Fashion Week?

In a super condensed nutshell, Fashion Week is when the industry’s top designers present their upcoming collections in a series of runway shows and presentations.

When did Fashion Week start? What is the history behind it?

The first official Fashion Week began as "Press Week" in 1943 at the height of World War II. The American fashion media couldn’t get over to Paris—where the most fashion-y of shows went down—to see the next season’s collections. Silver lining: It was New York (and America’s) chance to show the world what they could do. From then on, Press Week turned into Fashion Week and shows were staged in venues all over New York City. But in 1994 the runways found their first home at Bryant Park, conveniently located near the Garment District. Eventually the shows outgrew the iconic midtown grassy green, and "the tents," as they’re affectionately called (more on that below), moved over to Damrosch Park at Lincoln Center in 2010.

**OK, so what are the logistics? **

New York Fashion Week (NYFW) happens twice a year—once in February and once in September. The designers always show collections for the season ahead, so starting February 12, 2015, we’ll be seeing what will be on the racks for fall 2015/winter 2016, and come September 2015, we’ll be watching the spring/summer 2016 looks strut down the runway. This year, NYFW shows run officially from February 12 to February 19 (you can check out the full schedule here ), but different parties and festivities always start a day or two earlier. There are various other series of runway shows throughout the year (Haute Couture, Swim Week, etc.), but when people refer to Fashion Week, it’s this biannual event they’re talking about.

**Wait, why does Fashion Week seem to last so much longer than a week? **

Well, for the official spring/summer and fall/winter seasons, Fashion Week runs consecutively in major style capitals around the world, starting with New York. This season, when NYFW ends, London picks right up from February 20 to February 24, then Milan from February 25 to March 3, culminating in Paris from March 5 to March 11. Hence what fashion peeps jokingly refer to as Fashion Month.

Who decides which designers get to show at Fashion Week?

Well, it depends. There isn’t an official board or council or overlord that officially decides who gets to sit at the Fashion Week table. But it’s still a bit more politically complicated. In the official Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week tents, clout and seniority (like if you’ve been showing there for years and years) are important for designers to score one of the limited spots and call dibs on a time slot. For instance, emeritus designers basically show every season, and the industry knows and plans for it. The other issue is budget—not every designer can afford an elaborate show at an expensive venue.

Do different designers show in different cities? How is that decided?

Yes, different designers show in different cities around the world. There’s no hard and fast rule, but mostly it depends on where the designer’s business and studio (or "atelier") are headquartered. For instance, native New Yorker Michael Kors shows in his home city, while Paris-based British ex-pat Stella McCartney and French-to-the-core Chanel show at Paris Fashion Week. It’s a way to demonstrate support for their local economy, fellow designers, and retailers. Plus, chances are designers are members of their national fashion council (like our CFDA), so it just makes sense to stay local.

**What are "the tents?" Do all of the shows take place there? **

Yes, "the tents." So just to back up, IMG is the official organizing body that runs the shows and presentations at Lincoln Center, and Mercedes-Benz has been the official sponsor since 2009. Hence the official term is "Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week." These shows take place in actual tents—necessary since the raw space is an outdoor park—albeit super lu and expansive structures complete with heating or air-conditioning. Designers like Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, and Rebecca Minkoff traditionally show at official Mercedes-Benz Fashion week or "the tents."

But plenty of other designers—from established ones like Diane von Furstenberg (who moved her show out of the tents last season) to cutting-edge ones like Opening Ceremony and Rodarte—prefer to go "off-site." Some just for an inspired change of pace and more creative control over their setup, some to make a statement (like when Alexander Wang showed in Brooklyn last season), and others for budget reasons. Venue alternatives include art galleries, photo studios, event spaces, and iconic buildings (New York Public Library, anyone?).

The fashion crowd shouldn’t get too comfortable though—it’s looking likely that the shows will eventually move to the Hudson Navy Yards on the very far west side of Manhattan when the development is completed in 2017. So let’s hope flats cycle back into style by then.

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How long does a show actually last?

The actual runway show can run from 10 to 20 minutes—depending on how elaborate a designer wants to get with his or her staging. But, the kicker: Shows rarely, if ever start on time. It’s just something everybody in the biz knows. (One exception: Marc Jacobs, who in recent years has made a statement by starting right on time—or "just" 20 minutes late). But in most cases, we’d say, on average, there are about 20 to 40 minutes of sitting around, texting, tweeting, and schmoozing time before they peel the plastic off the runway, turn down the lights, and start the music. And then in the blink of an eye, it’s over.

**What is a show like? **

Well, to start, during the aforementioned fashionably late start downtime, this is when the paparazzi goes nuts snapping pics of the biggest stars sitting in the front row—ranging from big-time editors to celebrities ( Emma Watson ! Blake Lively ! ) to socialites to style bloggers. Maybe a famous DJ like Samantha Ronson will be spinning a pre-show set.

As for the actual runway part, an average of 30 to 40 looks or outfits will be shown by models walking down the runway. There might be a famous face on the catwalk, there might not—it depends on the designer. The most famous model always closes the show though (look out for Kendall Jenner and Cara Delevingne sightings this season). The runway show could consist of the standard parade of looks, ended by all the models doing their strut, finished off with the designer walking out for a final wave. Or sometimes the producers get more inventive by, say, showing a short art film before the show or having a surprise musical guest performance, like last season when St. Vincent sang at the DVF show (and Diane ended up grooving alongside the models) or when Paloma Faith, backed by a live orchestra, crooned at last season’s Burberry show at London Fashion Week.

Is the runway collection different from what you see in stores?

Yes. Think of a runway show as a designer’s form of artistic expression. They want to make the biggest impact that they can, while imparting the theme of the collection for the next season. So that means they’ll show exaggerated or more dramatic versions of what ends up in the stores. To wit, your standard LBD isn’t going to beg for instant Instagrams and retweets quite like Jeremy Scott’s insane junk food bag poncho for Moschino will. (Even though the classic LBD would sell way more units in-store than a snack-themed cape.) Or you might notice that an ethereal dress is completely see through on the runway, but ends up with a modest slip when it finally hits the stores next season. Those types of slight alterations.

Is a runway the only format for designers to show their collections during Fashion Week?

Nope! You have the runway show production, in which models walk out to show the audience next season’s creations, but there’s also the presentation set-up in which models basically double as mannequins standing-slash-posing in some sort of themed vignette. This allows guests to get a close-up look at the collection, at any time, within the presentation. Some designers opt out of showing their collections altogether and invite editors to visit their showrooms for a peek at the next season’s clothes instead.

Who goes to shows and how do they get invited?

Well, the latter part of that question is key. Because everyone who goes to a Fashion Week show—be it in "the tents" or some glorious, blown-out abandoned building downtown—must be invited. So we’re talking fashion editors, retail store buyers, fashion bloggers, industry influencers, friends or clients of designers, and oh, famous people. Celebrities in the front row are there either to support their designer friend or, most likely, they’re present to promote the brand (like Jennifer Lawrence at Dior).

**Can you watch the shows if you’re not at Fashion Week? **

Yes! And without having to buy a new outfit, teeter around in crazy high heels (especially in the snow), and deal with glowering security guys guarding the fort, er, tents. Instead you can live-stream over 50 shows—from Marc Jacobs to Charlotte Ronson—during New York Fashion Week, plus various international designers in the weeks following. (Burberry and Topshop in London are always worth setting the alarm for—you know, time change and all.) Stay tuned to catch shows right here on TeenVogue.com !

**Why is Fashion Week important? Why do editors care so much about it? **

Well, despite the parties and street style spectacles, Fashion Week is for work—traditionally meaning store buyers come to see the upcoming season’s offerings and put in orders while fashion magazine editors use it to forecast trends and see what looks and pieces they want to feature in their publications. It helps to spark ideas for editorials and fashion features for the next six months!

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Innovation stood out as designers juggled digital and live presentations.

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The spring 2021 fashion season was many things: a creative test for designers and brands who had the capacity to create during lockdown; a first look at a new digital-first fashion week landscape; and a steep learning curve for all of those set on helping carve a path forward with the backdrop of COVID-19.

It wasn’t a cohesive effort, either, with New York and London almost exclusively operating on digital presentation formats, whereas Milan and Paris held a mix of live runways, presentation and digital initiatives, highlighting the uncertainty and unease plaguing debates over whether or not to reopen.

What stood out was innovation, on the part of the CFDA with the emergence of its Runway 360 platform , and with designers who captivated audiences by bringing them into their worlds. Here, a roundup of the standout presentations and shows from the spring 2021 fashion season, including debut collections, IRL events and creative looks into what the future of fashion week could be.

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Balmain to reschedule next men's show to september, 1. jacquemus holds first live show in france since lockdown.

Simon Porte Jacquemus kicked off a string of live runway over a long spring 2021 season, making a compelling case with models negotiating a winding path through a field of golden wheat for his pastoral collection. According to Miles Socha, the collection was “soothing in its pale colors and natural textures, and seductive in its show of flesh, fabric peeling away in the breeze,” he said. “He was in his element on that sloping land in the Vexin region, about an hour outside of Paris. In an interview before the show, the wind whipping images off his moodboard plunked in the prairie, Jacquemus said there was no question in his mind that he would ever abandon physical shows. His was the first in France since Paris Fashion Week last March.”

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2. alice + olivia’s pop-up dance performance.

In one of the few live moments during NYFW, Stacey Bendet offered a sense of hopeful, celebratory resilience with an energetic and much-needed pop-up dance performance to showcase the Alice + Olivia collection’s signature whimsical flair and to prove that New York’s creative energy is alive and well. “I wanted to put together some amazing, talented, creative women and let them express the clothing,” she said of bringing the clothes to life in a season of look book presentations. She cast dancers and violinist rocker Margot of The Dolls wearing the collection’s newfound casual ease, spotlighting the comfort and movement inherent to trackpants, stretchy jeans or fully embroidered pants in looks styled as “casual on bottom, party on top.”

3. Ulla Johnson’s Ode to NYC

The feeling of togetherness is one everyone in the world is longing for. Throughout 2020, designers have referenced this yearning through their designs and correlating collection experiences, whether in person or through a digital screen. To emulate this feeling, Ulla Johnson debuted, “Love Letter to New York City,” for the spring season. Set against the backdrop of NYC on Roosevelt Island’s Four Freedoms Park, Johnson’s dynamic outdoor runway film of her darling spring collection (an audience-less show) served as a way of reaching her customer beyond the standard format of an industry-exclusive runway experience. “For me, the takeaway from everything is we all need to be much more public facing,” she said. “We need to be speaking to not just this small group of insiders, but to announce things much more and to bring people into that experience of runway.”

4. Christian Siriano’s Backyard Show

Fashion with three capital Fs: fashion, fantasy, fun. Christian Siriano closed out NYFW with a healthy display of joy in the comfort of his own backyard, reminding us all of what we missed about real, live fashion shows. Siriano didn’t pretend to make his show about practical clothes women will wear when they emerge from quarantine. “I approached it as, with everything that’s happened, let’s just do fantasy here…,” Siriano said during a preview. “Hopefully everybody will escape for 20 minutes and feel a little bit like they’re in another place.”

5. Moschino Dolls

The spring 2021 season was one that tested designers’ and brands’ creative capacity. One of the most innovative presentations came from Jeremy Scott, who turned to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to bring his Moschino collection to life with miniature 30-inch marionette dolls dressed up in ladylike glamour and walking in a charming, salon-style, fashion-show film. Speaking from his home in L.A., Scott said: “You see the strings, you don’t see the puppeteers but you sense them, and you know it’s a human craft, just like dressmaking. People don’t give attention to pinking shears and figuring out how darts are finished, but I wanted those to be the design lines of the collection, the patterns and embellishments. It was about showing human contact, thought and process, because this has been a humanizing experience globally we’ve all had to endure.”

6. Miuccia Prada x Raf Simons Debut

Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ debut Prada collection was arguably the most anticipated of the spring 2021 season, of which Bridget Foley wrote: “History could prove this a seminal moment in fashion: Miuccia Prada, the ultimate feminist designer whose work displays a rare fusion of intellect and emotion, and one of fashion’s most powerful and resolute voices for decades, now coauthoring her brand’s creative output with Raf Simons, himself a major creative voice and revered standard-bearer of heady, modernist fashion. Her famously distinctive work has a range from austere to voluptuous, while his is more singularly “cool,” (give or take that late-term Jil Sander romance of yore). For anyone who loves fashion and believes in the purpose and sanctity of the live fashion show, there’s some heartbreak in the fact that this collaboration premiered digitally, as forced by the coronavirus nightmare. On the other hand, one can find kinetic resonance in this particular shift to a digital platform. “Today, technology is a part of life — the show is a dance between a woman and technology,” Prada said in a statement to WWD post-show. “The show is about simplicity — about clothes, and about the dialogue between clothing and the body. That is echoed by a dialogue between technology and the body, technology and humanity.”

7. Gabriela Hearst’s Carbon-Neutral Paris Show

Prior to Gabriela Hearst appointment as Chloé’s new creative director, the designer debuted her spring 2021 collection in Paris, a la a carbon neutral runway show. “I’ve been working with the mind frame that we are in a crisis since before the pandemic,” Hearst told WWD during a preview. “The paradigm that we always set ourselves is, ‘How are we going to do business 10 years from now, where there’s water shortages, where there’s less access to natural resources, lack of biodiversity?’” Luxurious, sustainable designs took the runway in a tightly edited collection of 30 looks. “Quality doesn’t need to be obnoxious or ostentatious,” she said. “You can’t build real quality fast, you can only build it step by step.”

8. Matthew Williams’ Givenchy Debut

Matthew Williams’ dynamic debut for Givenchy paid homage to legendary Parisian House codes built by Hubert, while offering a “steely new code,” through graphic tailoring, luxed-up casual and lots of hardware. “The silhouette suggests a tailoring-driven approach to the storied French couture house, while reflecting the modernism associated with Williams’ 1017 Alyx 9SM brand and his obsession with cutting-edge craftsmanship,” wrote Miles Socha.

9. Burberry Takes It to the Woods

How does a brand like Burberry organize a fashion show during a global pandemic? Bring it to the woods! With a set reminiscent of scenes from the “Hunger Games,” the luxury brand held its spring 2021 open-air fashion show livestream event with no audience at Black Park in Buckinghamshire, an hour’s drive outside London. Samantha Conti wrote, “Having spent much of his lockdown on Lake Como, reconnecting with his family and with nature, Tisci had wanted this show to be an homage to the purity, simplicity and stillness of the outdoors.” Designer Riccardo Tisci collaborated with artist Anne Imhof on a performance that mimicked ocean waves, with bodies pushing, pulling and collapsing on top of each other in a repetitive motion, with cameras following an army of models as they dressed in claustrophobic mirrored boxes, which then opened up to the forest outside. As they walked they appeared briefly free, but seconds later Secret Service-type men in black suits and sunglasses suddenly appeared behind them, dragging them down the trail.

10. Louis Vuitton Men’s Shanghai and Tokyo Shows

Louis Vuitton Men’s artistic director Virgil Abloh decided it was time to disrupt the format of how to present his collections and go forth with a seasonless, itinerant model of fashion shows. Titled “Message in a Bottle,” the spring 2021 collection began digitally via a teaser dubbed “Zoooom With Friends,” through a squad of curious cartoon characters loaded into crates and shipped off to sea. Four weeks later and the collection materialized in front of a live audience in Shanghai on the banks of the Huangpu River, guests were treated to a larger-than-life presentation that included an equally outlandish set with branded red shipping containers and a variety of cartoon-like inflatables dotted both along the runway and in the reception area. Award-winning, American singer Lauryn Hill made a cameo as she was projected onto the shipping containers above for a virtual performance while models donned garments below for in-person viewing. The show, a month later exactly, made its resurgence in Tokyo, at a cruise terminal in Tokyo Bay, this time an additional 60 new looks that had not been seen before were unveiled, bringing a close to Abloh’s spring 2021 journey.

11. Ermenegildo Zegna Goes Back Home

For its 110th anniversary celebration, Ermenegildo Zegna’s spring 2021 show, the runway was brought back home, literally, as artistic director Alessandro Sartori didn’t just consider the environment in which it was shown — the brand’s HQ in Trivero named the Oasi Zegna. Streamed digitally from atop a grassy meadow, the spring 2021 men’s wear show had the models meandering and weaving through the Oasi Zegna for more than three kilometers in different directions, spanning from the factory and the archives to the forests. Alessandra Turra recounts “In particular, the designer let himself be inspired by the colors and textures of the unspoiled landscape of the Oasi Zegna reserve, which he translated into a collection of elegant garments that combined natural fabrics and technological manufacturing techniques.”

12. Celine Men’s Racetrack Show

The Celine spring 2021 men’s show wasn’t the typical Hedi Slimane nod to the Seventies of well-tailored blazers, bell-bottomed pants and shaggy sartorial storytelling that fashion onlookers are used to. As for the clothes, Miles Socha recalled, “And so Slimane, after flirting briefly with bourgeois Paris in the Seventies, went back to elevated California thrift-shop chic, throwing together trucker and beanie hats, plaid shirts, Eighties-sitcom Windbreakers, gym shorts and loose jeans with blown-out knees.” In fact the 12-minute film, released on July 29 and dubbed “The Dancing Kid,” abruptly erases the Seventies haute gigolo style of Celine Homme and brings in a new wave of dressing inspired by teen boys and what they have been wearing in their bedrooms while creating TikTok videos in boredom during the pandemic. Slimane, not a stranger to over the top show sets, focused it’s spring offering to be presented at the Circuit Paul Ricard race track (helmets and all) in Marseille, France, proving to be the grand toast to TikTok’s eboys and skate culture fanatics, celebrating updated youth codes. 

13. Balmain Goes Phy-gital

Creative director Olivier Rousteing celebrated Balmain’s 75th anniversary with a collection that reflects the world’s new reality. Miles Socha wrote, “He’s more convinced than ever that heritage is crucial, and that the pandemic has ushered in a ‘new sense of luxury,’ one hinged less on trends and more on careful spending on pieces that stand the test of time. Investment dressing is back!” The house unveiled it’s mega show at the Jardin des Plantes with an old-school vignette curated by fashion historian Olivier Saillard and starring the monogram jacquard the founder used in the Seventies for couture coats, ready-to-wear blouses and travel bags. Amidst physical and digital attendees, the set included three rows in stadium seating style, with oversized screens, each housing VIP guests including J. Lo, Anna Wintour, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Megan Thee Stallion, Kris Jenner, Usher and Cara Delevingne, among other friends of the brand who couldn’t travel, to sit virtually in the front row and to experience the show from screens scattered among the first three rows of the bleachers.

14. Zegna and Fear of God Release Capsule

Cult streetwear brand Fear of God and Ermenegildo Zegna joined forces this past March to debut during Paris Fashion Week their first collaborative effort, characterized by classic tailoring and modern American luxury in equal doses, which many industry insiders declared to be an unparalleled success. Through this merger of minds, Zegna’s Alessandro Sartori and Fear of God’s Jerry Lorenzo sought to create a lineup that possesses youthful energy as translated through time-tested craft. “With a shared true desire to create the modern man’s wardrobe, we partnered with Ermenegildo Zegna to establish a timeless collection rooted in freedom, sophistication and elegance,” Lorenzo said.

15. Loewe Men’s goes inside the box

For the spring season, Jonathan Anderson packed up the runway and transformed it into a socially distanced affair, with Loewe friends and family receiving a show-in-a-box designed in collaboration with M/M (Paris), a classic archive box, which translates the entire creative process into a sensorial experience, from the initial inspirations to the show setting. Miles Socha said its contents came “complete with fabric swatches, color chart, a pop-up set, and a voiceover soundtrack on a vinyl 45, to be played on a rickety cardboard player you spin with your forefinger. It’s all contained in a hard-case filing box, perfectly expressing Anderson’s brainy disposition, and his penchant for do-it-yourself and craft.” Jonathan Anderson’s featured booklet references the collection’s inspirations from the American sculptor Claes Oldenburg’s work to Swiss photographer Walter Pfeiffer’s photography. The looks and bags become 3-D models for a 360-degree view, while the look book combines all the printed looks of the men’s collection and the women’s pre-collection on a block of paper.

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What It's Actually Like to Organise a Fashion Week Show

Despite the fact that most runway shows last just ten minutes, the planning and work leading up to the show can start almost a year in advance. Last year, I was responsible for the PR of the debut show for Australian activewear brand P.E Nation . While a year of planning would have been ideal, when we were given the opportunity to show in May after only launching in March, we turned around a show-stopping presentation in just under eight weeks.

We enlisted a team of experts— Lara Karamian event producer extraordinaire, Alice Babidge, acclaimed production and set designer, and DJ Sam Francisco and Sylvester Martinez of Yolanda Be Cool, who created a custom ‘90s playlist. Once the core crew was locked down, the sponsorship quest begun. This is probably the toughest part of fashion week because it’s extremely competitive and it’s not just brand awareness anymore, it’s about long-lasting relationships that actually make sense.

Keep scrolling to read all the little details about what it’s like to put together a fashion week  show.

Pictured: P.E Nation Resort 17

Next on the list is the venue. On or offsite? Then it’s the actual set and production itself. This requires a lot of planning as you want to ensure it’s something different, you need to stand out amongst a sea of hungry designers all looking to do the same—keeping in mind the finished product also needs to be ‘PR-able’.

While this is going on, model castings are also happening. Lara initiates this part of the puzzle and as there’s a lot of competition between designers—as far as casting models and ensuring there’s enough time for models to get from one show to the next—decisions need to be made on the spot.

The PR strategy is created and about to be actioned. First there is an announcement to be drawn up and sent out, generating excitement that P.E Nation has been included in the schedule and next is compiling the guest list. 

The guest list is always a hard one as there is the delegates list to consider (those attending both locally and internationally including media, buyers, influencers and celebrities) as well as those who have supported the brand—friends, family, and colleagues. But there is a set capacity, so it takes careful consideration when deciding who makes the list and who needs to be omitted. It’s strategic. As a debut designer, it’s about generating as much quality press as possible, so that means having to be a little cutthroat when necessary.

Related: The Fashion Week Australia Street Style Moments We’ll Never Forget

And on to the actual choreography of the presentation. It’s super considered, nothing is by chance, and it takes many revisions to get to the final version. The order in which the clothing appears is important, as well as the timing of the music and the integration with the lighting—you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

From a PR perspective, you’re thinking about that Instagram moment. The show is short so you need to create something that will last a season. Social media is really important, as it creates content that we can continue to use to promote the range—which isn’t set to drop for another six months. Because the setting for the P.E show was going to be dark, there was definitely apprehension from my side as to whether we could get ‘the shot’—but I know better than to argue with the visionaries Pip Edwards and Claire Tregoning when it comes to creative, I just had to make it work and thanks to Robin Hearfield, Life Without Andy and Lester Jones, we didn’t just get ‘the shot’, we got several.

In the background, the PR plan is still moving forward. My personal approach to PR is strategic and it’s about quality over quantity. I was mindful of our partnerships and obligations as well as wanting to create fresh and exciting content too. Pre-show, an intentional execution ensued which included a BTS shoot during the hair and makeup trial for TOMBOY Beauty as well as a long list of exclusive angles and imagery for the wide range of media in attendance.

There is also a lot of admin going on in the background—uploading guestlists to MBFWA’s exclusive system (not going to lie, I may have yelled at the screen many times during this part of the process), managing RSVPs, writing runsheets and managing pre-show, backstage and post-show interviews.

The day of the show calls for an early start. Hair , makeup and nails begins, bump in of the set, interviews, steaming of the clothes… and lots of coffee! Everyone has a place to be and a job to do so it’s all hands on deck.

As it nears showtime, I head out to the registration desk to make sure everyone who needs to be there has arrived, a couple of mix ups with RSVPs and we’re back on schedule. Backstage, the models are dressed and on stage and they’re waiting for my cue…. That being, that every key guest has walked through the doors and is waiting for the show to start, the objective is to make some noise about the brand and the show so it’s imperative the right people are there. The space starts to fill up. Guests start to get impatient. We close the doors and they stand still, in a quiet room, in complete darkness. The sound of a basketball being dribbled begins before a light and music presentation showcasing 22 models on black-mirrored plinths in varying height and levels brings urban sport to Fashion Week Australia.

Ten minutes later and the presentation is over but the show must go on. Post-show interviews, live TV feeds and radio interviews are completed while the production team bump out before the next designer bumps in. For me, it was home to my six month old whilst compiling imagery, writing a post-show press release and fulfilling both exclusive and mainstream press requirements before heading out for a celebratory team dinner for a job well done.

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Currently, upgrading to a king size bed. 

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So many but mostly a mix of mamas, fashion and interiors—@innika, @zuluandzephyr, @kellydaviesgreen, @ejmaxwell, @wethepeoplestyle, @anorganisedlife, @stylerunner, @tanecoffin, @thedesignchaser.

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How to Create Fashion Week Presentations that Wow

Written by:, danika daly.

• Event Marketing & Production , Fashion Week

Image Credit:

• DepositPhotos

New York Fashion Week is back and blowing the fashion crowds away with beautiful shows, street style, and also some snow. This writer tends to love a good presentation because of the personal touches that are added to the show, the freedom to enter and leave as you please, and the fact that you can get up close and personal to the clothing, hair and makeup. However, not all presentations are created the same. Here’s some tips on creating a memorable Fashion Week presentation that will have your show all over Instagram. Most of this applies for runway shows, too.

1. The theme dominates all decisions

Having a strong theme is a key component to having a successful presentation. The designer behind the brand should have some sort of theme in mind for their collection, and everything else will bounce off of that. If there is no specific theme for the collection, tie it all together with the presentation itself and tell the collection’s story.

Select a venue that works for your theme. Find partners and sponsors that align with the event theme and the brand. Hair, makeup, nails, decor, music and everything else should align with the theme and tell the collection’s story flawlessly. Don’t forget to include lots of Instagram-worthy elements.

Though this next example is a runway show, it’s a great use of theme. Hood by Air’s collection this Fashion Week is called Pilgrimage. Hood by Air plane tickets were placed on each guest’s seat and models carried bags wrapped in airport security plastic. One model was also wrapped in said plastic. The tickets are a great personal touch, and makes you feel like you’re heading on a Hood by Air Pilgrimage, too.

2. Message (Not) Optional

Not all shows deliver a strong message, but it’s helpful to get people talking about your presentation. Brother Vellies did an incredible job in delivering a message with their “Transformation” theme. Besides the adorable butterflies fluttering around the room, the label’s designer Aurora James used the presentation to express the importance of sustainability and the need for more upcycling in the fashion industry. A mix of thigh-high boots and open-toe sandals for this Fall 2016 collection were pointing fingers (or toes) at global warming.

3. Think outside the tents

Don’t be afraid to add something to your show that’s not typical of fashion shows. Mara Hoffman’s Fall 2016 collection featured cocktail attire, and was set in the perfect location and decor to fit that theme. Hoffman even told Vogue, “I wanted to be able to set the mood. I thought I could story-tell in this environment much better than the runway.” The show evoked the ageless and timeless beauty of women with models from children to 90-something Ilona Royce Smithkin.

Because of the range of age, particularly the adorable spunk of Smithkin, Mara Hoffman’s show flooded my Instagram feed, and probably yours, too.

4. Don’t skimp on an RSVP strategy

Monitor the Fashion Week calendar (and look at past calendars) and select a less-busy day and time for your show. Once the scheduling is set, submit it to The Fashion Calendar, Modem Online and other Fashion Week calendars. Create a list of editors, bloggers, celebrities and other industry professionals who will find your invite relevant to them (ie GQ is not the best fit for a womenswear show).

Rolling start times of presentations are more appealing to invitees, especially if the brand is an emerging designer, because guests can stroll in and out at their leisure. If another show starts late, they don’t have to worry about rushing over to this one for a specific start runway start time. Highlight the time frame on the invitation.

The rolling start times of presentations are more appealing to invitees, especially if the brand is an emerging designer, because guests can stroll in and out at their leisure.

Create an invite that fits the theme and is appealing. If your invite looks cheap, invitees will assume the event won’t be a well-executed event. Your invite should be to-the-point, mobile-friendly, include a function to add to their calendar, and have an easy RSVP action, such as clicking to RSVP or simply replying to the RSVP email.

After the show is over, your job isn’t done. Send a show recap and images/video out to media immediately after the show to secure press coverage.

Tweet @prcouture with presentations you love this season.

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The New York Times

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Inside Fashion Week

Spring 2016.

By The New York Times

On-the-ground, around-the-clock dispatches from the spring 2016 shows, brought to you by the editors of Styles and T.

• Street Style
• Sound Bites
• Celebrities

What Is Fashion Week?

When is a week more than a week? When it bulges at the seams with 200-plus invitation-only but frantically obsessed-over fashion shows. As New York Fashion Week makes its biannual return (with London, Milan and Paris iterations waiting in the wings) and the chatter turns to runways and redingotes.

Here is a timely explainer, your no-nonsense guide to an occasionally high-nonsense event.

— Matthew Schneier and Nathan W. Pyle

Sound Bite: Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony

Carol Lim and Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony first made names for themselves as harbingers of cool with their concept store. On Tuesday night, the duo held a dinner with Samsung at the L'Atelier des Artistes, and reinforced those credentials by flying over the rising star Angela Dimayuga, executive chef of Mission Chinese, to cook for a small group of fashion insiders.

"When we throw a party, we want it to feel real and authentic," said Mr. Leon, who, alongside Ms. Kim, unveiled their spring collection for Kenzo on Sunday. "We want people to eat and dance the way we like to eat and dance, and that's why we brought her over here to Paris."

"Angela is our friend and we are obsessed with her cooking, so it was the perfect choice. We wanted tonight to feel true to our brand wherever we are in the world."

Guests sampled intriguing dishes ranging from tingling cucumbers and lotus root, Chongqing chicken wings with explosively spicy chili, and rice porridge with raw egg yolk and beef tartare. Later the party moved downstairs to a subterranean club -- with a bathtub in the middle of the floor -- where James Blake played a set.

— Elizabeth Paton

First Look: Miu Miu

And so to the last show of the season, at the Palais d'Iéna, for Miu Miu, where models came down a giant sweeping staircase before weaving in and out of vast gold and silver curves and arches on the runway.

The first look was pure Miu Miu: a boxy oversize jacket in an eye-popping geometric print, pigtails and sky-high platforms with glitter heels. Later came layering: sheer pink frilled petticoats over tailored shirts and slacks, patterned leather jackets with clashing pencil skirts and a consistent playful touch throughout. Fox and raccoon tails waggled as models walked.

At Moncler finale, two rows of fencers stood at attention. ‘But why didn’t they fence?’ asked one puzzled attendee stuartemmrichny

Eye Candy: Moncler

The Scene at Louis Vuitton

Face in the Crowd: Alicia Vikander at Louis Vuitton

The Louis Vuitton show took place on the season's last day in the shadow of its parent company's gargantuan new art museum, the Louis Vuitton Foundation, on the outskirts of Paris. Across the catwalk from the Arnault family of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and sitting between Anna Wintour and Miranda Kerr was the Swedish actress Alicia Vikander.

"I feel very Parisian chic," said Ms. Vikander, the star of the fall 2015 Louis Vuitton campaign (who was dressed in Nicolas Ghesquière's styles, from head to toe).

What is your earliest memory of Louis Vuitton?

I was actually very young and remember it so vividly. I had practice at ballet school and had forgotten my rucksack, and so my friend's grandmother lent me her old Louis Vuitton handbag. I remember being quite nervous to use it! I knew that I had something quite precious in my hands.

How has your perception of it changed, now that you have started working for the brand?

I have a greater depth of understanding of fashion as an art form, I think. I see Nicolas as an artist who is really pushing the boundaries of his discipline. As an individual, he's incredibly inspirational, as is what he's doing in carving out the future of this brand.

What are you doing after the show?

First, I have a photo shoot. But then I'm going to spend a few hours in Paris with my friend Lisa who came with me on this trip. I want to head over to Montmartre and just wander around. It's a real bohemian melting pot of art galleries and sex shops and cafes and boutiques and one of my favorite parts of the city.

It's straight back to London!

What are you doing in London?

Well, I'm starting shooting on my latest movie, which is the latest Bourne movie with Matt Damon. It's incredibly exciting, and I can't wait. Then I have a lot of promotion to do for "The Danish Girl," and I've got two more movies that will be released soon after that, so it's a constant whirlwind of work and travel for me right now. But it's wonderful! I'm having fun.

First Look: Louis Vuitton

It was only a coincidence — wasn't it? — that Kering announced early on Wednesday that it had hired Demna Gvasalia as the new designer for Balenciaga, just hours before its great rival, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, staged Nicolas Ghesquière's latest collection for Louis Vuitton?

But of course it was.

Still, the surprise announcement (at least for those who hadn't checked their Twitter feeds overnight) dominated the front row buzz at the Vuitton show, which drew, among others, Alicia Vikander, Catherine Deneuve and Michelle Williams.

Then this opening look came out on the runway and the conversation turned, briefly, back to fashion.

— Stuart Emmrich

Eye Candy: Louis Vuitton

Demna gvasalia named balenciaga’s new artistic director.

Balenciaga has a gritty new look. On Wednesday, the final day of Paris Fashion Week, the French luxury group Kering announced it had appointed Demna Gvasalia, head designer of the underground cult collective Vetements, as artistic director of the former couture house.

Mr. Gvasalia, a 34-year-old Georgian, becomes the third creative director of Balenciaga in the last four years. His appointment comes at a crucial time for the brand, which is included in Kering’s smaller luxury brands group, along with names such as Stella McCartney and Alexander McQueen, but which has an outsize fashion presence, thanks to its name and history.

— Vanessa Friedman

Demna Gvasalia to Balenciaga: The Front Row Reaction

Presumably much to the chagrin of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the front row at the Louis Vuitton show on Wednesday was abuzz with news of Kering's appointment of Demna Gvasalia to the helm of Balenciaga.

Several of the industry's biggest players shared their reaction:

Anna Wintour, editor in chief, American Vogue: "I think François-Henri Pinault had shown on several occasions that he is able to make brave choices when appointing designers. Look at Alessandro Michele at Gucci and the disruptive and exciting influence he has had there. There is a need in fashion to take a new direction in a modern way, and Demna has shown himself to be more than capable of that. Things move so fast in today's industry. The position needed to be filled by someone with a strong aesthetic and real point of view. He's very talented and the flavor of the moment, so in my view a wonderful choice."

Virginie Mouzat, editor in chief of fashion, French Vanity Fair: "I only have one thing to say: This is a healthy move, and it will shake up the system. I cannot say which way things will go or how the appointment will play out. But it brings new blood to the sector, and we badly need that."

Eva Chen, head of fashion partnerships, Instagram: "I got a breaking news alert in the night about the appointment, and it immediately woke me up — and I think more broadly that's what the appointment of Demna may do to the sector. Balenciaga has always chosen creative directors who like to shock and are cutting edge. But what is particularly exciting about this is the power of social media platforms like Instagram. Demna cast models for his show from Instagram, and his work is rooted in street style, which has exploded as a force in fashion from the platform. There is a new kind of democracy emerging in the fashion world, when a designer like him can take the top job of one of the most prestigious brands in the sector."

The Final Day of Paris Fashion Week (Day 9)

After hundreds of shows in four cities across two continents, the spring 2016 season has come to an end.

On Wednesday, the final day of Paris Fashion Week, the morning brings Louis Vuitton, where the stars are expected to turn out to admire the latest designs from Nicolas Ghesquière. Rumors, now at deafening levels, are that the new Balenciaga appointment may be announced to, ahem, coincide with the show. Stay tuned for the latest.

Then, at midday, expect the usual extravaganza from Moncler Gamme Rouge at the Grand Palais, before things wrap up at 2 p.m. with Miuccia Prada’s Miu Miu show.

After that, the style set (at least the ones who just cover women's wear) will head home until February, when it all begins again.

Partying With Valentino

Tuesday was the 27th consecutive day of the fashion season, meaning (by my wildly unscientific guess) that there have been around 54 fashion parties since then, from late-night raves in downtown Manhattan lofts to elegant dinners in upscale Milanese restaurants to boisterous gatherings in seedy watering holes in the Marais neighborhood of Paris. One would think the fashion crowd would have had enough by now.

On Tuesday, a throng descended upon the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, in the Eighth Arrondissement, for an African-themed party hosted by Valentino just hours after its warmly received show in the Tuileries.

All the regulars were there: Anna Dello Russo, the editor at large for Vogue Japan, hanging out with pals in a cozy alcove; Alber Elbaz of Lanvin, taking refuge from the crowds and the heat on a tiny balcony off the D.J. station; Suzy Menkes, the Vogue international editor, happily posing for selfies with fans; the all-grown-up "Mad Men" actress Kiernan Shipka, who had been at the show earlier that day ("Beautiful"); the Valentino co-designer Pierpaolo Piccioli, skittering among the crowd to make sure everyone was having a good time; and Valentino Garavani himself, holding court on a couch, surrounded by his usual complement of handsome young men and lovely young women.

It was a fun party, one that seemed likely to go late into the night. But some people were clearly beginning to feel the effects of the fashion marathon. "All things considered," said one editor, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid antagonizing the Valentino brand, a major advertiser, "I'd rather be back in my hotel room with a cup of tea, watching CNN."

Face in the Crowd: Maria Sharapova at Valentino

The crowd at Valentino was excitable on Tuesday afternoon as Paris Fashion Week -- and the spring 2016 season -- hit the home stretch. Seated a few spots down from Valentino on the front row was the tennis star Maria Sharapova, who took five minutes to talk to Styles before the show began.

What brings you to Paris?

I was in Germany and realized there was a two-day window in my schedule. I've never been to Paris Fashion Week before -- so here I am!

And what shows have you seen so far?

I was at Stella McCartney yesterday, then Chanel earlier this morning. This will be my last show.

Does attending these sorts of shows affect your decisions on what you wear, either on or off the court?

Of course! That said, my state of mind varies quite drastically depending on where I am and what I'm doing. When I'm playing, I always go for clean lines and distinctive silhouettes. But in my day-to-day life I'm always on the road, so my lifestyle governs my wardrobe: Think soft, simple separates that are easily layered and pack easily.

What else do you like to do in Paris when you visit?

I eat, of course, as so many visitors do. But actually, I don't often go to French places. There's a small family-run Italian restaurant with just 10 tables that I love, called La Corte. And a Japanese joint called Tamara, where the quality of the sushi is out of this world.

And what's next for you after the show?

A trip to the airport then back to the U.S. I have one last tournament to play in Singapore in a few weeks' time, so I need to get back and keep training.

After a few quiet, dark outfits, Valentino finally let some color pop out. The rest of the show was high romance stuartemmrichny

The Daily Shoe: Juan Carlos Obando

Juan Carlos Obando outfitted models in dramatic sandals that felt part ballerina, part flamenco dancer. One can wrap the pom-pomed ties around a bare leg, or — as Obando did in his show — style them over a jumpsuit.

See more daily shoes” in T Magazine

— Alexa Brazilian

Six Things to Know About the Iris Van Herpen Show

It was inspired by the living tree bridges in India.

The centerpiece was a trio of machines from an Austrian robotics brand covered in a spiky gray-black latex-like material that resembled a volcanic lunar landscape but had been magnetically “grown” by the Dutch artist Jolan van der Wiel and then sewn into socklike garments by Ms. Van Herpen’s studio.

During the show, the robots 3D-printed woven root-like lacings around the actress Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne of Tarth in "Game of Thrones" and who was lying silently on a plinth-like structure in their midst.

Ms. Christie met Ms Van Herpen in Amsterdam in April of this year after discovering her work on the Internet, and they hatched the plan. She said she was interested in the way Ms. Van Herpen “explores ideas of design that go beyond clothing to what makes up our human structure,” and had always thought it was only a matter of time before Ms. Van Herpen made something that actually was alive. In the interim, however, she liked the idea that she could help the work come alive -- though she also said it was weird when she was lying there and “halfway through the show, I realized I couldn’t get up and leave even if I wanted to.”

The connection between the clothes and the performance was the idea of root systems, as expressed sartorially in a variety of lace — flesh-toned classic lace from Calais, laser-cut silvery futuristic “lace,” and laser-cut leathery lace — used in simple shirtdresses, long mesh skirts under white organza shirts, and a slinky black evening dress that looked like nothing so much as a futuristic snakeskin.

Though this was the first time Ms. Christie had worn a dress by Ms. Van Herpen (white, halter-neck, covered in synthetic silver lace mesh), they were engaged in “plotting” more clothes for her future. Ms. Christie will next be seen as a Storm Trooper in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," so she was asked whether this meant clothes for public appearances, or professional gigs? She looked momentarily very excited. “For public appearance, I guess,” she said. “But the other possibility is even better!”

Eye Candy: Iris Van Herpen

Eye Candy: Vanessa Seward

Vanessa Seward's spring/summer 2016 collection featured metallic brocades, patterned headscarves and an all-white suit — which gave the collection a distinctly disco-glamour vibe.

See more scenes from the show in T Magazine

Three’s A Trend: Wide-Legged Jeans

If runways are the barometer of next season’s denim styles, the spring/summer 2016 shows have been loud and clear: baggy, wide-legged jeans are back. Dries Van Noten showed a low-slung, particularly loosefitting pair with platform sandals; Chanel’s denim came stamped with a floral print and fringed edges; and Marc Jacobs showed an especially slouchy version, printed with the faces of a crowd.

See more trend reports in T Magazine

— Malina Joseph Gilchrist

The Daily Bag: Chanel

Karl Lagerfeld built a Chanel-ified airport terminal for his show at the Grand Palais in Paris. This watercolor-print luggage set might just be the best thing that’s ever gone through security.

See more daily bags in T Magazine

First Look: Chanel

It had been pouring rain most of the night and morning here in Paris. But around 10:25, five minutes before the scheduled start of the Chanel show, the sun suddenly came out from behind the clouds, bathing the Grand Palais in a golden light.

It was perhaps a fitting tribute to Karl Lagerfeld, the master showman of Paris Fashion Week, who had transformed the main gallery of the Grand Palais into an airport waiting lounge (serving "Chanel Airlines") for the presentation of his spring 2016 collection.

He did so for a crowd that included dozens of Chanel ladies in their Chanel finery; a Chinese actress who strolled around the set pushing an empty luggage trolley (trailed the entire time by a posse of Chinese paparazzi); and the tennis star Maria Sharapova, recovering from a recent spate of injuries and sitting in the front row next to Anna Wintour. How was she feeling? "I'm getting better," she said, "but it gives me a chance to enjoy myself and come see these clothes, which I love."

The show opened with this global traveler, rolling suitcase at the ready, in a multicolored pantsuit. The rest of the show featured poppy colors, mixes of prints and textures, and just the right amount of bling to keep those Chanel ladies happy.

At the finale, Mr. Lagerfeld took a slow, triumphant walk through the audience, stopping to pick up a scarf that had been dropped on the runway by one of the models and had sat there forlornly for most of the show. He did so with a sly smile and a slight shrug, as if to say, "Well, someone had to do it."

When the show ended, the crowd streamed out of the Grand Palais to find that the sun had disappeared once again, slipping behind a dark gray cloud.

More rain is forecast for the afternoon.

What They’re Wearing: At Chanel

Each season, Chanel invites its most valued clients to Paris Fashion Week to view its latest ready-to-wear collection. They come in the hundreds and from all over the world for the biannual spectacles, wearing their latest purchases — and ready to look at some new ones.

We spoke to three women before they took their seats in the Chanel Airlines terminal on Tuesday:

Kate Kokoreva "I am Russian, but I bought my outfit in Monaco before Fashion Month began. I am a TV presenter and have no time to shop on the road when I'm working. But a Chanel outfit takes me anywhere I need to go. An outfit like this is everything a woman needs. It's timeless but sexy, not at all vulgar and very, very chic. I am a devoted fan."

Thássia Naves "I come over from Brazil, and each time I do I think Karl Lagerfeld blows my mind. He is such a genius! Look at this place. Although I love everything he does, I tend to buy mainly black pieces. It works in all seasons and all climates and makes me look elegant wherever I go. That's incredibly important to me. But being cool matters, too. That's why I bought the backpack."

Kristina Magakelyan "I've come in from Moscow with my mother for the show because Chanel is my favorite brand. I've been four or five times before and am obsessed with Paris Fashion Week. I love the fact I can sit with celebrities and have discussions with some of the most important people in this industry. I bought this outfit a few weeks ago in Cannes; pearls are so pretty. But my favorite part is probably the sunglasses. I have so many pairs back at home."

The Scene: Chanel Airlines

Boarding for the penultimate day of Paris Fashion Week began bright and early on Tuesday at the Grand Palais, which had been transformed into a life-size Chanel Airlines terminal.

Guests handed over retro-style plane tickets before passing through security and into a dazzling all-white departure lounge, complete with roaming pilots, branded luggage trolleys and check-in desks.

Of course there were celebrities galore, with Cara Delevingne at the eye of the paparazzi storm. And at Chanel, the fashion show is as much on the front row as it is on the catwalk. Hundreds of the world's wealthiest women, dressed head to toe in Chanel, chattered excitedly and tottered around, taking pictures with their iPhones.

"I came here early specifically to people watch — it's just bananas in here," said the stylist Katie Grand, who was perched on a metal chair in the center of the terminal.

"And it feels very real," she continued. "Often, when I travel, this is exactly what I see wherever I am in the world. Chanel-clad women on their phones and running to find their gate."

The architect Peter Marino, wearing his usual uniform of leather and bare flesh, found the fact that art was imitating life a little too close for comfort. "This is just like a real trip to the airport," he exclaimed on his third circuit around the central check-in desks. "This place is so big I can't find where I'm meant to be going!"

But for Anna Dello Russo, the Japan Vogue editor-at-large, who was swamped by women of all ages asking for a selfie, she said it was just like real air travel: One had to go with the flow.

"I've seen at least 10 women here wearing the same outfit as me this morning — that doesn't happen very often, I assure you," she said, testing out a Chanel roller suitcase as the crowd dispersed, ready for take off.

"But I don't mind," she said. "This is like a Lunar Park, a make-believe playground where grown-ups can pretend. Look how much fun everyone is having. This is, for me, what fashion is all about."

Eye Candy: Chanel

Chanel’s version of the birkenstock.

Wear the runway on your feet: Light-up Birkenstocks at @Chanel #PFW vvfriedman

Fashion Review: Chanel and Saint Laurent

On the penultimate day of Paris Fashion Week, Karl Lagerfeld built an airplane terminal in the Grand Palais, complete with boarding Gate No. 5, departure screens (to Shanghai, New York, Moscow and Rome), metal waiting-room seats, and male flight attendants, the better to frame his flight plan for Chanel. As one does.

Mr. Lagerfeld and Hedi Slimane of Saint Laurent are both masters of the highly commercial mega-collection disguised as some sort of fashion performance art. It’s a formula.

Read more on Vanessa Friedman's fashion review of Chanel, Saint Laurent, Hermès and Sonia Rykiel.

Paris Fashion Week: Day 8

With just 36 hours to go until the end of the spring 2016 season, Tuesday may be the penultimate stretch, but it holds some big-name shows.

Check-in starts at 10:30 a.m. for the latest Chanel all-star spectacle, taking off at the Grand Palais. The retro airline ticket invitations suggest a Chanel Airlines-themed event, a favorite of Karl Lagerfeld, who has turned to it several times before. Two hours later, Vanessa Seward, a staple for chic Parisian women, shows off her latest collection, before an en masse turnout for Valentino in the Jardin des Tuileries.

Iris van Herpen rounds off the official schedule at 4:30, but there will be parties after hours: Opening Ceremony, Roger Vivier and Valentino are having them, as is Elle magazine, which is hosting one at the United States Embassy.

Sound Bite: Thomas Brodie-Sangster at Saint Laurent

At the Saint Laurent show on Monday night, there was a rare sight: a celebrity who was not just on time, but 15 minutes early.

"I’ve never been to anything like this before," said Thomas Brodie-Sangster, the dashing young British actor and breakout star of the "Maze Runner" movies, sitting in a near-empty front row on the near-pitch-black set.

"We had the premiere for the latest 'Maze Runner' film, 'The Scorch Trials,' in Paris last week, and Saint Laurent sent me a suit with an invite to come along," he said. "And I thought why not, and headed over on my own. It’s not a scene I’ve ever seen before. I’m doing a lot of people watching."

The Daily Bag: Saint Laurent

While tiaras and wellington boots were the attention-getting accessories at Hedi Slimane’s show for Saint Laurent, this tiny evening bag — which sparkled in a warm gold — was a quiet scene-stealer.

Street Style: Paris Fashion Week

First Look: Saint Laurent

The evening skies were overcast in Paris on Monday, but inside at the Saint Laurent show, there were lots of opportunities for stargazing.

There was the twinkling digital-art-enhanced set, designed by Hedi Slimane. And the front row was lit up by photographers' flashes for Catherine Deneuve, Terry Richardson and Lily Donaldson, not to mention a small army of Mr. Slimane's cool-kid friends who had come in from London, New York and Los Angeles.

And then there were the clothes. First came a midnight-black metallic gown, all acres of bare flesh and a center split. Next, dazzling little metallic shifts and sheer barely-there gowns, most of them worn with Wellington boots, plastic tiaras and biker jackets or furs, and the occasional touch of razor-sharp suiting upon which this designer made his name.

The catwalk suggested that, after Chloé earlier this week, Mr. Slimane is yet another designer inspired by nostalgia for the grungy glamour of British festival style.

Eye Candy: Saint Laurent

Saint laurent’s front row.

Btw, this is is the real front row @YSL - Hedi Slimane's cool kid pals who all pile in on the floor #PFW lizziepaton

Rock Royalty at Saint Laurent

Rock royalty at @YSL #PFW pic.twitter.com/LT4uC3dWCG vvfriedman

Sound Bite: Janelle Monáe

One face appearing again and again at Paris Fashion Week belongs to Janelle Monáe. Ungaro, Akris, Stella McCartney, Sonia Rykiel -- the singer and producer has become a front row stalwart. But what was she doing in Paris in the first place?

"I'm here for the art, and by that I mean fashion by the way, which is one of the greatest art forms there is," she said, tossing one giant braid over her shoulder. "As an artist myself, I think it's important to appreciate different disciplines and cultures. That's also why I am here: to talk to locals, learn about their lives and what is inspiring them over here. Not that I speak much French."

Which of the collections so far had excited her the most?

"Probably Stella McCartney: That show just blew me away," she said in the Sonia Rykiel flagship store, just before that show began. "But the clothes coming out of Sonia Rykiel at the moment are amazing, too. This fur, these thigh-high suede boots. I'm such a fan, hence I'm wearing it from head to toe."

First Look: Hermès

Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski opened her second collection for Hermès with this coolly elegant number, in front a slightly bedraggled and damp crowd of fashionistas, many caught off guard by the arrival of an unexpected rainstorm in Paris this afternoon.

The midnight blue color palette was carried out with the next few dresses, before switching to variations of black and white, royal blue and, later in the show, bright orange accented with matching sneakers.

In the front row was Kris Jenner, with boyfriend Corey Gamble. She was, in case you had to ask, perfectly dry.

The Daily Shoe: Hermès

This barely there mule from Hermès designer Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski is simultaneously sexy and demure. Shown in this high-gloss nude, these slender-toed heels will instantly make any leg look longer.

See more daily shoes in T Magazine

Hermes rides the accessories wave with giant slices of stones at neck and waist #PFW vvfriedman

Eye Candy: Giambattista Valli

Gigi Hadid at Giambattista Valli

Gigi Hadid closes Giambattista Valli show. Not for nothing does this girl have 6.8 million Instagram followers stuartemmrichny

The Daily Jewel: Giambattista Valli

At the Giambattista Valli show, earthy chain necklaces adorned with river-stone pendants set in gold, silver and gray metal provided a rustic contrast to the collection’s delicate chiffons and richly printed silks.

See more daily jewels in T Magazine

A Little Giambattista Glitter

Only 11 of the 39 fresh-faced girls on Giambattista Valli's runway today got the glitter treatment. Backstage before the show, the makeup artist Val Garland explained, “If you’ve got a really good base, and you put glitter on — it looks good on anyone. It looks like you’re going to a party.” Words to live by.

Get the look in T Magazine

— Alice Cavanagh

Julie de Libran of Sonia Rykiel: In the Studio

The artistic director of Sonia Rykiel discusses the treasures she found in the designer’s former office, and what responsibilities she can’t trust to anyone else.

Read the interview, here.

What They’re Wearing: Lee Radziwill at Giambattista Valli

Inside the Grand Palais on Monday, a rain-soaked crowd at the Giambattista Valli show was cheered by the sight of Salma Hayek attempting to take a selfie with a bemused Lee Radziwill.

"You look better than me!" Ms. Hayek exclaimed to the Paris-dwelling American socialite and onetime European princess after examining the fruits of their efforts.

After seven decades in the public eye, it can be little surprise that the sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis has mastered the art of stylish dress. In between interruptions from adoring fans of all ages, Ms. Radziwill took Styles through her wardrobe choice for the sixth day of Paris Fashion Week.

HAIR Have a style and own it. Who has time to think about these things endlessly? I've been wearing my hair in a chignon like this for years.

JACKET This is Moncler. I bought it in their Paris store just last week. I'm totally devoted to that brand and find things there constantly. Like this cardigan -- it looks so simple, but all the quilting makes it so warm.

HANDBAG This clutch is by Azzedine Alaïa, who is just a master of design. The pattern is complex but monochrome, which means it goes with anything.

TROUSERS So many of these women are probably absolutely frozen. I'm a firm believer in not always being a slave to trends and wearing what makes one happy. And on a day like today, it's a pair of simple black slacks by Armani. I have hundreds of pairs.

EARRINGS I wish I could give you a story, but there isn't one. They are ancient. I've had them for so long I can't remember where they come from. But they are silver and simple, so easy to wear all day every day.

SHOES Tod's loafers in a patent crocodile print. It's the practical option on a day like today!

Eye Candy: Stella McCartney

Fashion review: stella mccartney, alexander mcqueen and more.

There has been a lot of talk recently about the underrepresentation of women in positions of power when it comes to industries such as film and technology. Less discussed, but equally startling when you look at the numbers, is how few women are designers at the head of major fashion brands (or even minor ones). Of the 91 shows on the official Paris schedule, fewer than 20 percent are brands with female creative directors (or their titular ilk). Where are the women?

Read more on Vanessa Friedman's fashion review of Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Sacai, Akris and Giambattista Valli.

First Look: Sacai

The first look of the Sacai spring collection from Chitose Abe was a printed halter shift of filmy kaleidoscopic ribbons, latticed together into a voluminous silhouette.

Prints then continued to come in every which way: roomy bandanna-inspired two pieces in navy and white, all gauzy sleeves and asymmetric points; gilded floral car coats and starched skirts and dresses; and filmy rainbow stripes, with black brocade finish.

Eye Candy: Sacai

Sound bite: salma hayek at stella mccartney.

In pride of place at the Stella McCartney show Monday morning, nestled between the photographer Mario Testino and her husband, the Kering chief executive François-Henri Pinault, sat a beaming Salma Hayek.

The Mexican actress, who took selfies galore with the two men before the chandeliers dimmed at the Palais Garnier in Paris, was full of praise at the finale.

"Stella shows that sustainability can be beautiful and fun, and that's very powerful. I just love her — and my god, did I love those shoes!" Ms. Hayek said, coughing occasionally behind dark glasses and a mass of raven hair. She explained that she was fending off a cold.

"I also think that the models at Stella are stunning. She manages to get all the prettiest girls of the season in one room to walk at her show."

After stopping to kiss Carine Roitfeld — and to tell the French fashion editor that she followed her on Instagram — Ms. Hayek explained the secret of an enduring friendship with Ms. McCartney: "You know, I think we get on incredibly well because we are both Virgos. We are perfectionists."

"We can go for drinks together and work out, but to me she's also an inspiration," she said. "She's a mother and an artist and a businesswoman and a friend and a role model. I think you should always have friends who inspire you. And to me, she is one of a kind."

First Look: Stella McCartney

Two-thirds of the "FourFiveSeconds" collaborators — Rihanna and Kanye West — ruled Paris on Saturday night with their Instagram-breaking appearances at the French Vogue party. So one might have expected that Paul McCartney would have made it a trifecta on Monday morning.

But to the disappointment of the paparazzi, Sir Paul was nowhere to be seen in the front row at the ornate Palais Garnier as his daughter, the designer Stella McCartney, showed her spring 2016 collection, starting off with this form-fitting dress in a tartan-like red-and-white plaid, followed by several variations in different colors.

All the models wore these vaguely Japanese-influenced platform shoes, which, during the finale, resounded through the halls of the ornate opera house like horses' hooves heading down the stretch.

Paris Fashion Week: Day 7

For the style set, after three and a half weeks on the road, Monday of Paris Fashion Week is often the moment when they realize that the end of the season is drawing near. But before the last blast, several big brands will roll out onto the catwalks.

Stella McCartney, who sent out enormous gold knuckle-dusters spelling out her name as invitations for her spring collection, begins the day at 10 a.m. An hour later, it is over to Sacai, the Japanese brand that has developed a near-maniacal following thanks to the sartorial savvy of its creative director (and Comme des Garçons alumna) Chitose Abe.

After Leonard Paris at midday comes Giambattista Valli, before an afternoon at leisure, often leading to a frenzied dash by frazzled editors around the boutiques and art galleries of the Left Bank.

All of a sudden, it's early evening. Trot over to the Hermès show being held in Le Garde Républicaine. Sonia Rykiel will hold an intimate show in St.-Germain for a chosen few, after which some will head to Esteban Cortázar.

But at 8, anyone who could get their hands on a ticket heads to see the latest offerings from Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent. Front-row whispers about an announcement of an appointment at Balenciaga, the Saint Laurent stablemate, will no doubt be reaching a crescendo.

Alexander McQueen

The barren heaths are a landscape where Sarah Burton seems to thrive. Her collections for Alexander McQueen often seem pulled from the wild, a prairie chic that ultimately explodes into full-on glamour.

So it went with tonight's McQueen collection. It began simply, almost humbly, with plain, linen-colored dresses, crinkled and creased as if by hard use. By the end, there were gowns sparkling and sweeping over the stage, feathered and fringed. Barren landscape no more.

— Matthew Schneier

Eye Candy: Alexander McQueen

McQueen finale gowns: fashion that also dusts matthewschneier

The Daily Jewel: Alexander McQueen

Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton wove a delicate web of body jewelry around her models, using layers of antiqued silver chains and charms that gave her sheer gowns a moody, romantic quality.

See more jewels from the runways in T Magazine

Last Night’s Party: In Paris, French Vogue Celebrates 95 Years

What does one do in Paris when one turns 95? Party, of course.

At least that’s what French Vogue did to celebrate its 95th anniversary on Saturday night as seemingly all of fashion descended on a private mansion just south of the Arc de Triomphe.

“Drinks!” bellowed Kanye West when asked what he was looking forward to most. The rapper and designer, who attended several Paris shows last week, had completely ignored the black-tie dress code and arrived with his mother-in-law, Kris Jenner.

“Drinks, drinks and more drinks,” he said. “That’s what I’m feeling tonight. Let’s get on with it. It’s time to get this party started.”

Read more and see more photos here.

Take Janelle Monáe, dressed all in white, add a forest of select green birches, multiply by architect Sou Fujimoto, and what do you get?

Albert Kriemler's mostly white (but also black and navy and red) Akris show.

Swiss cheese holes on cotton shirting segued into checkerboard squares and corkboard prints, and gold and silver trouser suits created a new equation for nature's geometry, solved in sartorial form.

An earlier version of this post misspelled the Akris designer's surname. He is Albert Kriemler, not Kreimler.

The Daily Shoe: Akris

At Akris, clothes and accessories were made from a natural-hued, strawlike material. These tropical platform oxfords are perfect for spring days in the city.

Roland Mouret

Galaxy turns 10, Roland Mouret announced Sunday with great fanfare before his spring collection was unveiled in Paris.

And the show was, for the most part, a celebration of that dress, beloved by celebrities for red-carpet appearances, and the one that made a name for the designer. The finale was a full lineup of the Galaxy in every possible shade, amid whoops and cheers from the audience.

Fashion Review: Magical Thinking at Céline and Comme des Garçons

Discordant juxtapositions are part of the human condition. They just get a little more exaggerated when Fashion Week comes into play. Largely because fashion tends to play with them. The theory being, I suppose, if you can’t beat ’em, design ’em. It works, at least part of the time.

So at Céline, on a sand floor framed by a billowing ceiling of blue and yellow and orange nylon sails, like so many castaway remnants, the designer Phoebe Philo explored the elements of the urban uniform.

There were black and white lingerie slips and camisoles balanced by tailored pants and jackets, corset-waisted tweed coats and pleated Martha Graham dance dresses with mid-calf skirts, their open backs closed by ribbon ties streaming from the neck.

“I’ve been longing to be more and more in nature, to get away from the city and put my toes in the sand,” Ms. Philo said backstage after the show, and the tension between the two worlds, familiar to most women, was made manifest in her clothes.

Sound Bite: Jürgen Teller at Céline

Sitting on the Céline front row, dressed in shorts (as usual) and brandishing a Dunlop tennis racquet (slightly more unusual) was Jürgen Teller.

"The show is at a tennis club and there are lots of courts available, so I always make them book me a slot for a couple of hours before the show starts," said the German artist and photographer, who regularly shoots for the brand. "It's a good way of making the most of our trip here."

First Look: Céline

The Céline show started almost without warning on Sunday afternoon. People were still settling in their seats, swapping anecdotes about the Paris Vogue party the night before (Kanye! Rihanna! Gigi!), speculating about a successor to Alex Wang at Balenciaga or grumbling about the traffic jams earlier in central Paris because of a road race, when suddenly the first model popped out.

She was wearing a sheer, deep-cut lacy dress in black and white, a color theme carried out through most of the first half of the show, before switching to some form-fitting coats in moss green and several plaid-on-plaid numbers.

It was all displayed in front of an enthusiastic crowd that included the LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton brass and the photographer Jürgen Teller, manspreading in the front row in T-shirt and gym shorts.

The Daily Bag: Céline

At Céline today, Phoebe Philo showed shoulder purses and clutches as poofy as pillows — but a series of structured, perfectly sized handle bags in black and this milky white shade stole the show.

See more bags from the runways in T Magazine

Multi-colored nylon environment at @Celine, by the Danish artist Fos. Come sail away....#PFW pic.twitter.com/xYATogUJn4 vvfriedman

First Look: Emanuel Ungaro

Fausto Puglisi brought some full-on flower power to his spring collection for Emanuel Ungaro, blooming from a bright saccharine palette of turquoise, licorice and coconut ice pink.

The first look was a lattice jumpsuit with fringed petals that gave the pants a multi-dimensional finish.

Later came Latex, lots of it, and lots of ’60s shapes. Think capes, baby doll shifts and bra, mini and thigh-high boot combos, adorned with hundreds of hand-sewn daisies.

Eye Candy: Kenzo

First look: kenzo.

After coffee and eclairs — Kenzo provided breakfast for the masses that trekked out to the far reaches of Paris for its show — the crowd headed inside the Paris Event Center.

A series of arches had been constructed and motorized platforms bearing models, a full flotilla's worth, moved through the set. Their sandals may have been lined with rubber-beaded massaging footbeds of the sort you'd find in Adidas slides, but that was no reason to walk more than one had to. When the moving platforms came to a stop, the models descended to the runway.

Carol Lim and Humberto Leon, the designers, were after a "cacophonous mélange," as the first look demonstrated: a midriff-baring top and skirt in a piecemeal patchwork of color, pattern and print.

Paris Fashion Week: Day 6

The forecast is bright and cool; a major race, the annual 10K Paris Center, has tied up the city center, but the fashion industry has bigger fish to fry. It's Sunday morning and the shows are in full swing. The action starts — at the very edge of town, naturally — with Kenzo at 10:30 a.m.

Hike back from those far reaches for Emanuel Ungaro at 11:30, but be prepared for a day of travel: No sooner have you gotten back to the center than it's out to the Tennis Club de Paris for Céline at 1 p.m.

Rabih Kayrouz, the Lebanese designer, Roland Mouret and John Galliano keep things moving in the afternoon. Akris, the quiet Swiss label, takes the Grand Palais at 6 p.m. Take that time to meditate and recoup. If history is any guide, there won't be anything quiet about Alexander McQueen, which ends the day with a show at a lycée in the 17th Arrondissement at 8 p.m.

The Daily Jewel: Nina Ricci

Slim, refined necklaces added a subtle sparkle to the collars of shift dresses and diaphanous tops at Nina Ricci.

First Look: Nina Ricci

A dress? A raincoat? A rain dress?

Guillaume Henry kicked off his sophomore effort for Nina Ricci with this rubberized-looking, off-the-shoulder number in dark green, reprising it at the end of the show in burnt orange.

The Daily Bag: Acne Studios

Bags that can be worn on the arm rather than simply carried is a recurring theme for spring. At Acne Studios, a model slipped her hand elegantly through the front strap of this lime-green clutch.

Eye Candy: Acne Studios

Comme des garçons.

The invitation was to Le Centorial, the stone and glass tower near the Paris Opera, where fashion shows are often staged for giant crowds. But ushers directed guests down, down past the glass-floored lobby, past another level and down to a basement room with a stucco ceiling, exposed heating pipes and a temperature hovering at the tropical end of the double digits. Here was where Rei Kawakubo, fashion's sphinx, staged her Comme des Garçons show. Where else?

For any other designer, the small crowd would have revolted and left. But such is the power of Rei: They squeezed and schvitzed and sat. The show rewarded their forbearance. It was Ms. Kawakubo at her poetic, expansive best (often literally, as models had to do-si-do to fit around one another going and coming on the narrow runway).

What began as black and red erupted, eventually, into a feathered, fuzzy, velvety riot of blue. "Blue Velvet" was the apex of the soundtrack, or it was until the ovation, long and loud at the end. As is her wont, Ms. Kawakubo never came out.

Eye Candy: Comme des Garçons

The fertile imagination of Rei Kawakubo on full display at Comme des Garçons show in Paris today stuartemmrichny

The Daily Shoe: Haider Ackermann

Haider Ackermann added a streak of rebellion to the classic cowboy shape with these rock ‘n’ roll white leather, zebra and snakeskin booties.

See more shoes from the runways in T Magazine

First Look: Haider Ackermann

The first look from Haider Ackermann, from a tough spring collection, was packed with punk rock spirit and tribal motifs, but with notes of whimsical romanticism.

The show began with a model wearing a multicolor feathered Mohawk headdress, a cropped and sleeveless biker jacket, low-slung silk pants and heavy ankle boots. Amid puffs of smoke and operatic arias, an army emerged in similar attire — all edgy leathers and deconstructed jackets, with flashes of color and hints of skin.

"I like to talk about being in a gang, feeling like part of a nation and a family," Mr. Ackermann said after the show. Judging by a front row dressed from head to toe in his designs, he found kindred spirits in his audience, too.

The Daily Beauty: Haider Ackermann

For Haider Ackermann’s punk-inspired girl gang this morning in Paris, hair stylist Kamo certainly didn’t hold back. After weaving and plaiting fluorescent hairpieces into the models’ hair, he worked it into messy rainbow-colored quiffs with braids trailing down the back. “We wanted to work with color,” Kamo said before the show. “The clothes are really colorful, and there will be smoke machines and colored lights, so it’s a whole look.” Each ’do was finished off with a silk net attached to the hair with safety pins — a DIY punk touch if ever there was one — which covered the face like a spider’s web.

The somewhat outré theme continued with the make-up, as make-up artist Lynsey Alexander set out to create a kind of “otherworldly beauty” look. “It’s not classic spring/summer,” she admitted. “We’ve actually lightened the skin using MAC’s Strobe Cream, which gives this luminosity and lift from within.” MAC’s creamy Paint Pot in the shade of Groundwork — a warm, taupe color — was used to sculpt the eyes, cheeks and lips, while a white pencil was applied along the inner rim of the eye — “to create a spooky look.” A final touch of gloss to the eyebrows and cheekbones worked as a highlighter, and added a wet, dewy overlay to the otherwise matte base. “Because there was so much going on with the hair and so much color, we had to strip back the face a little,” said Alexander of the neutral tones.

See more backstage beauty reports in T Magazine

Eye Candy: Haider Ackermann

Junya watanabe’s experiments.

As a designer, Junya Watanabe is at least half sculptor. His honeycomb-like pieces are installed like artwork in a window of Colette this week, and at his show this morning several attendees were wearing them (or poking out of them, it might be fairer to say).

This season, he kept up his experiments in the form. "This season Junya Watanabe simply wanted to create accessories," a spokeswoman said.

His blousy shirts and billowing twisted one-piece rompers were kitted out with aluminum rings or spiraling helices of faux patent leather. They were crowned by undulating headpieces, inspired by ripples in water, in towering paper and vinyl by Mr. Watanabe's hair artist, Tomihiro Kono — apparently without any direction from Mr. Watanabe.

Paris Fashion Week: Day 5

Rise and shine, fashion week: The day begins with Junya Watanabe, who shows (mercifully, with coffee) at 9:30. The downside: He'll show this season at Palais de la Porte Dorée, about as far out as you can go without leaving Paris proper. The upside: It's Saturday morning. Traffic won't be bad.

From there, the day trundles on, to Haider Ackermann at 10:30 (back in central Paris) for waifs in silks, then on to Mugler in the early afternoon. There may even be time for a quick lunch before Acne Studios picks up the thread at 2.

Two of fashion's most iconoclastic designers, Vivienne Westwood and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, show back to back in the late afternoon — luckily closer to one another than in the past. Then it's onward to Nina Ricci, where the recently appointed designer Guillaume Henry is continuing to reshape the label. (You may have seen his Ricci if you happened to walk by the front windows of the concept shop Colette this week.)

Conserve your energy throughout the day: tonight Vogue Paris celebrates its 95th anniversary, and the invitation makes its intentions clear. It reads, in embossed gold, "Let's Dance."

— Mathew Schneier

Hurricane Yohji Yamamoto

Prepared for Hurricane Yohji. pic.twitter.com/DJvCZ3vPKw matthewschneier

Sound Bite: Fashion Editors at Alexander Wang

On Friday night, as the style set made their way through a deconsecrated church into cool, cloistered halls with long pools of water for Alexander Wang’s final collection for Balenciaga, many were in a reflective mood.

“We are all just very, very proud of Alexander,” said the Vogue editor Anna Wintour, reminiscing with Hamish Bowles about a time eight years ago when Mr. Wang’s studio was a curtained corner of his brother’s apartment. “We were thrilled when he got this position and continue to be excited about what he does next. But it’s always a delight to see an American succeed and grow in Paris in the way that he has.”

Read more on what fashion editors including Glenda Bailey, the editor of Harper’s Bazaar and Carine Roitfeld say about Mr. Wang's final show.

Alexander Wang’s Final Lap at Balenciaga

Alexander Wang takes a selfie for his final bow at @Balenciaga #PFW vvfriedman

The Daily Shoe: Balenciaga

At Balenciaga, models walked the runway in slide-on spa slippers fashioned from lacy fabric. Comfortable and delicate, they’re perfect for dancing all night.

First Look: Balenciaga

At a surprisingly low-key farewell to his three years at Balenciaga -- almost no celebrities, save Salma Hayek Pinault -- and in the hushed, almost funereal setting of a Paris chapel, Alexander Wang opened his show with this short, slinky number in virginal white.

A White Theme at Alexander Wang’s Last Collection for Balenciaga

The crowd at Balenciaga takes in Alex Wang's show, a theme in white stuartemmrichny

The prospect of an Undercover show at the Cirque d'Hiver (the winter circus) was promising. You couldn't have imagined it if you had tried.

Jun Takahashi has a bright future as a ringmaster if he wants one. His girls were painted as clowns and wore clown-costume ruffs, but the clothes were artful, not funny. His opening check suits were Mod skinny and entirely backless, lacing with long pretty ribbons to great effect.

This circus also had a better soundtrack than most: all Stones. And there were great pieces printed with the young, never-better-looking faces of Mick, Keef and Co.

Fashion Review: On the Couch with Rick Owens, Dior and Lanvin

Models generally carry a lot of things in a typical fashion show — purses, clutches, briefcases, totes, suitcases; at Loewe, there was a bag for every look. But on Thursday, within the bowels of the Palais de Tokyo, in a cavernous concrete bunker for the Rick Owens show, they carried something more unexpected: people.

Or rather, women.

Women, in Mr. Owens’s scrunched and molded leathers or plain athletic underpinnings, suspended upside down from harnesses like backpacks, arms splayed wide; women, their legs curved over shoulders like a clasp, strapped to chests like gigantic children; women scrunched up in oversize papooses; women carried by other women practically the same size, so their bodies together became a puzzle piece of limbs.

Women (and this is important) who were the size of regular women, carried by other women the same size, because they were strong enough to support their weight.

Read more here.

Sound Bite: Emilia Clarke at Dior

A shift from courting dragons to the crowds at Dior was a welcome one for the "Game of Thrones" star Emilia Clarke.

"God, I can't tell you what a relief it is not to be rolling around in sand," said the British actress as she waited for the show in an oversize tuxedo jacket and heels. "I am so happy to be in Paris and seeing the latest collection, but I'll only be in town for 12 hours. Filming for the next season is in full swing at the moment."

Given the endless fantastical costume changes required for Ms. Clarke's character, it was suggested to her that getting dressed up to watch a catwalk show must feel almost low-key.

"Perhaps," she said. "The costumes we have on set are utterly phenomenal. But in the real world, nothing feels better than wearing Dior."

Dior’s Set, by the Numbers

Before Paris Fashion Week even began, a team totaling 100 got to work on a man-made mountain blanketed in royal blue and purple flowers. And since this morning, the finished structure — Dior's set, constructed within the Louvre's Cour Carrée courtyard — has flooded Instagram feeds.

Many will remember that Raf Simons presented his debut Dior haute couture collection against a backdrop of five salons walled with flowers — among them, 48,000 delphinium. Today's set featured some 300,000 delphinium, planted on rolling garden turf, which works out to about 200 flowers per invitee.

“Since Raf arrived, he’s been showing the overlap of romanticism and modernity and he’s been doing it with flowers,” said Alexandre de Betak, who has overseen each Dior venue since Simons was appointed in 2012. “It’s not about crazy and gigantic; these are his very impulsive and very personal ideas. And it all came very naturally.”

Read more about the set design in T Magazine

— Amy Verner

Sound Bite: Rihanna at Dior

The sun was blazing down upon the courtyards of the Louvre in Paris on Friday. The Dior crowd was visibly wilting as they entered the vast show space, which had been covered in fresh purple delphiniums.

Holding court inside, in a Dior coat whipped around her like peaches and cream, was Rihanna, an ambassador for the label. Despite the frenzy of photographers, she maintained her composure -- something, she told Styles, that came down to her attire.

"When I wear Dior, I feel chic, I feel together and I feel expensive," she said as her extensive security detail batted fans away. "I feel like a woman in control. Raf Simons is a rare and amazing designer."

"I've been to a lot of fashion shows in my time," she said. "But I get total shivers of excitement when I come to a Dior catwalk and see the latest designs. I've come town for this show alone. It's a flying visit."

Other than Dior, highlights of her visit to Paris are the croissants and the spa in her hotel.

"I don't really like being pampered, but this one particular spa is quite amazing, so I indulge myself," she said. "If you can't in Paris, where can you?"

The Scene at Dior

The daily jewel: christian dior.

At Christian Dior, a sea of Victorian jeweled chokers proved that the neck is the official erogenous zone for spring.

First Look: Dior

Raf Simons is peeking under the skirts of our forebears.

His new Dior collection, presented under a towering mountain of purplish-blue flowers, began with Victorian-style undergarments -- like the show-opening shorts and tank in cotton voile -- and built up from there, layering filmy gowns and flower-encrusted parkas on top.

Despite the "layers of the last," Mr. Simons's show notes quote him saying, "for me it still all feels oddly futuristic and strangely romantic. Like this woman is about to travel through space and time."

I think @Dior must have bought all the delphinium in Europe: 300,000 outside the show, 100,000 inside. #PFW vvfriedman

Chalayan Magic

Fashion loves a showman, and the British designer Hussein Chalayan is no stranger to using the catwalk as a stage for dramatic presentations.

His first dance production opens at Sadler's Wells Theater in London at the end of the month, but today, he created two first looks for his spring collection that were not as they initially appeared.

The models were clad in sterile paper white jackets when the audience arrived at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, and for the first half of the show, they stood still in a clinical white box. Suddenly, showers began, the coats gradually disintegrated into sparkling shift dresses and then continued to transform — dissolving into beautiful shreds of material that mimicked the rivulets of water. Magic.

Eye Candy: Chalayan

The daily bag: loewe.

For Loewe, Jonathan Anderson showed translucent bags made from PVC, and a rubber version of his signature Puzzle purse; but this caramel-colored suede tote — in a blown-up wicker weave — felt the most lust-worthy of all.

First Look: Loewe

For the bright, chilly Loewe show this morning, the stone plinths at Maison de l'Unesco were tightly wrapped with a shiny layer of plastic. Prophetically, it developed.

This season, Jonathan Anderson introduced a new concept for the house — as well as introducing a lot more of his models — by dressing them in transparent plastic. The first model wore a black sweater, Loewe's typically bombastic jewelry (this time including single mirror-shard earrings and fish necklaces) and a pair of plastic trousers (with a matching, or nearly so, plastic clutch). Revelatory! The headlines write themselves.

Eye Candy: Loewe

Paris fashion week: day 4.

Day 4 and Paris Fashion Week has well and truly hit its Gucci furry loafer stride (count ’em), with coffee and croissants bright and early to celebrate the unveiling of the new Alexander McQueen flagship store on Rue Saint-Honoré.

At 9:30 proceedings officially begin at Loewe, swiftly followed by the Chalayan show at the Palais des Beaux-Arts, where the British-Cypriot, fresh from his show this week at Vionnet, will offer up his spring collection.

Some will then forsake lunch to see shows of Issey Miyake and Julien David, but all and sundry will converge come 2:30 for the Christian Dior show at the Louvre. Judging by the volumes of breathless tweets and flowers amassing in spectacular fashion by the museum’s doors, it's bound to be a spectacle.

An hour later comes Isabel Marant, then the uber-hip Japanese label Undercover at the Cirque d’Hiver. Most everyone will then go home and recharge for one of the biggest shows of the week — if not the entire season — Alexander Wang’s Balenciaga swan song, no doubt swimming with celebrities and models alike. Yohji Yamamoto rounds things up for the day at 8:30, before another endless circuit of private dinners and embassy cocktail parties. The weekend is beginning, and we’re not even halfway through.

Eye Candy: Vetements

Kanye west at vetements.

Kanye left the Vetements show, got into his black matte Porsche and drove off. "Kanye, président!" called patrons at bar across the street. matthewschneier

First Look: Lanvin

After serving up Champagne, chocolate cherries and sickly sweet heart-shaped cookies amid the opulence of the École Nationale des Beaux Arts, Alber Elbaz went back to basics for the first look of his spring collection.

He began with a billowing white shirt and high-waisted cigarette pants, simply yet expertly cut. Then came a sartorial takedown on the excess of 21st-century branding, packed with clashing colors and garish handbags and high-heel prints, plus layer upon layer of sequins, flesh-hued corsets and ragged oversize bows. The message was clear, and it set one's teeth on edge.

Eye Candy: Lanvin

The daily shoe: lanvin.

This scarlet-colored slingback from Lanvin delivers a kick of old-school glamour. And just like a great red lipstick, it will lend any outfit a subtle blush of sexiness.

Rick Owens Leaves Them Shocked

The Rick Owens show began innocently enough — for a Rick Owens show, at least — with a model in black bra and panties that were plainly visible beneath an open sleeveless coat. Then came the first of many models who wore fellow travelers on their backs like knapsacks, trussed to them with padded straps, face up, face down, upside-down or trailing: women bearing women, often in gymnastic contortions. (They were reportedly local gymnasts.) “She ain’t heavy,” the message seemed to run, “she’s my sister.”

It was transporting and affecting (not least because of the live performance by the vocalist Eska), as well as confounding and odd. There were gasps and iPhone photos, but no immediate explanation from Mr. Owens, a provocateur with a long history of and taste for on-the-runway theatrics. He strode out to take a quick bow after the show, then kept walking — straight out of the building, as it turned out. His press attachés put off answer-seekers, who lined up at the backstage entrance afterward, with a shrug: Who are we to make him stay?

Human Knapsacks at Rick Owens

Human knapsacks at Rick Owens. She ain't heavy, she's my sister. matthewschneier

First Look: Paco Rabanne

Julien Dossena of Paco Rabanne pulls an inside-fashion front-row crowd his competitors would give their eyeteeth for: top stylists, photographers and editors in chief. And season after season, he earns it.

This season's collection was sporty and strange, with track pants, tie-dye, fur fringe and silver embroideries like soda-can tops, like those on the ice blue, show-opening baby-doll dress on Lineisy Montero.

Fashion Review: Balmain, Chloé and the Instagram Imperative

For more than five minutes just after sundown Wednesday, the Eiffel Tower was illuminated by dancing lights of red, pink, purple, blue and white — not to mention polka dots, morphing watercolor illuminations, and the words “La Mode Aime Paris” — which darted up and down its length in time to various Piaf-ian tunes (as well as orchestral crescendos).

The special sound and light show had been arranged in honor of Fashion Week, and was inaugurated by Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris. She pushed a giant red button near a podium in the Trocadéro to start the spectacle while standing between Sidney Toledano, chief executive of Dior, and Ralph Toledano, president of the Fédération Française de la Couture, which organizes the week. (The Toledanos are not related).

It was a little lurid, but unquestionably eye-catching. Everyone had their phones out.

This is pretty much the state of play in fashion now.

Sound Bite: Kris Jenner at Balmain

Given the devotion shown by her tribe of daughters to the designs of Olivier Rousteing, it was little surprise that Kris Jenner had pride of place at the front row of his spring show on Thursday.

"We've been here in Paris for a couple of days, and it's been much of the usual for me -- working and filming, then running around trying desperately to keep up with Kendall," Mrs. Jenner said of her supermodel scion, who later walked twice in the show.

"And it's not easy let me tell you, her schedule is absolutely crazy. We've had so many fittings and photo shoots. Still, I wanted to be here to support her."

And, the she added, it wasn't just the younger generation of the family who held affection for the brand -- or its designer.

"I think Olivier is an absolute genius, namely because he designs for women of all sizes and body shapes. I wear it all the time, and I feel absolutely beautiful in it -- and, like, I've got a bit of an edge. We can all do with some dresses with real va-va-voom."

Eye Candy: Balmain

First look: balmain.

The mirrored Balmain catwalk was an endless parade of tween queen supermodels on Thursday, with the likes of Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Lily Aldridge, Alessandra Ambrosio and Joan Smalls taking to the runway for their BFF, the creative director Olivier Rousteing. Kris Jenner and Jada Pinkett Smith joined the scrum of editors and buyers in what has become one of the hottest tickets of show season.

When it came to the collection itself, the inspiration appeared to be something along the lines of Las Vegas ’70s disco diva, updated for the selfie generation.

The first look, seen here, was a belted skin-tight velour jumpsuit in a hue I'm calling "Kardashian tan."

And it was understated compared with what came next: bejeweled mesh pencil skirts, sheer metallic jodhpurs and suede flares in vast, ruffled tiers in a palette of silver and gold, emerald greens and varying shades of tangerine.

The Daily Jewel: Balmain

From models’ slicked-back ponytails to sharp-shouldered jackets, the Balmain show emitted a feeling of power. But these commanding metal neck cuffs — matched here with an alluring off-the-shoulder look — were especially strong.

Eye Candy: Ann Demeulemeester

The daily bag: chloé.

Chloé designer Clare Waight Keller sent a series of camera bags down the runway — like this one, in pretty blue-jean suede — that were small enough to wear to a party but big enough to fit a plus-size iPhone.

Sound Bite: Jada Pinkett Smith at Chloé

In a room full of neutral palettes and poker face expressions on Thursday morning, a beaming Jada Pinkett Smith stood out from the crowd at Chloé, the first show of the day.

Dressed head to toe in vintage Chloé, Ms. Pinkett Smith had arrived in Paris two nights earlier. But what had brought her to the French capital?

"Fashion, fashion is what has bought to me to Paris," she said from her front-row perch, adding that she had attended the Rochas and Vionnet shows the previous day. "There's nothing I love more than seeing what's coming next. It gives me a real thrill."

Chloé was of particular significance, she added.

"Chloé clothes are my entry into a softer Jada," she said. "Usually, I like to dress with edge, with a lot of rock 'n' roll leathers, I like to appear tough. But these designs are so light and elegant, and they really speak to the more feminine side of me."

That said, Ms. Pinkett Smith was not going to be swayed from a retail pilgrimage she undertakes every time she visits Paris: "I've got to go over to Balmain before I leave tomorrow. They are just the most gorgeous clothes. I'll have to stop myself from buying up the whole store."

First Look: Chloé

Clare Waight Keller has done folksy and hippie in her time at Chloé, as well as gamine and chic. This season, she tossed it all together — a bit vintage, a bit thrifted — for a look that felt like one a British festivalgoer in the '90s would no doubt recognize. Her show notes called it "a tribute to girls named Kate, Chloé, Cecilia, Corinne, Rosemary," which is to say, the photographer Corinne Day and many of the waifs she helped make stars in that era. Those with long memories were calling up images of models like Rosemary Ferguson and Cecilia Chancellor on their iPhones.

Eye Candy: Chloé

The eiffel tower’s special look.

The Eiffel Tower gets jiggy with a special sound and light show in honor of Paris Fashion Week.

Paris Fashion Week: Day 3

For those craving sleep after one too many glasses at the whirl of cocktail parties and private dinners on Wednesday night, Day 3 of Paris Fashion Week offers some respite.

After the city lit up the Eiffel Tower in a cascade of sparkles to honor the arrival of the style set, the show schedule on Thursday starts at a civilized 10 a.m. with Chloé, before a quick Métro (or Mercedes) ride to Carven in the Jardin des Tuileries an hour later.

A raft of appointments will beckon for some — an hour or two off-duty for others — before the crowds reconvene at 1 p.m. for Ann Demeulemeester, swiftly followed by Paco Rabanne on the Place de la Concorde and then more offerings for the nightclub-hopping set at Balmain from Olivier Rousteing.

Come evening, there are two big-ticket names: Rick Owens shows at 6 at the Palais de Tokyo (cameos by renegade models yet to be confirmed), followed by Lanvin at 8.

At 9, the crowd will scatter. Some will head to the Vetements show, others to the home of the Chloé designer Clare Waight Keller for cocktails and a live performance. Another tribe altogether will head to a party to celebrate the opening of the latest Vionnet store.

First Look: Vionnet

The Vionnet show -- inspired, legend (and the show notes) had it, by nymphs -- opened with a nymph: Anna Cleveland, whose resplendent posterior appears, fully uncovered, in the label's recent ad campaign. This time, she was covered, in one of the pleated Grecian goddess gowns that Vionnet has made a specialty of.

Tomorrow, Vionnet's Paris store opens. Should you want this dress come spring, you'll know where to look.

Eye Candy: Vionnet

Three’s a trend: slouchy white t-shirts.

The best part, perhaps, of one trend popping up on the spring/summer 2016 runways: It can already be found in your closet. A number of designers have show plain — and a little oversized — white T-shirts. Anthony Vaccarello and Tod’s both styled off-the-shoulder versions with black skirts (the former, slit up to there, and the latter, in embellished and perforated leather). The brand Off-White went for an all-white look, using a neckline cutout, ruffles and frayed edges to break up the monochromatic look.

The Daily Shoe: Rochas

Rochas models looked as if they were walking on clouds of lace thanks to these dainty kitten keels which also came in shades of peach, sea foam and amber. A little bit like lingerie for the feet.

Shiny Leather at Rochas

Shiny leather suits at Rochas - could be practical given they look wipe-clean? #PFW pic.twitter.com/JQAQapJD6x lizziepaton

The Daily Beauty: Rochas

“Nineties fresh-faced gorgeous cool girl,” was how the makeup artist Lucia Pieroni described the pared-back look at the Rochas show today — a nice balance with the designer Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s exquisitely detailed designs. “We used a very light foundation and lots of highlighters from Clé de Peau to get that really radiant skin,” Pieroni said backstage before the show. Next, a light eyeshadow was applied to the eyelid followed by eyeliner, just along the waterline — “like you had mascara on a few days ago and forgot to take it off,” she said. Lips were merely a shade of the softest pink, smudged on just so with the fingertips.

Models’ hair was left equally undone — the hairstylist Paul Hanlon also set out to keep things looking as natural as possible: “People always feel they have to try and ‘do’ something,” he said of fashion shows. “But these clothes are very grown-up, grand and womanly, and then there’s this very youthful thing with the surf T-shirts — there’s a lot going on — so the hair had to feel believable. You want to know there is a woman under there.” Girls rushing in from the previous show had their hair completely brushed and washed out and then quickly looped up into a relaxed ponytail, no product required. “Like a girl would wear it on the street,” Hanlon said.

Fashion Review: Achieving Liftoff at Margiela and Courrèges

Might there be life on Mars? Well, there are definitely signs of life in the revived space-age brand Courrèges. Ah, the cosmic coincidence. Welcome to Paris.

Actually, there are signs of new life all over, and you don’t need a special rover to find it.

The Paris shows began (as did New York) with a series of new names making a bid to play in the big game: Kunihiko Morinaga at Anrealage, Anthony Vaccarello, Simon Porte Jacquemus at Jacquemus, Yang Li.

Most of them still suffer from the artistic pretensions of vision-making (Mr. Morinaga asked everyone to “watch” the collection through their iPhone cameras; Mr. Jacquemus had a white horse and small child guest star in his show), and the effects distract from the clothes, but still.

At least they were experimenting — or, in the case of Mr. Li, refining a mix of liquid tailored trousers, sweeping chiffon trench coats, and asymmetric knits, though things got a little message- heavy when actual messages embroidered in gothic script (“No Sleep,” “No Dream”) were involved.

First Look: Dries Van Noten

The Dries Van Noten show is often touted as one of the hottest tickets of Paris Fashion Week. But guests were a little chilly this season as they crowded into a vast warehouse space on the outskirts of the city.

Wrapped in coats and surrounded by weeds and broken glass, attendees were warmed by the jaunty renditions of Kraftwerk from a black-clad string quartet in the middle of the catwalk, and, in turn, by the spring collection.

The opening look was a loose white slip with gold-beaded bodice, paired with a heavy overcoat finished with dainty gold sprigs. Later came jewel-tone brocaded jackets and dresses, lavish second-skin opera gloves with sparkling, tattoo-style prints, and loose, obi-belted silk pants and skirts that popped in richly colored patterns.

Eye Candy: Dries Van Noten

The daily bag: dries van noten.

Dries Van Noten’s electric-purple clutch captures the rich eccentric vibe we’ve been seeing a lot on the runways. A piece as vibrant as this would mix well with equally loud patterns, as Van Noten proved here, or simply with jeans and a T-shirt.

Yang Li, giving me pangs for my iron-ons of yore. matthewschneier

Eye Candy: Maison Margiela

Models wore headpieces — and eyeshadow that matched their clothes — at today's Maison Margiela show.

First Look: Maison Margiela

Accessories are not necessarily the first thing that leaps to mind when the words Maison Margiela are mentioned, but accessories were clearly on the agenda when the designer John Galliano sent his first look down the runway: a white buttonless coat clutched shut by a model in a towering blue beehive, carting a gigantic matching white handbag.

And that was just the beginning. There were metallic silver gloves, fishnet body stockings, thin plastic hip wraps and boy models to accessorize the girl models. There was also another bag proposition: small, boxy and tied to the body with a silken rope so it could be worn as a backpack, hands-free.

The better to pilot the brand ship, of course.

Maison Margiela

The new backpack at @MaisonMargiela - tied on like a belt #PFW vvfriedman

Eye Candy: Courrèges

First look: courrèges.

The first show on a cool, crisp Wednesday morning was Courrèges, and the debut collection of its new creative directors, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant.

The two took to the runway before the show, explaining, in English and French, their belief that ready-to-wear should express “the spirit of ready-to-live.” The collection itself had just 15 designs in 15 materials and colors, what they called “building blocks” for future seasons. A cream cashmere bodysuit under a PVC black biker jacket were the elements of the first look — highlighting the back-to-basics nature of the men’s new designs.

Then came structured little shift dresses and miniskirts with buttons that crept up the sides, and more leather and suede jackets, with giant close-ups of pieces that flashed on a screen as the models walked by.

The New Courrèges

Kicky nouveau space-age at the new Courrèges. matthewschneier

A Face in the Crowd: Nicolas Ghesquière

On the first evening of Paris Fashion Week, Louis Vuitton and Le Bon Marché kicked off the after-party schedule by co-hosting a party in celebration of the latest designs by Nicolas Ghesquière, Louis Vuitton's creative director.

Outside, the department store windows had been revamped with installations on Louis Vuitton products old and new, while a long black carpet with a velvet rope kept out the public snaked around the Rue de Sèvres. Inside, guests and hosts, including Delphine Arnault, drank long framboise cocktails in and around the vast Louis Vuitton concession. Mr. Ghesquière, decked out in a bomber jacket and looking tan and remarkably relaxed, discussed why he had decided to come along when his spring show was less than a week away.

You must be used to having parties held for you by now.

Yes, but not at Le Bon Marché. The funny thing is, I used to live directly opposite the store when I was younger. I used to stop and look in all the time. And now my face is right there, smack in the middle of those windows. It feels a little crazy, to be honest.

And what do you think of the installations that they've put together?

They are wonderful. They make me incredibly proud, especially the digital components. I am very impressed by what's been done. It's a vital means of showcasing a heritage brand in today's climate.

It was clear that you felt that way from the Louis Vuitton exhibition that opened during London Fashion Week, full of technological trailblazing.

Well, it's something I feel really passionate about. I am insisting on it being front and center of our brand. We are a brand full of history, but we have to create balance with the future. I don't want people thinking we have a vision that is stuck in the past.

Talking of the future: In a week's time, you'll be taking a bow on the runway after your spring show.

I know, I know, don't say another word! I am stressed and nervous and trying not to think too much about it. That said, I actually think it's very important to get out and about, to unwind, have a drink and see my friends in the run-up to a show. I never stay locked up in the studio 24/7. I think it's a rather French approach to things.

How else have you been distracting yourself?

I went to the Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster show that just opened at the Centre Pompidou, which was terrific. Anyone who comes to Paris should try and see it. Try to find an hour between shows and go.

The Daily Jewel: Lemaire

At Lemaire, a sleek silver cuff was worn over the sleeve of a crisp white shirt dress. It’s a simple — but fresh— styling trick that could make any old bracelet look special.

Eye Candy: Christophe Lemaire

Ankle-skimming skirts were paired with chunky knits at Christophe Lemaire.

See more from the scene at Christophe Lemaire in T Magazine

"I think stylish people know themselves. They know how to dress, they know what suits them, their body — and what makes them feel confident. That’s not changing every six months — that’s just absurd."

Christophe Lemaire

Paris Fashion Week: Day 2

In fashion week parlance, the Monday that Milan Fashion Week ends (but Paris Fashion Week has not yet started), and even the Tuesday that follows, has a name: These are “travel days,” when the hectic schedules slow to allow editors, retailers and guests to make their way from one port of call to the next. Yes, there were some shows in Paris on Tuesday — Anrealage, Anthony Vaccarello, Jacquemus — but in general, it wasn’t as jam-packed as show days usually are.

Consider that reprieve over.

Wednesday is a work day, and it begins bright and early, with the first show from Courrèges’s newly named artistic directors, Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant, at 9. (The pair’s other line, Coperni Femme, has been earning good reviews, too.) From there, it’s on to Christophe Lemaire — whose collaborative collection with Uniqlo goes on sale this week, by the way — and then the latest from John Galliano at Maison Margiela at 11. So much for your easy, cafe crème morning.

There are newcomers in the afternoon, too, like the first staged presentation from Off-White, the streetwear collection by Virgil Abloh, a finalist for the LVMH Prize, as well as longtime favorites like Dries Van Noten at 3 and Rochas at 5.

The day ends with Aganovich at 6 and Vionnet at 8. (Don’t spend all your Vionnet energy in one place. Its Paris store is to open with a party Thursday night.) Then the hardy and the crystal-bedecked will be off to Swarovski’s cocktail at the Salons France-Amérique to celebrate the brand's 120th anniversary.

Act 1: Enter Baby Sisyphus, pushing giant fabric ball.

Act 2: Some clothes.

Act 3: And on the third day, Jacquemus created horses.

Act 4: The Unraveling.

Act 5: I wandered lonely as a cloud.

Act 6: Epilogue.

6 Acts at Jacquemus

On the theory that an avant-garde performance deserves an avant-grade response, we've transposed Jacquemus' spring theatrical into ... a spring theatrical. Above, the six acts of Jacquemus spring 2016, as told through a series of live Tweets published during the show by @MatthewSchneier .

The Daily Bag: Eddie Borgo

This fog-colored saddlebag from accessories designer Eddie Borgo is a barely-there bag that will go with everything. Come fall, it will also mix well with cozy gray tweeds and cashmeres.

The Daily Jewel: For Restless Sleepers

Francesca Ruffini adorned her pajama-clad models with piles of naval-skimming gold chains at her For Restless Sleepers presentation. The lavish layering looks particularly rich against the collection’s shiny printed silks.

Eye Candy: Anthony Vaccarello

Models (many wearing daring slits and cut-outs) took a final walk down the runway.

See more scenes from the Anthony Vaccarello show in T Magazine

The Daily Shoe: Anthony Vaccarello

A sexy sandal is best when it’s barely there — and that’s just what the strappy heels at Anthony Vaccarello were. Best worn with a lot of leg.

First Look: Anthony Vaccarello

Anthony Vaccarello was in a fighting mood on the first day of Paris Fashion Week. For the first look of his new spring collection, he sent the British model Edie Campbell out to battle in a khaki miniskirt suit, with black leather trimmings, gold studs and a daring thigh-high split.

A march of military touches continued, before advancing to sparkly cocktail dresses and slashed jeans with simple cotton shirts. But all were designed for an urban girl who styles herself with grit and edge, just like Leigh Lezark and Caroline de Maigret, who looked on approvingly from the front row.

Anrealage Plays With Flash

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but a beholder who didn't have a smartphone would have been in trouble at the Anrealage show.

"This show will only be visible using flash photography," a robotic voice announced through the headphones that were provided as guests entered the Palais du Tokyo. Glasses of sake folllowed, as did quirkily illustrated instructions in both English and Japanese on how to activate the tool on your iPhone.

"Reflect a light -- it gives a light," read the show notes cryptically. "Reflect reality -- It makes a new reality."

At first, a barrage of 3D surround-sound and a blinding wall of flashes revealed very little. But then, those flashes set off different colors, prints and textural effects unseen by the naked eye. Then, after looking through a smartphone lens, the collection, packed with voluminous silhouettes, was seen in a whole new light.

Playing With Light

At Anrealage, phone camera flashes would set off different colours & texture effects unseen by the naked eye #PFW lizziepaton

The Row Debuts Their Shoe Collection

"Paris begins with The Row and the debut of their first shoe collection-finally! Welcome to Paris @therow #SS16 #PFW @tmagazine" malinajoseph

Paris Fashion Week: Day 1

Now comes Paris, dear readers, and so we embark on the final leg of the fashion marathon. The first day of the French schedule eases us into what is generally the most jam-packed week of the season.

But there are some surprises, including a notable addition to the Tuesday schedule. The Row, usually a high point of the New York calendar, has decamped to do presentations in Paris instead. The Olsen sisters will be holding court on the Rue des Francs Bourgeois from 3 p.m. on.

Next, it's the Anrealage show at the Palais de Tokyo, followed by Anthony Vaccarello, then Jacquemus at 8 p.m. For evening entertainment, Louis Vuitton is holding a party with Le Bon Marché, the famous Left Bank department store.

Milan Fashion Week

Introducing: best of the show notes, milan version.

The hamster wheel that is the women's wear show circuit does not allow a lot of leisure time for reading, but luckily designers provide some literary material of their own to all involved. The Show Note -- a handout that purports to describe what was in a creative director’s mind when he or she made what they made; what book or film or artist or decade or shape inspired their flight of fashion — has developed into something of an art form all its own, culminating in some truly mind-boggling bits of prose.

Put another way: If you thought certain styles or silhouettes were hard to understand, just consider the following excerpts:

“These hints gather on the collection’s clothes to form eclectic palimpsests rich with heterogeneous references.” (Gucci)

“Bling bling. At a metropolitan speed/Emotion/Askew. Pointy. Unbalanced. Dynamic.” (Emilio Pucci)

“Naive is the new sophisticated.” (MaxMara)

“Perforated tunics add another layer of stimulation to the abstract complexity of the compositions.” (Marni)

“A synthetic dawn spreads throughout the room, radiating opalescent reflections.” (Prada)

“Necklines, sophisticated and deconstructed, slip away like a passing day.” (Tod’s)

Gigi Hadid Defends Herself Against Online Critics

The model Gigi Hadid, who is possessed of, by her own admission, a more womanly figure than many of the other models working fashion’s runways, appeared in the Versace show in Milan and has arrived in Paris for the fashion shows here.

Ms. Hadid’s appearances tend to quickly become social media spectacles (anecdotally, phones seem to rise for photos far more often when she’s on a runway), but the attention hasn’t all been positive. Today, she took to her Instagram account to defend herself and her body against online critics pointing out flaws and questioning her credentials.

The Daily Bag: Trussardi

There’s nothing better than a simple shopper tote stitched in a super luxe and durable leather. This khaki ostrich carryall from Trussardi is a family heirloom in the making.

Milan Trends: Stripes, Gucci and Buzz Cuts

Goodbye Milan! It’s been surreal. Well, fashion week always is. What will we remember from the last five days? A troika of takeaway trends (now say that 10 times fast).

Trends from the catwalk: Stripes, stripes, everywhere from Prada to Missoni, MaxMara and Armani. Maritime, maximalist, multicolored, they were the statement of the season. Indeed, their only competitor in the ubiquity stakes was animal print, as seen at Cavalli, Versace and Bottega Veneta, to name a few. Even for a city built on skins, the amount of leopard and cheetah, and not-in-nature-but-we-know-it’s-a-big-cat, going around was notable. Time to embrace the creature comforts. Or harness them. Harnesses, and other forms of straps and binding agents being another subject of groupthink, at least at Fendi, Jil Sander and Fausto Puglisi.

Trends from the front row: This was the week fashion folk turned into fashion victims, jamming themselves into the newly renovated Gucci store on via Montenapoleone to snatch up fur-lined horse-bit slippers, loafers, big GG belts and flowered trouser sets. Bryan Boy and the Harper’s Bazaar editor in chief, Glenda Bailey, were spotted front row in the same green floral pants (Ms. Bailey wearing the silk version with matching shirt; Mr. Boy, the denim). Another editor confessed to going to the store in search of the black loafers and ending up with bright red ones because that’s all that was left. It’s been a long time since one brand dominated the front row in this way.

Trends from backstage: It’s all about the buzz cut. From the bristle-topped twins Giulia and Camilla Venturini, artists and members of the Tod’s band who walked the Tod’s show, to the blond and fuzzy model Kris Gottschalk to the entirely bald Yana Dobrolyubova, who took a turn at Emporio Armani, heads have been in the spotlight. Why hide your beauty under a bushel of hair? Razor sellers of the world, rejoice.

Sound Bite: Sophia Loren at Giorgio Armani

His gowns have long been a mainstay of the Hollywood red carpet, but Giorgio Armani had the Italian queen of the silver screen in the front row of his show on Monday.

Sophia Loren arrived just before the lights went down, sending the Italian paparazzi into a frenzy. Immediately after the show, she sat next to the designer during a lecture celebrating his autobiography, being published by Rizzoli.

“It was such a beautiful show this season, such colors! Such elegance,” said Ms. Loren as she made her way in a small scrum to the book session. “I really truly loved it.”

“I wanted to be here because I wanted to make Giorgio happy, but also it makes me happy, too,” she said. “It makes me happy to show him how proud we are of him. He means a lot to me and a lot to Italy. I can't wait to read the book — I hope there is a copy for me!”

Fashion Reivew: Armani, Missoni and More

Milan Fashion Week came to a close just after a total lunar eclipse, the sort that indicates heavenly bodies in perfect alignment. As portents go, it doesn’t get much better than that.

The clothes, however, did not quite live up to the — well, astronomical implications. All that new energy everyone kept talking about during the week? It got a boost from a gently calibrated, Balthus-inspired Arthur Arbesser show, full of youthful (but not naïve) florals and tone-on-tone ghostly cat prints, but mostly felt gone with the blood moon.

Instead, Milan ended in retrograde.

To celebrate his new book, a 40th anniversary extravaganza tracing his career from childhood to today, Giorgio Armani had not a party but a presentation. At 12:30 in the afternoon. Immediately after his show.

Read more on Vanessa Friedman's fashion review of Armani, Missoni, Salvatore Ferragamo and Arthur Arbesser.

The Daily Jewel: Giorgio Armani

Giorgio Armani played with the conservative silk scarf, reimagining it with a clasped necklace decorated with beading and giant tassels. The idea is quite practical: it delivers all the pulled-together chicness of a foulard without the arduous task of having to arrange it perfectly around your neck.

First Look: Giorgio Armani

There are seasons when Giorgio Armani zigs while Milan zags, but stripes have been a feature of several shows this week — and here they were again to open the Armani show, in a woven jacket worn over a bloomer-ish romper. Most models were also fitted with an eye patch of swooping bangs.

Eye Candy: Arthur Arbesser

A model waits backstage at this morning's show. The spring/summer 2016 collection featured vibrant prints such as stripes, polka dots and flowers in slouchy silhouettes.

See more scenes from the Arthur Arbesser show in T Magazine

The Daily Shoe: Arthur Arbesser

At Arthur Arbesser’s first runway show, the designer punctuated his innocent, school-girl clothes with NikeLab’s slacker-cool Classic Cortez sneakers in burgundy, army green and other hues. The best part? You don’t have to wait till spring to buy them — they’re available now on nike.com.

Arthur Arbesser, Not a Cat Person

An enormous cat sat on the runway, dwarfing the photographers’ pit. Backstage, Arthur Arbesser was answering questions in a T-shirt with a watercolor kitty.

“I'm not a cat person at all,” he said. But the show’s inspiration was Balthus, the Polish-French painter of young girls and cats, so he dove right in.

Staging a fashion show naturally furnishes a cadre of young girls. One sat in stocking feet on a slipper chair opposite the big cat for the entire show.

“I wanted to show a completely different side of me,” Mr. Arbesser said. His presentations have tended toward the cerebral, but this one was all misty feeling, prompted, he said, by the “fragile girls that are on the journey to becoming a woman,” when “you’re not aware of your power and your appeal.”

Balthus’s paintings of young women all have a subversive edge of the erotic, and a girl in Mr. Arbesser’s knit-net polo would have to be pretty dense not to be aware of her appeal (at least if she’s wearing nothing under it, as the models were). But on balance, the collection skewed sweeter than sexy, with watercolor florals, silk dresses and some girlish knitwear.

The cat appeared to play protectress — at least for now.

Fashion Review: Versace to Bottega Veneta: Forging New Frontiers

Borders and barriers are touchy and omnipresent subjects in Europe these days: difficult for an industry like fashion, which has its own exclusionary issues (price, size, taste) to address, yet impossible to ignore. Even for designers, who know perfectly well that they risk accusations of hypocrisy and dilettantism if they dare to wade into any political arena.

Or so it seemed in Milan over the weekend, as brand after brand acknowledged, in manners ranging from the overt to the oblique, what was going on outside the frontiers of fashionland.

Antonio Marras, for example, dedicated his multicultural romance of a collection to “all peoples in flight,” claiming as an inspiration the Armenian director and painter Sergei Parajanov, and as a collaborator, the Iranian artist Mahmoud Saleh Mohammadi.

See more from Vanessa Friedman's fashion review on Versace, Bottega Veneta, Tod’s, Marni and Antonio Marras.

Milan Fashion Week: Day 6

The last day of Milan Fashion Week is as short and sweet as an affogato. On Monday, the style set will dash to Arthur Arbesser at 10 a.m. on the Piazza Duomo, followed just an hour later by the closing show, Giorgio Armani.

Most showgoers will then hotfoot it straight to the airport, for the fourth and final leg of the European grand tour.

Bonjour, Paris!

Missoni sent out stripes, stripes and stripes for its spring collection tonight: stripes in knit, stripes on sandals, stripes on sneakers. As monomanias go, it's as good as any other.

At least it should be well received by the crowd of Missoni enthusiasts, dressed for the occasion in their Missoni best.

Eye Candy: Missoni

Optical stripes at missoni.

Deja vu! Op-stripes again, this time at @Missoni #MFW pic.twitter.com/pEa0atkry7 vvfriedman

Street Style: Milan Fashion Week

See more street style on Instagram.

First Look: MSGM

An odd trend is emerging from the Milan shows this week: a preponderance of trailing straps and ties. At shows as disparate as Jil Sander and Salvatore Ferragamo, they fluttered in the wake of the wearers.

From the first, the same was true at Massimo Giorgetti's MSGM. The opening look was a low-cut blue dress with tendril-like chains that flew as its model stomped to a Le Tigre soundtrack. As the show progressed, the pace stayed martial — so much so that one of the model's earrings flew clean off and landed on the runway.

Eye Candy: Salvatore Ferragamo

Flowing dresses with pleats in many different colors accentuated movement as they came down the runway.

See more of the scene at Ferragamo in T Magazine

The Daily Jewel: Ferragamo

Ferragamo offered a spin on the classic pearl earring and necklace combo, mixing single oversize white and black pearls on minimal chains. The simplicity of the look was amplified by models’ slicked-back and side-parted hair — a trick that will also elongate and slim the appearance of one’s neck.

Face in the Crowd: Dylan Penn

Deep in the belly of the old Milan Stock Exchange, the crowd started wilting under the bright lights Sunday afternoon as the Salvatore Ferragamo show ran 40 minutes late.

The reason? Dylan and Hopper Penn, the children of Sean Penn and Robin Wright, had yet to arrive. When they did, the crowd burst into mock applause. Styles stole five minutes with Dylan, dressed head to toe in Ferragamo, at the end of the show. (Hopper hovered somewhat nervously in the background, besieged by the excitable Italian news media).

What brings you to Milan?

Gosh, it's so hot I'm sweating! Those lights are insane. I'm just here on a flying two-day visit for this show. It's my first-ever trip to the city.

So this is your first Ferragamo show?

Yes. And it wasn't at all as I expected. I was in the showroom yesterday, and there was a lot of jersey and knit. But I loved the whimsical romanticism of this. It was great, especially the capes.

Why is your brother here?

He's my date. He thought he'd try the fashion world on for size, but this still isn't really his scene. We're both still getting into it. It's a strange and fascinating world for the outsider.

What's next on your schedule?

Well, in the next 24 hours a trip to the Duomo. And now I've seen that Lake Como is an hour on the train. I might try and see that, too. I had my heart set on a trip to see "The Last Supper," but there's a three-week waiting list for tickets. I'll have to be more organized next time.

And what about when you leave Italy?

Well, I start shooting a movie in a month, swiftly followed by another back-to-back. I always thought I'd be behind the camera, to be honest. For a long time I never thought I'd do what my parents do. But I do like acting. Just like coming to fashion shows, it's something else I'm trying out. I think experimentation to find what you love is really important. Don't you?

Eye Candy: Dolce & Gabbana

The daily shoe: dolce & gabbana.

All the shoes at Dolce & Gabbana had a high-flying world traveler vibe, but none more so than these bejeweled flats. Standouts for both their genielike shape and heavy embellishment, they’d look pretty with an ornate fabric, like these brocade pants, or a simple, floor-skimming black dress.

The Daily Bag: Marni

At Marni, Consuelo Castiglioni recast the classic brown bag shape in metallic silver and this warm gold. On the runway, it was rolled and clutched just the way you’d carry your school lunch.

The Daily Beauty: Marni

Backstage at the Marni show this morning, creative director Consuelo Castiglioni described her vision for the spring/summer 2016 collection: “I wanted to create movement, fluidity, to focus on how pieces hang, but to make it sculptural at the same time,” she said.

Inspired by the abstract, architectural forms of the collection, the hairstylist Paul Hanlon said he looked to the pageantry of dressage. With a heavy dose of hairspray, he molded hair into swooping curves that twisted into pigtails as coiffed as the mane of a show horse. The clothes, with raw-edged, stiff fabrics (bonded satins, dry wool) were draped to create architectonic outfits, wrapping models in swaths of color. Hanlon took a similarly elemental approach. “It’s almost like Lego hair, like a stencil,” he said. “It’s like a Matisse — the hair looks like it was also cut from material, like it’s part of the clothes.”

“The Marni woman has always been a little bit spooky, but she’s always very feminine,” said makeup artist Tom Pecheux who, to complement the season’s look, wanted “everything to be monochromatic, not too ladylike, not too ‘doll.’” He used a dab of foundation on skin as well as on lips, softening the pinkness of the mouth for an all-over beige effect that was “a little more twisted and less girly.” Seeing women go overboard with the latest lash treatments and extensions inspired him to add a spidery excess of extremely long lashes “like a bonsai that hasn’t been trimmed,” he said.

— Laura Rysman

First Look: Marni

Marni kicked off proceedings on Sunday by serving strong coffee and croissants in the courtyard of its headquarters before presenting a spring collection that stayed true to the philosophy of the label.

The first look, a relatively staid forest green tunic with an overlaying pinafore, was followed by a controlled explosion of primary colors, graphically shaped separates and texture blocking. Bags popped, as did Bakelite bangles, amid the cool marbled curves of the spacious set.

Milan Fashion Week: Day 5

Sunday in Milan, Day 5, starts at a leisurely pace. The morning kicks off with Marni at 10:30, a blessing for those nursing hangovers after partying until the wee hours at the glitzy AmfAR Gala on Saturday night.

Next up, Dolce & Gabbana — for some — swiftly followed by MSGM on the Via Sciesa, the main line label of Massimo Giorgetti, who recently took the helm at Emilio Pucci.

At 4, the big guns will roll out for Salvatore Ferragamo, showing on the Piazza Affari, swiftly followed by Au Jour Le Jour and then Missoni, scheduled at 7. With one major show left until the circus moves to Paris — Giorgio Armani on Monday morning — the back of the Milanese season has now been broken.

Last Night’s Party: amfAR Milano Gala

The fashionistas sparkled. The auctioneering was frenzied. And the event raised $1.6 million to benefit AIDS research.

Read more and see photos here.

Ralph Lauren’s Palazzo

Did you know Ralph Lauren had a gargantuan palazzo in the center of Milan?

It was a well-kept secret, at least until Saturday evening, when the brand flung open its doors for a glitzy cocktail party, nominally to toast its spring collection, unveiled 10 days ago in New York.

There was another cause for celebration, however, waiting for those who made it to the top floor. A new private members' club opens tonight for Ralph's wealthiest, and therefore most valuable, clients.

A private elevator leads to two reception rooms — one for men; the other, women — and an open-air terrace looking across the cityscape. Ladies who consider department store shopping déclassé can call ahead so that when they arrive the latest seasonal pieces in their sizes and preferred color palettes will be ready to try. Men, meanwhile, can pick fabrics and have bespoke suits made up in their favorite Ralph cuts and prints.

The invite-only club is the brand's first such venture, but more are planned. And joining perks include skipping the queues at Ralph restaurants like the Polo Bar in New York.

Eye Candy: DSquared2

First look: dsquared2.

Cutouts! Neon! Bodycon!

The first look at DSquared2 on Saturday night was fairly representative of the spring collection in its entirety: an explosion of sequined halter minidresses, kaleidoscopic leggings and lots and lots of swimwear.

The actress Michelle Rodriguez held court in the front row for the show, which closed with Alessandra Ambrosio. But editors assigned there were left sitting on top of one another in the aisles as the lights went down — their seats having been given away.

“Minimalism can be much more inventive. It’s not about the clothes anymore, it’s the way they’re put together, the simplicity of not being overdressed.”

Rodolfo Paglialunga

Rodolfo Paglialunga, creative director of Jil Sander .

Eye Candy: Jil Sander

Tall hats were big, sculptural — and very elegant.

See more of the scene backstage at Jil Sander in T Magazine

Jil Sander’s Bondage

Straps and harnesses are very big in Milan. Here the Jil Sander version #MFW vvfriedman

First Look: Jil Sander

After you noticed the cut-and-folded straw cloches, the rubber-tubing belts and the chunky buckled shoes that clomped down the runway at Jil Sander, there stood a subtler snub, of sorts, to business as usual: the cutouts that sliced open even the most regular-looking garments.

You can de-style the hats and belts for re-entry to the real world, but the cutouts are there to stay. In fact, they were in evidence from the first look. Over a white dress knotted like a present below the knees, the first model out wore a cream-colored tailored jacket with sleeves that had been sheared slightly away from the body. Such cutouts "redesign the tailored jacket," the show notes explained, "offering graphic glimpses of what is underneath."

The Daily Bag: Bally

This tote from Bally has structure, polish — and also a bit of a rebellious cowgirl streak. Great for country days and rolling around in the hay.

Eye Candy: Roberto Cavalli

Today's show was held in the column-lined courtyard of Milan's 17th-century Palazzo del Senato.

See more scenes from the Roberto Cavalli spring/summer 2016” in T Magazine

First Look: Roberto Cavalli

The first look from Roberto Cavalli on Saturday, where Peter Dundas presented his debut spring collection after taking over as creative director of the label in March.

His first show remained very on brand, all aggressive '80s silhouettes and pastel stone washing, as seen in the opening sleeveless biker vest and jeans combo. Later came blooming one-shouldered crop tops and high-waist jeans covered with shimmering tassels, as well as pink and chartreuse neon gowns with trains that billowed down the runway.

The Daily Beauty: Roberto Cavalli

The designer Peter Dundas debuted a collection for Roberto Cavalli today after a 10-year intermission — or, as he called it backstage, “a nice homecoming.” He said that spring/summer 2016 felt like “the right time to ease the Cavalli woman up” with styles that could be “just thrown on, comfortable pieces in washed fabrics.” That included acid-washed denim, leather — even chain mail for an effect that was a little ’80s glam.

“Peter has a great instinct about hair and about his woman,” said the hairstylist Guido Palau backstage. That instinct led to what he termed a tomboyish ’80s look, “when girls were experimenting with their sexuality and maybe wanted a touch of the boy’s quiff.” It was a perfect complement to Cavalli’s one-shoulder dresses and pegasus bracelets. With a deep side part, he created a peak in front using Redken Guts gel, and blow-dried hair to be long and straight in the back — “a bit boy in the front and girl in the back,” he said.

Makeup artist Pat McGrath left skin bare and for lips applied nothing more than Chapstick, but for the eyes she created a heavily made-up look with black liner, creamy brown shadow and mascara, which she then carefully wiped off so only traces of makeup remained. “It leaves a beautiful stain around the eyes,” she said. “It’s leftover makeup, but it’s not messy.”

Read more backstage beauty reports in T Magazine

At Roberto Cavalli

Lion's head print mega-skirt at @Roberto_Cavalli. "I'm a rising moon in Leo" - designer Peter Dundas. #MFW vvfriedman

The Daily Shoe: Bottega Veneta

Sky-high platforms are rarely elegant (particularly in a cheetah print), but these sandals from Bottega Veneta feel wildly chic — especially next to the inky polish painted on model Joan Smalls’s toes.

Eye Candy: Bottega Veneta

First look: bottega veneta.

"For me, being outside is the number one thing," read the statement Bottega Veneta's Tomas Maier had left on every seat.

The show's guests had just been ushered into the show space at Bottega's Brutalist headquarters from the lawn, where they had coffee and croissants in full view of a bursting vegetable patch. It was nice to know that if guests had given up the garden view a bit reluctantly, at least Mr. Maier was in sympathy.

The Bottega collection, as it happened, returned to the outdoors, borrowing details like bungee cord and parachute cotton from hiking and sailing gear.

The first look, a fleecy hooded sweatshirt and pants in mismatched print, with leopard spots peeking out from within the hood. It didn't necessarily suggest the airy parachute evening wear to follow, but it did look ready for a tumble in the great outdoors.

Bottega Veneta’s Garden

Fashion Week may be a merry-go-round at warp speed, but why not take time to stop and smell the lettuces? Such was the implied invitation at the start of the Bottega Veneta show, where guests sipped coffee at 9:30 Saturday morning while ogling the sustainable cottage garden the brand had built in the Interior courtyard of its Milan headquarters.

Designed by the creative director Tomas Maier (whose office windows look down on the bounty, so he can check how the growing is going), the garden includes herbs such as lavender and basil, and vegetables like cauliflower, fennel, tomatoes and cabbage. All the produce is used in the company cafeteria, and the water is recycled from the company's systems.

The garden also comes equipped with Wi-Fi, so employees who want a moment with Mother Nature can work among the oregano.

Valextra’s Brutalist Installation

Valextra's Brutalist installation by legendary designer Peter Saville. From Joy Division and Roxy Music to luxe bags! matthewschneier

Eye Candy: Antonio Marras

Backstage, embroidered headpieces were affixed to braids in models' hair.

See more scenes from Antonio Marras in T Magazine

Antonio Marras: Need to Know

The show was dedicated to the Armenian director and artist Sergei Paradaznov, whose collages inspired many of the prints in the show, as well as "all peoples in flight."

The set was composed of 14 fiberglass boulders hung from the ceiling by hemp ropes, against a backdrop of antique carpets by the Iranian artist Mahmoud Saleh Mohammadi, with a red pomegranate on each front row seat.

The multicultural mood extended to the clothes, which combined burnished bronze silks with renaissance embroideries, cotton tank tops, wide-leg men's wear suiting, Sicilian florals and a finale of cloudlike white dresses, touched by silver.

The most-requested red carpet @JimmyChoo shoe, according to CEO Pierre Denis. As seen on Charlize Theron. MFW vvfriedman

Milan Fashion Week: Day 4

Day 4 of Milan Fashion Week starts bright and early at 9.30 on Saturday with the elegant offerings of Bottega Veneta, before a quick detour to Antonio Marras over on the Via Sciesa at 11.

Take an hour and have a leisurely cappuccino and stroll, because before you know it, it will be lunchtime, which means Peter Dundas, the former creative director of Emilio Pucci, will be showing off his first collection for Roberto Cavalli.

It's an afternoon at one's leisure, except for Jil Sander at 3, then time for socializing — or napping — on the most low-key day on the Milanese schedule.

But once the sun goes down, the big party of the evening will be the amfAR Gala, hosted by Dakota Johnson, Heidi Klum and Franca Sozzani, which begins at 7 and goes on late into the night.

Geordon Nichol, a member of the D.J. group the Misshapes.

Leigh Lezark, a member of the D.J. group the Misshapes.

Riccardo Tisci, creative director of Givenchy.

Naomi Campbell

Christopher Kane

Fausto Puglisi

Versace front row.

Models, musicians and fellow designers showed up at Donatella Versace's show.

Face in the Crowd: Joe Jonas

On Friday night, the global style set was out in force for the Versace show in a vast industrial space on the outskirts of Milan. Naomi Campbell arrived, closely followed by Heidi Klum. Perched between them gingerly was Joe Jonas, pop star and dutiful boyfriend to the model of the moment Gigi Hadid, who later emerged on the catwalk. He took five minutes with Styles.

What brings you here to Milan?

Well, the obvious, of course. But also Versace asked me to come. And I've never been to a Versace show before. It's such a famous brand, with such connotations, and I just thought, "Why not?"

Why not indeed. And what's your plan while you're in the city?

Well, this is my big show. I've been here before, when I've been touring in Italy. So really, the plan is just to bounce around some awesome fashion week parties.

Planning on doing any shopping?

Absolutely. I could take some style tips from the gentlemen of Milan. They look so good at all times, so perfectly put together.

Can you sympathize with the fashion crowd on the fashion month marathon?

Of course. I know how it feels. It's just exhausting. So many of those models are young and tired. But you just have to keep going and try to enjoy it. You have to keep yourself open-minded in some of these mind-blowing situations, as they may not come around again.

And what's next for you?

More promotion of my latest single, I guess. Things are going very well. We just did a slot on Jimmy Fallon. I'm feeling very, very happy.

Donatella Versace

While the Pope's in America, he left his most important deputy in charge of Italy.

Gigi Hadid Walks in the Versace Show

Here she is! @GiGiHadid has arrived on @Versace catwalk #mfw pic.twitter.com/q2h5IKs4gL lizziepaton

Three’s a Trend: Under the Sea

In Milan, maritime looks have skewed more scuba than sailor. For his first Emilio Pucci collection, Massimo Giorgetti affixed sea creatures to mesh and other sheer fabrics; Fausto Puglisi created seashell-encrusted separates; and the Max Mara team paired midi skirts with lighthouse-print T-shirts — all taking the nautical theme a step further than the usual navy stripes.

First Look: Philosophy

The first look at Philosophy by Lorenzo Serafini, who took a twirl on the prairies of the Wild West this season.

Seen here, a barely-there floral dress, paired with a Victoriana-style starched white jacket and cowboy boots. Later came white cotton smocks, tasseled cowhide overcoats and sheer billowing gowns, before the show closed with the Brazilian model Alessandra Ambrosio.

Eye Candy: Marco De Vincenzo

Backstage, a model took a break to look at her phone — through rose-colored glasses.

See more of the scene at Marco De Vincenzo spring/ summer 2016 in T Magazine

• Accessories

Sound Bite: Anna Dello Russo

Anna Dello Russo was at the Marco de Vincenzo show on Friday, smiling and bedecked in sequins as she sat down for the latest collection from one of LVMH's bright young talents.

"I am in my element at this stage of fashion week," said Ms. Dello Russo, the Vogue Japan editor-at-large and front-row mainstay. "If fashion is my religion, then I feel like Milan is my church."

"You can like what you see here, or you can hate it, but what you can't dispute is the quality. The craftsmanship I'm seeing this season is as beautiful and considered as its ever been."

And what did she make of Mr. de Vincenzo, who sent a collection down the runway inspired by "Japan seen through a dream."

"I love him as an artist, but even more I love him as a human, as someone who can have a sense of humor and joke in what can be a relentless industry," Ms. Dello Russo said.

"And for a near obsessional delight in fabric and texture. That is a shared devotion for both of us."

Any other rituals she cared to share?

"Yoga. Yoga every day for an hour. It clears my mind for the craziness of every day ahead."

Tod’s: Dinner and ‘Band’

Following the unveiling of Alessandra Facchinetti's latest collection for Tod's on Friday, the designer threw an intimate dinner in celebration at the chic and cozy Giacamo Bistrot in downtown Milan. Present were some of the so-called "girl band" of muses that had inspired Ms. Facchinetti, who appeared delighted by the way the day had gone.

"After two years at Tod's, this season felt like the culmination of a lot of energy and creativity," she said. "And these clothes are a good reflection of these women, who wow me with their passion and intelligence and versatile sense of style."

There are 15 in total, including Lizzy Jagger, Julia Restoin Roitfeld and Langley Fox Hemingway. Some milled around the bar, while others spilled out onto the sidewalk for a cigarette or four. The dining room, all dark mahogany paneling, jewel-toned velvet curtains and palm fronds bathed in candlelight, was full of laughter, thanks in part to the flowing red wine that came from vineyards owned by the Tod's chief executive, Diego Della Valle.

Also there, amid the editors and stylists, were two striking faces that keep popping up this week: the twins Giulia and Camilla Venturini, the buzz-cut model beauties who had captivated the crowd from the catwalk at the Tod's show earlier on Friday.

First Look: Tod’s

Do you want to be in her band? The first look at Tod's: pinstriped cotton trousers and a patchwork shirt with embroidered biker detailing from Alessandra Fachinetti.

The inspiration was a band, but not one featuring your average rock chick. Classic collared shirts were enriched with leather detailing, and fluid silk dresses popped with a vinyl record print.

Some of Ms. Fachinetti's muses, including Lizzy Jagger, Langley Fox Hemingway and Meryl Streep's daughter Louisa Gummer made fashionably late entrances as the lights went down, slipping into the front row.

The Daily Shoe: Tod’s

Decadent jeweled slippers with black-and-white awning stripes seem like just the thing to slide on when hosting a party at home. Then again, so do the silver leather pants they were matched with on the catwalk.

"The most important thing to get across is the clothes: there’s a new designer, a new point of view, a new kind of taste.”

Arthur Arbesser On Iceberg

Arthur Arbesser, on taking over at Iceberg .

Arthur Arbesser’s Debut at Iceberg

On first glance, Arthur Arbesser, the cerebral Austrian-born designer, was not the most obvious choice to design Iceberg, which made its name on knitwear featuring, among other things, Mickey Mouse and Goofy. Mr. Arbesser’s own presentations, for his namesake label, have included live performances of Schubert and casual references to the Wiener Werkstätte.

But the union seems to be a happy one, at least on the strength of Mr. Arbesser’s first show today. “Iceberg is pretty light," Mr. Arbesser said. "It shouldn’t be something too intellectual.” He paused. “But in my own way. Not ‘ha ha,’ but a little bit dark. Twisted.” This was heavy weather from a guy in blue jeans and an Iceberg T-shirt.

Paolo Gerani, the chief executive of Gilmar, which owns Iceberg, praised Mr. Arbesser’s sense of color and “graphism”; his affinity for knitwear turned out to be a convenient surprise.

“Honestly, I didn’t know that,” Mr. Gerani said. “I discovered that. What we’ll see today, 80 percent of the work is knitwear. I think, in a way, in his DNA he has the possibility to do a good job for us.”

Mr. Arbesser’s collection was knits-gone-beachy under bucket hats, and often a bit trippy: thin knits with wavy, oscillating graphic patterns, lace-up tops with oversize polo collars and full knit looks of flapping shirt and flaring leggings. (It is not Mr. Arbesser, but Jeremy Scott at Moschino, who is currently flying the flag for cartoon-character fashion in Milan; his show last night announced a new collaboration with Cartoon Network on clothes and accessories featuring the Powerpuff Girls.) It showed to a full house — fuller, noted one editor, than she had seen at Iceberg shows before.

“It all happened very quickly,” Mr. Arbesser said. He was appointed in June and had to design and create the collection before the factories closed for the Italian holidays in August. He admitted he was still adjusting to the pace of doing double duty on the Milan calendar. (His own show takes place on Monday.) “It’s been a ride,” he said, “but I’m happy.”

The Daily Jewel: Etro

The delicate flowered chokers that decorated each of the models’ necks at Etro were a mixture of pretty prairie girl and ’90s babydoll. Try tying one on with a boho dress in an Etro-esque print.

Eye Candy: Etro

The daily beauty: etro.

“Everything is blossoming, everything has a sense of lightness and movement and dance,” said Veronica Etro backstage at Etro’s spring/summer 2016 show today, as models pranced by in ballet flats. For her ode to turn-of-the-century femininity, she cited Vaslav Nijinsky and Isadora Duncan as inspirations — and the results were gossamer-weight pieces that combined ballet and the belle epoque in equal measure.

“It’s very magical,” said the hairstylist James Pecis of the collection. “Everything is flowing and romantic, so I wanted to make the hair a little bit ballerina and a bit gypsy from the South of France.” He made a tight ponytail and wrapped hair around his thumb, twisting it up before pinning it. A length of hair was left poking out, for a touch of what he called “intentional accidentalism.” Wisps of hair were then delicately combed out from the sides and set with a curling iron “so they dance a little bit when the girls walk,” he said.

Charlotte Tilbury, the head makeup artist for the show, paired the chignon with a look inspired by 19th-century images of “Lady of the Lake” and Pre-Raphaelite beauties. Dewy skin was highlighted with a peachy MAC Strobe cream; eyes were covered in painterly hues she called “minky metallics” — oyster, chocolate bronze and warm gold — before being given a transparent gloss. The result was a wet, fresh-from-the-lake effect — a perfect complement to the collection on display.

The Look at Etro

A nonofficial, noncomprehensive list of some of the fabrics, techniques and patterns that went into Veronica Etro's "Nomadic Garden" spring collection at Etro: metallic lace, vintage lace, embroidered ribbons, thin silk ribbons, thick hand-painted ribbons, silk tulle, plissé silk, silk georgette, silk tulle, paisley florals, beaded florals, potpourri prints, smocking, tiering, washing, fraying, wrapping. If it was romantic, it was in.

Eye Candy: Emporio Armani

First look: emporio armani.

Emporio Armani began gray: a gray, strong-shouldered coat ("boyfriend-fit," says the brand), dotted with paisley swirls here and there, and loose-fit herringbone trousers. "A gentle breeze," the accompanying notes explained. "Air blows gently..." That accounts for the swing.

It turned out to be a red herring — or a gray one. Giorgio Armani, master of greige, was actually in a pinker mood this season. The clue was the pink crop top half-hidden under that boyfriend coat.

The collection quickly blushed into a variety of rosy tones, accented with floral patterns and neckerchiefs. And for a change, very few hats: nothing to stand between these flowers and the sun.

The Daily Bag: Emporio Armani

The thought of toting around a chic basket this spring is wonderful in theory, but maybe not in practice. At Emporio Armani, we saw the beauty of woven wicker blended with the practicality and lightness of leather.

Emporio Armani

The new Emporio Armani trouser is a ruched knickerbocker. Well, it's better than a bloomer. #MFW vvfriedman

Milan Fashion Week: Day 3

Thursday night in Milan ended in a shower of bubbles. How will Friday begin?

Somewhat more prosaically, no doubt, for those who wake up bright and early for Blumarine at 9:30. From there, it's on to Emporio Armani, whose invitation this season is suggestively, intriguingly pink. Will it be a seasonal trend? Those who read such tea leaves will notice that the invitation for Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini, which shows at 6 p.m., is also pink. Ready the rose-colored glasses!

Before then, though, there are plenty of shows to power through. Giambattista Valli's second collection, the abbreviated Giamba, shows at 1:30 p.m., followed by Etro at 2. The first collection for Iceberg by the rising talent Arthur Arbesser, a recent finalist for the LVMH Prize, follows at 3.

The shows continue all afternoon. Expect color at Marco di Vincenzo (the man knows his way around a rainbow) and aristocratic Milanese chic from Alessandra Facchinetti at Tod's. And it wouldn't be Friday night in Milan without Donatella Versace at 8 p.m. — and it wouldn't be Donatella Versace without bombast and sex appeal. The invitation promises leopard print and zebra stripe. Where Versace is concerned, those promises tend to be fulfilled.

First Look: Moschino

"Dangerous couture ahead," screamed signs at Moschino on Thursday night. "Clothes for construction," added warning lights for good measure, on a catwalk stuffed with luminous crash barriers, traffic lights and red "shop" signs from Jeremy Scott.

And so out came his first look, a '60s-style suit out of neon wax linen and finished with reflective tape -- to the strains of Donna Summer. The audience whooped with delight, particularly at the hard hat fascinators and street-sign quilted handbags that came later.

Then a clean-up operation began, so to speak, as two life-size car washes revved up over the catwalk, and models sashayed through them in sudsy slips with kitschy soap branding and electric-colored feather-duster evening gowns.

It was as frothy as the stream of bubbles that was pumped over the audience.

Anna Cleveland at Moschino

When mom's got you practicing your walk, not your multiplication tables. matthewschneier

See the video, here.

At Moschino

No - that's not household cleaner; it's the latest eau de toilette bottle from @Moschino #MFW vvfriedman

Fashion Review: At Prada, Reinventing the Power Suit

When did the skirt suit fall out of favor?

Was it when women decided that they should stop trying to dress like their male peers, because power did not preclude femininity, and floral dresses invaded the C-suite (see: Michelle Obama)? Was it when Angela Merkel settled on a brightly colored jacket and black trousers as her uniform of choice, and every other female politician seemed to follow up with her version of the same? Was it when the skirt suit became the outfit of choice for the lunching lady of leisure, and not the working woman?

It’s unclear, but these days Carly Fiorina is not the only person who wants to bring it back. Well, this is fashion. Everything that was out comes in again — especially when what is in suddenly smacks of the old guard.

“Ms. Prada wanted to go back and think about suits, because we really don’t do them so much anymore,” Fabio Zambernardi said backstage after the Prada show.

Read more from Vanessa Friedman's fashion review on Prada, Moschino, Etro and Emporio Armani, here.

First Look: Prada

The show space on the Via Fogazzaro had been transformed into what AMO, the Rem Koolhaas-led architecture practice that is Prada's constant collaborator, was calling a "indefinite hangar," bathed in a sickly yellow glow. It set the stage for what turned out to be a thoroughgoing exploration of -- suits?

"Mrs. Prada felt that she wanted to go back to suits," her deputy, Fambio Zambernardi, said backstage. "She normally doesn't do them so much, so she got obsessed." He paused, then clarified: "She likes obsessions."

From the first look, that obsession came through loud and clear: a squared-off jacket and a knee-length skirt that would've been prim if not for its flapping panel of tweed. Or the striped crocodile handbag that the model toted along. Or the yellow lipstick she wore. This is Prada, where tradition is courted only to be unsettled. Which may explain why the strains of jazz on the soundtrack morphed swiftly into the No Wave sprechgesang of Lydia Lunch.

Eye Candy: Prada

Suits and veils at prada.

Prada's back to ladylike. Lots of suits. Paillettes aplenty, some veils, too. matthewschneier

The Daily Jewel: Prada

Every model wore sexy swinging earrings at Prada today. These silver and black sparklers — worn with gold glittering lipstick — seem particularly perfect for disco dancing.

Those are fiberglass and polycarbonate stalactites at @Prada, in case you were wondering. #MFW vvfriedman

The Daily Bag: Brunello Cucinelli

White bags are a bit of a gamble; and so are adult backpacks. But this creamy version from Brunello Cucinelli is both sophisticated and understated — the perfect thing for transatlantic flights or a Saturday stroll.

See more of the daily bags in T Magazine

5 Things to Know About the Pucci Show

This is the designer Massimo Giorgetti's runway debut for the label. Mr. Giorgetti also designs (and runs) his own contemporary brand, MSGM, which shows later this week.

Two new logos are being introduced: an "Emilio" written in script across dresses and separates, and a blazon (a coat of arms) made up of two stylized P's back-to-back with a E in the middle, used on handbags and shoes.

The inspiration for the show came from the Pucci archives and the founder's penchant for seaside semiology: seagulls, starfish, coral and shells.

The show was set in an old paper factory with raw concrete walls, a corrugated tin roof and PVC curtains over the doors tinted the same purple as a Pucci shirt worn in 1962 by Marilyn Monroe.

The accessories were fully on-theme, from the fishing-line fringe bags to the scuba diver sunglasses. Next stop, Capri.

First Look: Pucci

The first look from Pucci and the debut collection of its new creative director, Massimo Giorgetti.

He opened with a monochrome asymmetric top and sequined split skirt, before moving things toward his primary inspiration for the collection: the sea. Shimmering marine-hued pinafores, scuba-diver sunglasses, fish-net palazzo pants and slips embroidered with marine life all floated by.

Given other ocean-infused collections from the likes of Max Mara and Fausto Puglisi this week, the tide on this trend is unlikely to have turned yet.

Eye Candy: Emilio Pucci

A (candy-colored) moment of reflection before the show.

See more scenes from Emilio Pucci spring/summer 2016 in T Magazine

Fashion Review: Fendi and Ferretti Find a New Muse

There’s a new muse in Milan this season, and she’s not a rock star or a movie idol; she’s Mother Nature. With an unseasonal storm battering the first day of Fashion Week, and Pope Francis acknowledging the reality of climate change — and counseling action — what could one expect?

Designers are doing what they can to address the issue. Or dress it, if you will.

Read more on Vanessa Friedman's fashion review of Fendi, Ferretti, Emilio Pucci, Fausto Puglisi and MaxMara.

The Daily Beauty: Filling the Void at Fendi

For Fendi’s collection — inspired as much by the military as by romance — the makeup artist Peter Philips drafted a look based on notes from Karl Lagerfeld: purity, the sunlit branches of a tree, “a runaway Mormon girl.” Using Dior Star foundation, he evened the models’ skin tone and left the face mostly clean (no mascara or lipstick, and just a touch of pink blush) so that a graphic line above the eye, centered between the lashes and the eyebrow, stood out. The effect is especially dramatic when it catches the light, like the tree in Mr. Lagerfeld’s vision.

To get the look: Pull Dior Show liner along the crease of the upper eyelid and work it with a brush to expand the shape. “There’s a poetry and a purity to it,” said Mr. Philips of the line, which recalls the ankle-wrapping black velvet cord of a new double-heeled sabot shoe, a flourish complemented by black nail polish on the toes.

See more Backstage Beauty Reports in T Magazine

The Daily Shoe: Fendi

Masterminded by Karl Lagerfeld, these black and blue beauties from Fendi would look as good with an old pair of jeans as they would with a black-tie dress.

Sound Bite: Silvia Fendi

Backstage before the Fendi show, Silvia Fendi was showing off the brand's latest big-bet handbag: the Dot.com.

So named because? "We all need to stay connected all the time these days," she said, amid a scrum of models lining up for first looks. "Functionality has always mattered a lot for Fendi. Each bag has a special removable pocket inside for a laptop or tablet. There are windows cut into the outside so the colors of the pocket show through. Then you can just pull it out as you need."

In case anyone was confused, she demonstrated by doing her own dip and pull.

First Look: Max Mara

The first look at Max Mara encompassed nautical stripes and a long oversize naval jacket, in a spring collection inspired by tales of the sea.

Old naval drinking songs roused the style crowd first thing on Thursday morning, as rope prints on silks, sailor pants and star-emblazoned sweaters drifted down the runway, which was painted in a faded bleached-wood style. The show notes highlighted Sinbad the Sailor as among the collection’s primary muses, so perhaps the models were walking the plank.

Milan Fashion Week: Day 2

Proceedings kick off bright and early on Thursday at 9:30 for the Max Mara show. Unless you raged with the robots at the Philipp Plein after-party until the wee hours, or ate with Salma Hayek at the exclusive Gucci supper, there are no excuses not to be on time. It’s only Day 2, people, and fashion month is a marathon, not a sprint.

After a quick pick-me-up espresso or three, some will head down the Corso Venezia to see the latest collection from Luisa Beccaria. But most will probably squeeze in a few appointments around town before a preprandial Fendi extravaganza in refined grandeur from Karl Lagerfeld that begins at midday.

Pucci is next. Prepare for a predictable riot of color and print (but fun nonetheless) at 3 p.m., before the Costume National show commands a stage on the Via Amatore Sciesa.

Come 6 p.m., it is Miuccia Prada’s time to shine, before Jeremy Scott, fresh from showing his own collection this month in New York, unveils his latest offerings for Moschino at 8. And for those interested in after-dark entertainment, look for a number of dinners from the likes of Moschino and Vogue Italia before things really get going on Friday night.

Dinner at Gucci

If there were any doubts about how Kering feels about Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s newish creative director, they were put to rest Wednesday night at a dinner in Milan hosted by François-Henri Pinault, the group’s chief executive.

At the private garden of the Palazzo Cicogna, beside two long tables showcasing a five-course meal by Massimo Bottura of the renowned Osteria Francescana and in front of friends of the house such as Dakota Johnson, Valeria Golino, Alexa Chung and Rachel Feinstein, Mr. Pinault made a toast.

“Dear Alessandro,” he said, “I am very proud to see your creativity blossom and that you can now express your immense talent. Thanks to your vision, audacity and charisma, you reflect the mentality of today.”

Mr. Michele, resplendent in bird-bedecked Gucci men’s wear and sandwiched between Franca Sozzani, the editor of Italian Vogue, and the artist Nan Goldin, who kept whipping out her camera to take his picture, shook his head. “I have no words,” he said.

Luckily, others did, at least when they weren’t dipping into the slow-roasted chicken fed on fresh milk and corn or the open terrine of mackerel “tinted yellow to represent Abruzzo’s saffron-colored hillsides.”

The director Luca Guadagnino, for example, in a floral-bedecked shell-pink Gucci blazer, discussed his coming film, “A Bigger Splash,” with Ms. Johnson, one of its stars, who was seated across the table. Ms. Johnson, wearing a Gucci LBD, had recently chopped her hair into a long bob and wasn’t thrilled with the results. She asked Anna Wintour what she thought. And a table-hopping Karen Elson, plopped down across from Ms. Wintour, delivered her verdict on Mr. Michele’s spring collection, unveiled a few hours before.

“Exquisite,” she pronounced, as the dessert, called “Caesar salad in bloom” and inspired by a Gucci handbag advertisement, was delivered to each seat.

Philipp Plein: Over the Top

It was of little surprise that the German designer Philipp Plein decided to take his show ambitions to new heights on Wednesday night. After all, this was a man who had built a fully functioning roller coaster to display his collection last season.

Still, when Courtney Love kicked things off on a moving walkway, accompanied by a robotic rock band, thumping base and shooting white strobe lights, some eyebrows were raised. Then came the army of models, as if on a factory assembly line, decked out with sunglasses and handbags by giant robotic arms amid dozens of flying Chinese-made drones.

As for the clothes? I think they had punkish undertones, maybe, judging primarily from the #punkplein Twitter hashtag. None in the audience took any notice during the jaw-dropping spectacle, which was almost certainly the point. A huge after-party raged from the moment the finale was over, carrying on late into the night.

Philipp Plein

Is this how we'll get dressed in the 22nd century? #mfw #punkplein pic.twitter.com/fPdZ8xdC0k lizziepaton

At No. 21, a Study in Springtime Layers

Are they sandals? Are they boots? Either way, they’re worn with calf-high socks and lightweight separates.

See more scenes from No. 21 in T Magazine

The Daily Shoe: Fay

This moss-colored boot from Fay (part of Tod’s Group) radiates a Tyrolean kind of glamour with its embroidered flowers and soft suede skin — especially when matched with the dirndl-style lace-up vests and embellished jackets shown on the runway.

First Look: Fausto Puglisi

The first look from Fausto Puglisi showed that the fun-loving Sicilian has lost none of his love of micro hemlines and macro crystals.

Inspired by the sea and all within it, the spring collection was awash with pearl and shell clusters on minishifts and shimmering cutaway gowns, often in a marine-hued palette. A playful Versace-esque knit featuring the sea god Poseidon drew smiles, but an hour wait for the show to begin and an afternoon of torrential rain diminished the mood for an under-the-sea party.

Fausto Puglisi does biker chic by way of under the sea. There are shells on virtually ever single look #mfw lizziepaton

Eye Candy: Alberta Ferretti

Sound bite: charlotte tilbury at alberta ferretti.

Backstage before the Alberta Ferretti show was a chirpy Charlotte Tilbury. The flame-haired British cosmetics queen found fame almost a decade ago with the makeup looks she designed for the biggest names in fashion, before introducing her own line last year. Life is good, she said.

"I'm feeling fantastic today," she said, cheerfully dusting a model's cheekbones while patiently explaining the process for an Italian film crew. "I got a really early night, and my call time was at a reasonable hour."

"That's the sort of schedule game changer that transforms how you feel for the rest of the week, maybe even the rest of the season."

But she added that balancing both sides of her business has required a big shift in mind-set.

"I think it made me so happy because I'm so exhausted half the time, it's a constant balancing act especially as I'm also a mother," she said.

The trick to surviving fashion month, Ms. Tilbury said, is regular acupuncture, vast quantities of homeopathic drops and good luck with her genes.

"It's the only way, trust me," she said. "Although I'm also a ginger, which I'm convinced gives me more energy than most. I get a lot of my firepower from my hair color."

First Look: Alberta Ferretti

The first look from the Alberta Ferretti show, a spring collection inspired by the desert and, apparently, Burning Man in Nevada.

"I pictured a woman who lives in wide-open spaces, freeing her imagination, without any restrictions," Ms. Ferretti said in her show notes. "I want women to feel sexy."

Ms. Ferretti's vision of Burning Man was much more ethereal and elegant than its reality. A procession of earth-toned silk and gauze flowed down the runway. Alongside were brown leather gladiator sandals and backpacks, perfect accessories for the urban nomad.

Sound Bite: Alberta Ferretti

Backstage at her spring show on Wednesday afternoon, Alberta Ferretti encouraged those around her to imagine themselves transported to the Nevada desert, the inspiration for her latest collection.

"I say Nevada, but it could be anywhere really," she said as rain pounded on the tent and dampened models, their hair in rollers, were chastised for illicit cigarette breaks.

"Do as I did when I first imagined the collection," Ms. Ferretti said. "I wanted to design pieces that evoked the freedom and lightness of being that comes from living in wide-open spaces. Let's pretend we are really there."

Quite tough to imagine in the high-stress environment of a fashion show on one of the wettest days of the year, I venture.

"Not really -- well, not for me anyway," she said. "This is my favorite ever collection." She beamed as a huddle of friends and family entered.

"I know designers always say that, but in this case, I promise it's true. I am feeling warm inside and excited about what everyone will think."

"But nervous, too," she added, pausing to kiss her companions.

"Even after all these years, I'm always racked with nerves in the hour before the show."

Fsshion Review: Gucci’s 600 Years of Inspiration

From the Tudors to 1970s rock, the collection covered a bold, if undisciplined, spectrum.

Read more from Vanessa Friedman's review of the Gucci collection.

Trench: Polyurethane-coated, waterproof and recyclable. The base is “GG Supreme,” a material Gucci created in the '70s. It is a classic double G logo print, trimmed in suede.

The trench is hand-cut, taking about three hours, because the GG motif has to be centered within the overlaid print. Before being sewn, the piece has to be mounted on a mannequin in order to place the suede over the GG logo. It takes approximately three days to complete.

Scarf: A '70s geometric print with green fringe, echoed in lining of trench.

Suitcase: Matching Gucci Supreme fabric, with classic red and green luggage strap closure. The shape is taken from Gucci archive.

Shoes: Calfskin loafers in a ’70s shape, customized with web stripe and interlocking GG.

Glasses: Oversize ’70s shape combined with rhinestones and flowers from '50s.

Buttons: Mother-of-pearl.

Gucci’s Spring Look: Annotated

A look from Gucci's spring collection, annotated.

The Daily Bag: Gucci

What’s not to love about the rich and eccentric tilt Alessandro Michele lends to Gucci’s sporty equestrian heritage? This shiny croc satchel, bearing the house’s classic green and red stripes, has Old World charm and a modern, graphic appeal. Try it with a handful of oversize cocktail rings for the full Michele effect.

See more scenes from Gucci in T Magazine

Eye Candy: Gucci

First look: gucci.

A rainstorm raged around the Gucci spring show on Wednesday, which may have called to mind the description "biblical intensity," given the repeated allusions in the collection to the Garden of Eden.

The first look, a 1970s-style jungle green lace tea dress, had the classic navy and red trim so long synonymous with the brand. The nod seemed to suggest that nostalgia remains at the heart of Gucci's fresh start, nine months after the arrival of Alessandro Michele, its self-consciously bohemian new creative director.

At the show, staged in a disused Milanese railway depot, Franςois-Henri Pinault, Salma Hayek and Charlotte Casiraghi sat in the front row, trying to escape the wind that howled through the open-air set, which was full of snake-printed carpets, printed silk screens and jungle fronds.

An earlier version of this article misstated a guest in the Gucci front row. She is Charlotte Casiraghi, not Princess Caroline.

At Work With Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s Creative Director

In the fourth episode of Season 3 of our series that takes you behind the doors of the fashion world, Alessandro Michele, the creative director of Gucci, reveals why he thrives on chaos, how he got his guardian turtle and the hardest aspects of his new job. And that’s just what didn’t make it into the video.

Three’s a Trend: Chintz

Brilliantly colored floral motifs usually seen on fine china — or the wall — find their place in the spring collections.

First Look: Stella Jean

Stella Jean, the Haitian-Italian designer and rising star of the local fashion scene, made a welcome splash with her latest collection on the gray, rain-soaked opening day of Milan’s shows.

“En Route” explored the mind-sets of Italian immigrants through the punchy palettes and bold ethnic prints that have helped Ms. Jean make her name. Most silhouettes had roots in the traditional Italian tailoring of the 1950s and 1960s, before blooming afresh with influence from other destinations.

Consider the opening look, which radiated South American sizzle, a floor-skimming skirt in ruffled tiers of pinks, browns and apricots, teamed with an oversize candy-striped jacket. Audience members, many of whom wore her looks from head to toe, whooped with delight at the bathing suit finale, with its watermelon sun visors and fringed flip-flops.

Although she has no formal training, Ms. Jean has found powerful fans such as Giorgio Armani among Italy’s traditionally conservative design old guard. And with exclusive use of sustainably sourced fabrics, aimed at helping trade workers in developing communities — a hot topic for all major luxury players — her future is looking increasingly bright.

Milan Fashion Week: Day 1

Milan Fashion Week, the third stop of the fashion month marathon, has arrived — and with it a whirlwind of shows, presentations, parties and prosecco pit stops. Hit the ground running at lunchtime Wednesday with Stella Jean, the Haitian-Italian designer who first reached the big time in 2013, when Giorgio Armani lent her his show space and a shot of establishment imprimatur.

Next up is Gucci, unquestionably the biggest name of the day, with all eyes on the creative director Alessandro Michele to see if he can again come up with the goods after his promising debut last season. Then, follow the tribe to Alberta Ferretti, home of chiffon goddess gowns, before a race across town to see what a new generation of local talent has to offer. The editor of Vogue Italia, Franca Sozzani, gives those designers a showcase at her What’s on Next presentation. After, it’s on to Fausto Puglisi on the Piazza Vetra.

The unapologetic maximalist Philipp Plein shows at 9 p.m. and is holding a dinner straight after, as are Brunello Cucinelli and a number of other designers. But the party schedule on the first night is uncharacteristically low-key this season, owing to a clash with Yom Kippur.

London Fashion Week

At marques’almeida: short, diy bangs.

Backstage at Marques'Almeida earlier today, hairstylists gave models super-short bangs. As the show's lead hairstylist, Duffy, put it, the hair was meant to look like a "homemade fringe." He added that he wanted models to look like they'd cut their own hair with the kitchen scissors — and cited the 90s-era British TV presenter Katie Puckrik as his inspiration.

Short bangs showed up elsewhere in London, too: on the runway at Christopher Kane — and, throughout the week, on many cool girls in the front row.

Read more highlights from London Fashion Week in T Magazine

Burberry’s Snapchat Show

Burberry has had a lot of firsts when it comes to blending digital innovation with the spectacle of a fashion show.

Its pioneering use of live streaming, 3-D projections and Twitter’s “Buy Now” button have been part of what makes its star-studded women's wear shows among the most hotly anticipated events for millions of fans online.

Now the luxury brand appears to be at it again.

On Friday, just days after Burberry announced it would be the first in the industry to have its own Apple Music channel, the brand announced it would premiere its spring 2016 collection via Snapchat, the mobile app on which short messages digitally self-destruct after just a few seconds.

On Sunday night, the brand began sharing photographs and videos of finishing touches to the collection and of its front-row stalwarts, including Anna Wintour, receiving invitations to the Monday show.

Although show coverage will continue on Snapchat’s Live Stories feature once the models take to the runway in Kensington Gardens at 1 p.m. today in London, the early previews will have vanished.

Christopher Bailey, Burberry’s affable chief executive and creative director, has used his digital expertise, contemporary style and canny ability to blur distinctions between trade and entertainment to transform the once-forgotten British fashion house into a global behemoth. He said that using Snapchat felt like an important next step for the company.

“I love the philosophy of Snapchat and the idea of capturing a moment that then immediately disappears, unpolished and rough around the edges,” Mr. Bailey said before the show. He was perched on a table in his Pimlico design studio as a small army of seamstresses disappeared to take their lunch break.

“I especially wanted to do it as it seemed like the perfect way of capturing the reality of shows themselves: that surreal contrast in the chaos of a run-up to an event, then that moment a model comes down the catwalk, gliding serenely like a swan down the Thames,” he said. "There’s a mix of reality, intimacy and inclusivity that other platforms don’t really capture in the same way.”

A savvy way of interacting, too, with Snapchat’s 100 million daily active users, most of whom are younger than 30 and valuable potential future spenders in an evermore volatile luxury market. While Mr. Bailey said he was “less interested in over-analysis of a demographic,” he agreed that it was important to understand how people engage online and to bring the brand to them accordingly.

“Of course, I am aware that many of our fans shop, interact and express themselves socially more than ever before,” he said.

“They want to know how our things are made and the stories behind the scenes. They want more access and more authenticity, and if that’s what they are demanding, then we need to listen and find new and exciting ways of democratically bringing them into our world.”

As the hours to showtime dwindle and given his increasing emphasis on immediacy and position as leader of fashion’s digital revolution, the pressure on Mr. Bailey to relentlessly innovate must be intense. He concedes that, at times, events “veer that way.”

“Technology defines our lives more than ever before, but there is no straight line clear to anyone yet as to where products or platforms will evolve and take us in the future, nor is it something any luxury brand can or should consciously force,” he said.

“I think it’s as much about staying in the present, looking at all the little snapshots of moments all around us, and telling the story of what is unfolding in the most meaningful way we can. Who knows what is next.”

Eye Candy: Preen

Hunter Original: Inspired by Glastonbury

Is this what the fashionable festival-goer will wear to Glastonbury or Coachella in 2016?

That's what the designer Alasdhair Willis seemed to have in mind for the music festival-inspired Hunter Original show presented at London Fashion Week on Saturday, in a postal office near the Easton train station that had been outfitted with a shredded tent covering a muddy runway.

In front of a crowd that included Anna Wintour, the hotelier André Balazs and Stella McCartney, Mr. Willis's wife and fellow designer, the models, both male and female, stomped through that mud in brightly colored waterproof rubber and vinyl jackets, flowing skirts (on the women), hot pants (on one of the men) and sturdy water-resistant backpacks and bags (on both). The show also introduced the Hunter clog, helpfully described in the show notes as "the new Hunter icon."

At the finale, confetti rained down on the models taking one last turn on the muddy field. Of course, if this had been a real music festival, that would have been rain pouring down, not brightly colored paper.

Zandra Rhodes’s (Very Colorful) London Fashion Week Return

Today, the British designer Zandra Rhodes will present a collection at London Fashion Week — her first since 2007. Though she's done it many times before, Ms. Rhodes, 74, admits that she still gets nervous before a show. “I always remember reading Saint Laurent saying, 'To do a collection twice a year is like having a baby,' " she says, laughing. "Like him, I haven’t had a baby, but I think it’s probably worse."

For her latest collection, Ms. Rhodes — who has been designing since the mid-1960s — took a cue from Malaysia, where she was the subject of a retrospective at the National Textile Museum in 2013. Now she has drawn upon the country's native fabrics to produce traditional, intricate weaves. And, true to form — the collection is exploding with patterns and colors, which have become something of a Rhodes signature (she's well-known for her trademark fuchsia bob.) "May I never get fed up with color," she says.

Last month, T visited Ms. Rhodes in her Bermondsey penthouse — which is brimming with tchotchkes: a piece of the Berlin Wall, a chandelier dripping with letter Zs — even a money box in the shape of Vladimir Putin.

See a complete video tour of Ms. Rhodes's kaleidoscopic London home” in T Magazine

— Hattie Crisell

New York Fashion Week

Marc jacobs’s curtain raiser.

New York Fashion Week ended with a curtain raiser.

“One Night Only,” read the marquee at the Ziegfeld Theater on West 54th Street, the crimson and gold movie palace that is Manhattan’s largest remaining single-screen theater, and the film premiere locale of choice. Black-jacketed ushers shooed ticket holders inside, while outside, velvet ropes kept the public at bay.

Debbie Harry was there, and so was Sofia Coppola. Debi Mazar made an entrance; ditto Kim Gordon. Bette Midler arrived wearing black. Cigarette girls gave out Red Hots and Raisinets. On the main stage, the Brian Newman Orchestra stood at the ready. Then the lights went down, and the show began.

Read more on the Marc Jacobs show, here.

Fashion Review: DKNY, Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren and More

It’s been a slow ride on the fashion merry-go-round this week.

Five days after Givenchy’s triumphant 9/11 show on a pier in downtown New York, there we were again, this time in a tunnel under World Trade Center Plaza, for yet another collection from a brand owned by the French conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. Whoa! Déjà vu. We’re almost back where we began.

What’s that all about?

Officially, the debut DKNY show of Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow, otherwise known as the men behind the hip label Public School, who were named back in April to design the contemporary brand that Donna Karan built.

See more from Vanessa Friedman's fashion review on Boss Women, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Proenza Schouler, Ralph Lauren.

The Return of Lamine Kouyaté and Xuly.Bët

It's hard to believe it has been almost a quarter-century since Amy M. Spindler, writing in The Times, first took note of the Malian designer Lamine Kouyaté and his wildly popular line of clothing — “much coveted, much imitated’’ on the streets of Paris — made under the label Xuly.Bët.

Prophetic of many trends to follow, Mr. Kouyaté’s “couture’’ clothes were patchworks of scraps and oddments, castoffs, roughly sutured so that, as Ms. Spindler wrote, “skin peeks through taut stitches, making the wearer’s body part of the mosaic of cotton and yarn.’’ In translation, the meaning of Xuly.Bët falls somewhere between the noun “voyeur’’ and an injunction to keep one’s eyes open.

Anyone who did so on Wednesday outside the Anna Sui show was well rewarded with both the return of Mr. Kouyaté and a bracing show of diversity at work.

“I was having lunch in August with some industry types,” said Kelly Cutrone, a fashion publicist. “We were talking about the lack of black designers, and tried to name 15 off the top of our heads.’’ Though they failed, she said, the one name that came up repeatedly was that of Mr. Kouyaté.

And as fate would have it, Ms. Cutrone learned through the grapevine that he was back in Paris and looking for a way to return to the scene. Quickly deploying a team of volunteers, she recruited stylists, models, hair people and makeup people to lend their talents to a pop-up show of the designer’s latest work, which was not a part of the official fashion week roster — guerrilla-style, on the sidewalk outside the Skylight at Moynihan Studio in Midtown, right after Anna Sui’s always popular and heavily attended show.

Ms. Cutrone’s real spark of inspiration was contacting the Harlem-based Double Dutch Dreamz troupe, which agreed to send six of its best rope skippers to show off their fancy footwork while 15 models paraded around the foyer of the great stone structure on West 33rd Street.

“We wanted to have a show that didn’t scream anything,’’ Ms. Cutrone said. “The intention was to create a visual moment that was celebratory and that would also call out to young people and let them know this is an industry for everyone, not just a few.’’

— Guy Trebay

Proenza Schouler’s Spanish Flair

An unusual winner this New York Fashion Week: The tourist offices of Spain. Something Spanish is evidently in the air.

Several of the week’s big shows had a distinct Iberian influence. Early on, there was Joseph Altuzarra, referencing his own Basque heritage in the colors and textures of his spring collection. Oscar de la Renta’s Peter Copping isn’t Spanish (nor, for that matter, was the house’s founder and namesake), but Mr. de la Renta lived in Madrid as a young man, and Mr. Copping channeled Spain and researched his collection at the Hispanic Society of America in Harlem.

Then, Wednesday night, Proenza Schouler’s standout show featured flamenco-ish ruffles and pompom trim, the sort you might find on bolero jackets. (The soundtrack featured the bolero song “Siboney.”) A few commentators detected nods at Spain’s master couturier, Cristóbal Balenciaga.

Call it a trend. Call it a reason to book a long weekend abroad.

Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne’s Debut at DKNY

"Growing up in New York left an indelible impression on us," read the signed letter from Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne that was placed on every seat. They are New York natives, and DKNY, where they are newly installed creative directors, is a New York native, too. It grew out of the city and was a part of the landscape — figuratively, but literally, too. In its youth, a famous DKNY mural, of the cityscape seen within the logo, was a SoHo icon.

The new look of DKNY under Mr. Chow and Mr. Osborne owes a debt to the styles they have been designing for Public School, their own label, but also to Donna Karan and DKNY's past. The first look paired a pinstriped blazer with a crepe jersey bodysuit — a looser, sportier iteration of the bodysuit Ms. Karan pioneered as one of her Seven Easy Pieces early in her career.

The collection came in a New York palette — black, white and cement gray, mostly, with a late-show blast of blue — and riffed on city wardrobes. The weight of expectation was great, and the enduring impression of Ms. Karan's own version of DKNY may linger in the memories of the career fashion editors who gathered in the echoing hall under the World Trade Center concourse for the show. But the new generation who is the real target may still be convinced.

"I'd wear anything," the beauty and fitness entrepreneur Hannah Bronfman, a girl-about-town and native New Yorker, said after the show. "It's a style for the young boss woman. And I'm a young boss woman."

Kanye West’s Line Yeezy Causes a Stir

Guests arriving at Kanye West’s presentation during New York Fashion Week — those, that is, who had successfully elbowed through the camera-wielding crowd — were told that actually, the door they were looking for was several yards to their right. The door they had arrived at was exclusively for celebrities.

Two separate entrances are as good an indicator as any of a fashion week happening, and Mr. West’s second presentation for his Yeezy collection was certainly that. Held in a basement studio in Chelsea, the show was a late addition to the fashion week schedule, causing some scrambling and some complaints from those who were displaced.

Read more from Kanye West’s presentation

Sally Singer, Vogue's creative digital director.

Virginia Smith, Vogue's fashion market/accessories director.

Mark Holgate, Vogue's fashion news editor.

Seth Meyers

Anna Wintour

Kim Kardashian and North West

Kourtney Kardashian

Khloé Kardashian

Michael Strahan

Jonathan Cheban

Kendall Jenner

Jaden Smith

Sarah Snyder

Kanye West’s Front Row: Annotated

Kanye West's front row might have the strongest social media clout of all of New York Fashion Week. His family members alone with combined Instagram followings of more than 100 million.

Here is an annotated look at some of the famous faces.

— Joanna Nikas

Dad Fashion, Courtesy of a Comedian

Fashion was served a hefty dose of satire on Wednesday afternoon at the Standard hotel, where the comedian Josh Ostrovsky, otherwise known as the Fat Jew, presented a series of dad-inspired looks that he styled as part of a show at Made Fashion Week. Down the turf-covered runway came the very average models, looking as awkward as dads are generally expected to be, and clad in looks that represented "stoner dad," "grilling dad," "free-stuff dad" and "angry shovel dad," among others.

"Dads don’t care, and everybody wants to look like they don’t care," Mr. Ostrovsky explained before the show. "The inspiration was my dad, who will literally wear anything I give him, like a free Chase Bank shirt with Jeremy Scott basketball shorts that have hamburgers on them."

Compared to the models, Mr. Ostrovsky was practically stylish in a white Russell Athletic sweatsuit ("I do strictly white after Labor Day"), bubble-gum-pink Karen Walker shades ("I only wear women’s sunglasses") and a gold chain his dad was given for his bar mitzvah. The entire look was topped off with what Mr. Ostrovsky deemed "a hairection."

On Tuesday, Mr. Ostrovsky had announced that he was moving his show to a later time in deference to Kanye West’s sudden appearance on the fashion week calendar. Mr. West’s move didn’t bother Mr. Ostrovsky in the least.

"This is exactly what he should be doing," Mr. Ostrovsky said. "This is why Mariah Carey flips tables. If it were up to me, my show would have been at the D.M.V. at 2 a.m., but I don’t have the fashion juice to do that."

— Valeriya Safronova

Face in the Crowd: Amy Schumer

Wearing Narciso Rodriguez always makes Amy Schumer feel — well, probably best to paraphrase it as “especially appealing to men.” Her exact words ran bluer than this news organization allows.

Ms. Schumer, a comedian and the star of “Trainwreck,” has been loyally wearing Mr. Rodriguez’s designs of late, and she sat front row at his show on Tuesday night alongside Jessica Alba, Laura Linney, Kate Upton and Jessica Seinfeld. For the occasion, she chose a steel gray slip dress by Mr. Rodriguez.

It wasn’t Ms. Schumer’s first show of the week; she’d taken in Zac Posen’s show the night before. The fashion-show circus seems like fertile territory for comedy. Might one of these shows end up inspiring a bit on “Inside Amy Schumer,” her sketch comedy program on Comedy Central? “Definitely,” she said.

Ms. Schumer’s standup career has put her more often on stage than in the audience. Was it odd to be on the other side of the equation for an evening?

“Since I’m usually a runway model?” she cracked. “Yes, it’s very weird.”

She did express a particular empathy for the women on display. At Mr. Posen’s show, a model stumbled over her dress. “I shouted, ‘You got this, girl,’ ” Ms. Schumer said.

Did it help?

“I think she was so nervous that she kind of blacked out,” she said. “It probably didn’t even register. It just came out of me. What can you do?”

Starry Front Row at Narciso Rodriguez

Narciso's star-powered front row: Amy Schumer, Jessica Seinfeld, Kate Upton and Laura Linney pic.twitter.com/FbIz4DaZZf stuartemmrichny

Serena Williams, Fashion Designer

Serena Williams may have lost her bid for the Grand Slam in heartbreaking fashion last week, stumbling in the semifinals against the unseeded Italian Roberta Vinci, but she seemed to have shaken off that disappointment by the time she strutted out on the runway on Tuesday, taking a bow at the end of her fashion show.

In front of a crowd that included Anna Wintour, Andre Leon Talley, the models Gigi Hadid and Lily Aldridge, and the singer Drake (her latest romantic interest, say the tabloids and Twitter), Ms. Williams staged her second New York Fashion Week show for her HSN Signature Statement collection, with many of the fall 2015 clothes available for online order as soon as the last look went out.

The show started with strains from “Rise Up,” by Andra Day, the song featured on her affecting commercial for Beats by Dre, before segueing into two Drake songs (“Hotline Bling” and “Back to Back”) as models dressed in drapey sweaters, form-fitting skirts and fringed dresses strode down the runway.

At the end, Ms. Williams came out, beaming, twirling in front of the crowd in her leather-fringed skirt, before heading backstage – followed closely by a fast-moving Drake and a swarm of cellphone-waving fans.

At Gypsy Sport, No Inhibitions

The air at Milk Studios today was arctic, frosty enough that Xavier Jones, a stylist, felt compelled pull his black fox tight around him as he stoically braved the 45-minute wait to showtime.

The atmosphere heated up plenty, though, the moment Rio Uribe, the Los Angeles-bred designer behind Gypsy Sport, sent his first models striding, or break-dancing, down the runway in what had to have been one of the zestiest shows of a jampacked week.

Rio, as the 28-year-old designer is known to his chums in voguing circles, had shed his shirt and with it, apparently, his last shred of inhibition, before releasing on his catwalk a giddy procession of male and female models done up in brocade boleros, raffia-trimmed skirts, chambray shorts and carpenter pants that slid down the hips like crisp upmarket saggers.

He showed, in addition, a stew of multitiered skirts, latticed string tops, some baring the models’ torsos, and, for the second time this week (the first was at Hood by Air), free-form trousers that exposed a lustily contoured derrière.

Nor did Mr. Uribe, a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist, neglect his signature locker room looks, harmoniously fusing satin with athletic mesh or jersey, in a collection that was mostly produced in a garment-district basement.

His mannequins wore outsize septum rings. Some carried string bags bulging with fruit, and all pouted moodily, their lips darkly lacquered, bleeding and crazily askew.

Mr. Uribe picked up much of his craft as a merchandiser, working with Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga in Paris.

“His style combines genderless fashion and high and active wear,” said Carole Sabas, a writer and one of the designer’s early supporters, who first encountered him on the web.

“You could tell from his Instagram that he was the real deal,” she said.

Mr. Uribe, who was thronged after the show, took time nonetheless to spool off a roster of cultural references, among them traditional Chinese influences, as well as those of Mexico and Little India in Queens.

“I was inspired by the eclecticism of the city we live in,” he said, “by all of its chaos and all its sophistication.” Amen to that.

— Ruth La Ferla

Lady Gaga Presents: Brandon Maxwell

Lady Gaga has attended the Grammys in an Armani gown seemingly designed to look like a portion of the galaxy far, far away. She has donned a meat dress for MTV's Video Music Awards to signify what it’s like to be a target of the telephoto lenses of sleazy tabloid photographers.

On Monday, her stylist, Brandon Maxwell, took over Mr. Chow for his debut ready-to-wear show and sent out a lot of ... black pants.

It wasn’t Dullsville. Mr. Maxwell has a thing for all things ’70s. His line could easily be called “Slits, please.” He loves a plunging neckline, like the kind that Halston used to do for Bianca and Diana and that Lady Gaga was wearing on one side of the runway.

To her left were the fashion photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. Across from her was the designer Alexander Wang and his good friend Ryan Korban, the much-in-demand interior designer.

Lady Gaga started the show by ordering the crowd to sit their behinds down and finished it crying in her seat, like a den mother struggling to accept that her baby was about to become a man.

Then, she headed backstage, where she declared the preparations to be the funnest three days of her life and posed for pictures with the models. “I need a cigarette,” she said to the V magazine editor Stephen Gan, turning back to the models to offer some applause.

“You look so fierce,” she said.

In the front, Mr. Maxwell plowed through TV interviews, discussing his favorite designers (Halston, Alaïa) and whether having a pop star serve as the organizing principle of his show would help or hurt.

But he said that was immaterial. “She’s my best friend,” he said, in a dark crew-neck sweatshirt and a pair of black glasses. “If she wasn’t a pop star and I wasn’t designing, we’d be sitting in some town doing exactly what we’re doing.”

— Jacob Bernstein

Thom Browne 101

Thom Browne's show collections have so long bordered on couture that it came as no surprise when his show ended today with a bride: the proverbial couture mariée.

She wore a jacket in astrakhan pieced with mink and a tiered skirt stitched with scores of sequins. Why she, like the rest of the cast, ended the show in an open-walled schoolhouse will remain, like many finer points of Mr. Browne's productions, an unexplained mystery. The collection's furious craftsmanship was cheering enough on its own. It got a fabulous boost from Stephen Jones's boater hats and Jimmy Paul's starchy braids, which stood straight up through them.

Maya Lin Set at Phillip Lim

The mounds of earth piled in the hangar-like Pier 94 for Phillip Lim's 10th-anniversary show were, it turned out, an installation by the award-winning architect Maya Lin. After the show, the dirt will be donated to community gardens. It was Mr. Lim's way, on the occasion of his anniversary in business, to remind himself and everyone to stop and smell the flowers.

As if a reminder were necessary. The collection came in leaf green and soil brown, printed or appliquéd with flowers.

Trend Watch: Bringing Sexy Back

After a lengthy hiatus, sex has made a none-too-subtle comeback on the runways, treated brashly by a handful of designers, some who have long flirted with suggestiveness, others better known for a chaste approach.

For spring 2016 the disparate likes of Joseph Altuzarra, Wes Gordon, and Shayne Oliver of Hood by Air, along with relative newcomers like Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia of Monse, and the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Ghris Gelinas of CG, unveiled, in the most literal sense, an audacious style parade, their designs projecting an attitude of luxurious dishabille.

Dresses slipped and slid off the shoulders, blouses, blazers and kimonos hung loosely askew, as if the model had just tumbled out of bed. And buttons were left undone to reveal a glimpse of creamy breast or thigh.

To onlookers whose memories reached as far back as the 1990s, such a disassembled look may well suggest the return of deconstructionism, its exposed seams, slanted outlines and shredding lending an unfinished look that was meant to lay bare the arcane techniques of dressmaking.

That movement, embraced at the time by a small gang of designers toiling in London or Antwerp lofts, was an exercise in fashion intellectualism.

These days flyaway fringe, sliced-up hemlines, sheer shirts, slit skirts and slip-sliding are anything but cerebral, their broad hints of sexual access a candidly erotic antidote to the austerity of recent seasons.

A Frick Reversal Wins Over Carolina Herrera

New York City politics rarely intrude on fashion week, but they did so on Monday morning in a somewhat subtle way at the Carolina Herrera spring 2016 show, held at the Frick Collection on upper Fifth Avenue.

The Frick has been the center of controversy of late, with the board of trustees voting last year year to demolish the Russell Page-designed viewing garden bordering 70th Street for a six-story addition. It was a move that quickly raised the ire of many museumgoers, including some prominent members of the fashion community.

The outcry seemingly caught the museum off guard, and the continuing furor led the board to eventually reverse its decision, leaving the historic garden untouched while the museum seeks alternatives for expansion.

Backstage after her show, after greeting two of her first-row attendees, Lee Daniels and Penelope Cruz, Mrs. Herrera said the Frick was her “absolute favorite museum in New York. I love, love, love it.” And she explained that when she learned in the spring that it would become available for what would be her first fashion show since leaving Lincoln Center, she jumped at the chance to book it.

“This is the first time they have ever offered to have a runway show here," she said. "How could I not say yes?”

And did that choice also reflect her support of the museum’s decision to scrap its plans to replace the garden with a new wing?

“Oh, but of course,” she said, gesturing enthusiastically. “Everybody wanted that. Everybody.”

Opening Ceremony Choreographs the Runway

It was only minutes into Opening Ceremony’s show when the first model slipped, buckled and fell.

See enough fashion shows and you’re certain to see a few falls. Shoes are treacherous; floors are slick. Already this week, two models tumbled at Givenchy’s alfresco show. Experience is no safeguard. One of the tumblers that night was Candice Swanepoel, the South African supermodel with what must be miles of walking on her résumé.

So when the Opening Ceremony model fell, the crowd gasped but didn’t stir. Kindly disposed editors sitting nearby moved to help her up, but she twisted herself back to standing and marched on.

Then, minutes later, it happened again. And this time, the fallen model sprang up with a flourish and an interpretive pose.

Justin Peck, the man behind the moment, was sitting across the runway in thick-framed spectacles, watching in amusement, with Kylie Jenner and her rapper boyfriend Tyga somewhere to his left and Spike Jonze and Rosario Dawson on his right. Mr. Peck, the baby-faced New York City Ballet choreographer and soloist (and star of the recent documentary “Ballet 422”), was a surprise collaborator for this season’s show. (He was by no means the only collaborator; others included Fossil Watches and Gentle Monster sunglasses from South Korea.)

Before the show, Mr. Peck offered only that his involvement “played with the tropes of a fashion show.”

Mr. Peck and Humberto Leon, Opening Ceremony’s co-founder, had been at work on a ballet piece for the New York City Ballet’s fall gala on Sept. 30 when Mr. Leon invited him to work on the show. Incorporating dance made sense: Mr. Leon and his partner, Carol Lim, had been inspired by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, whose daughter, Iovanna, was a dancer. (“I didn’t even know that,” Mr. Peck said.)

“He was my first choice” to work with for the ballet's gala, Mr. Peck said of Mr. Leon. “I reached out and asked if he’d be interested. I was surprised that he responded right away.”

The falling-then-dancing models continued to punctuate the show until, by the end, a small corps of them performed a routine choreographed by Mr. Peck.

“I wish Candice Swanepoel had known that trick,” quipped Miguel Enamorado, the fashion director of Interview magazine.

• Unexpected Moments

Fashion Review: Givenchy, Alexander Wang and More

On Sept. 11, as the sun set over the Hudson and bathed 1 World Trade Center in silver and rose, Givenchy held a fashion show on Pier 26, on the far western edges of TriBeCa, in the shadows of the skyline.

The decision, when first announced, seemed tone deaf.

After all, fashion, especially very expensive fashion, with its implied frivolity and self-indulgence (and self-aggrandizement), is generally seen as occupying the opposite extreme from tragedy and sacrifice. To juxtapose the two was to invite public opprobrium. Especially because Givenchy is based in Paris and had come to New York to celebrate the opening of a new temple to consumption (i.e., store), as well as the designer Riccardo Tisci’s 10th anniversary at the label.....

See more from Vanessa Friedman's fashion review on Givenchy, Alexander Wang, Public School, Victoria Beckham, Joseph Altuzarra and Derek Lam.

Public School’s Star-Studded Show

David-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne held their latest Public School show on Sunday, ahead of their first collection at the creative helm of DKNY, which is set to show just three days from now.

In the crowd, which included Justine Skye, Hailey Baldwin, Russell Westbrook and André Leon Talley, was a Fashion Week rookie: the Los Angeles Clippers basketball player Blake Griffin, standing at 6’10 in his sneakers and clad in a fetching Breton tee.

“This was my first ever show and I absolutely loved it — those clothes were awesome. I just have to hope they make some in my size,” he said from his perch in the front row, soon after the show ended. (Of course, Mr. Griffin may not have found much from this particular collection to add to his wardrobe: only three of the 35 looks were from the designers' men's wear line.)

“It can be much tougher than you think trying to be this big and be fashion-conscious — and don’t even get me started on the hassle I have trying to find really cool sneakers," he added. “Perhaps the guys can make me a bespoke pair from the collection we just saw.”

Two spaces down was the Formula One racing champion Lewis Hamilton, setting off a new bleached hairdo off with a sparkling solitaire stud the size of a golf ball.

As the newly appointed ambassador for British men's wear, Mr. Hamilton, 30, had decided to swap the cockpit for a pole position at the New York shows this week, fresh from his win at the Italian Grand Prix.

“I loved the pajama looks from Public School just now, and the Wang show last night was just incredible,” he said before getting into his waiting Escalade. “The more I see at fashion shows, the more I want to learn how the clothes are constructed.”

Will he be hitting more of the shows?

“Sadly not, I’ve got to be in Singapore for the next race. I fly out of New York tonight and then it’s back to the day job for me.”

See all the looks from Public School's spring 2016 collection here.

Victoria Beckham’s Show-Day Routines

She may be beloved by fashion editors and retailers on both sides of the pond, but Victoria Beckham is not taking any chances when it comes to ensuring the long-term success of her brand.

“I’m actually incredibly superstitious: I have these strange little rituals and routines that I stick to in the run-up to every show,” she said backstage on Sunday morning after the models had filed off the catwalk under the cool marbled cloisters of Cipriani Downtown.

Ms. Beckham, who keeps crystals with her in the days before her latest collection is unveiled and always stays at the same hotel, said that she has gone to the same restaurant each season for lunch since her very first show in New York.

“After that, I head straight back to the studio and get cracking with the sales edit," she said. “There are over 300 pieces to sort through. It seems a little weird to stick so rigidly to that schedule, but I don’t want to jinx anything. And it seems to be working so far.”

Looking on was Ms. Beckham’s 16-year-old son, Brooklyn, the latest superstar tween to grace the cover of Teen Vogue, who had been posting cheeky sneak previews of the show set via his Instagram account earlier in the morning.

Although the front row of the show is always a family affair (the Beckham clan sit and natter with Anna Wintour), the start of the school term meant that Romeo, Cruz and Harper had to stay at home, said Mrs. Beckham’s dapperly dressed husband, David.

“They are all so proud of their mum and do as much as they can to support her,” he said, sipping from a can of Coke. “I’m proud of her, too. She works so hard. She’s a real superstar.”

See all the looks from Victoria Beckham's spring 2016 collection here.

Take a look into her studio, here.

Zac Posen’s Debut at Brooks Brothers

Zac Posen may not have seemed the most logical choice to be Brooks Brothers’ first creative director of women’s wear — he is known, after all, for his red-carpet extravaganzas, and Brooks Brothers is known for its weekend-in-Westchester wear and boxy men’s suiting — but the unveiling of Mr. Posen’s first collection for the brand proved there was something of a mutual admiration society going on.

“There’s nothing I don’t like here,” said Claudio Del Vecchio, the chief executive of Brooks Brothers, pointing at the neat shifts, gingham tunics and Bermuda shorts; the shrunken trouser suits and carnation prints.

Mr. Posen, for his part, was in head-to-toe Brooks Brothers: lavender shirt, knit maroon tie and blue plaid suit complete with flag pin. “I wear Brooks Brothers every day,” he said, noting the pin had come with the suit. It echoed the color of his collection.

“Well, that’s preppy,” he said, explaining the essence of the clothes. “It's red, white and blue, polka dots, stripes and flowers.” Then he paused and pointed at one bright red trouser suit. “That comes in blue, too,” he said. “We’re bipartisan.”

He noted that he and Mr. Del Vecchio have lunch once a month, because they share another passion. “We both love food,” Mr. Posen said.

“You should see his Instagram,” said Mr. Del Vecchio, who was born in Northern Italy. “He cooks every night, and then he posts a picture.” He paused and added: “I think he has an Italian heart.”

At Givenchy, a Long Wait Rewarded With Rapture

They came in droves, called for 6 p.m. But here, the term "fashionably late" applies. At Givenchy's mega-spectacle New York Fashion Week show, held circa dusk on a pier jutting into the Hudson River in TriBeCa, there was no chance of a timely start. First the 820 members of the public who had been given tickets arrayed themselves behind ropes. Then the editors and retailers began arriving. Then came the names. Riccardo Tisci's fellow designers came (there was Michael Kors, kissing Alexander Wang and Joseph Altuzarra). So did the photographers: Mario Sorrenti, Mario Testino, Steven Klein, Inez van Lamsweerde. Then the stars. By 7:29, 59 minutes after showtime and over an hour after the doors opened, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West appeared. At 7:31, a gong sounded. The show could begin.

And so it did: accompanied by holy music, the models came and came and came, some 80 in all, in lace and sequins, some plated like reptiles and some floating on enormous clouds of gown. At least two tripped on their treacherous heels. Still, the mood was rapt and, by the time a soprano appeared to sing "Ave Maria," fairly rapturous. Mr. Tisci emerged for a bow before all and sundry made for the after-party, and a good portion of the front row leapt to their feet.

In the Studio: Thom Browne

To understand his clothes, take a look at his austere office.

Debuting Today: Laurence & Chico

A handful of new designers are showing for the first time this fashion week. Among them is Laurence & Chico, a cheerful new brand created by Chico Wang, 29, and his husband, Laurence Li, 25. Mr. Wang says that living in New York has been instrumental to his career, so “it only makes sense to present my first show here.” The theme of Laurence & Chico’s spring/summer ’16 sophomore collection, which debuts tonight, comes from an aquarium in Canada. Mr. Wang used drawings of sea creatures made by Mr. Li, who is also an illustrator, as the basis for prints. He hopes that the collection, which includes billowy blouses with oversize ruffles and below-the-knee shorts with bright yellow polka dots, comes across as playful and bold.

See five other new designers debuting this week in T Magazine

— Angela Koh

Debuting Today: Shan Huq

A handful of new designers are showing for the first time this fashion week. Among them is Shan Huq, a 20-year-old designer who presented his very first collection during fashion week today — in a small show at St. Mark’s Church. The inspirations he cited for the collection were all over the map: from 7-11 and Diary Queen parking lots to the film “Lilya 4-ever” to downtown Green Bay, Wis. He also collaborated with the New York writer Tyler Sayles, who provided words that Huq embroidered onto clothes. “I can’t image making the same things over and over,” Huq says. “I hope that each season will be so radically different that it will be hard to determine what is in common between them.” He admits that he even contemplated presenting his collection at a gas station in Boise, Idaho — but ultimately made the (logical) decision to show in New York.

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Everything You Need to Know About New York Fashion Week

By Emily Farra

Last season, the biggest news of New York Fashion Week was the shorter, more efficient—and subsequently more jam-packed—schedule. It was CFDA chairman Tom Ford’s first order of business. This season, the calendar is missing some of NYFW’s biggest names, including Ford’s own. He’s showing in L.A., two days before the Oscars. That’s something else that’s new; typically the Academy Awards intersect with Milan Fashion Week. 
 The upside? The gaps in your day will give you more time to check out the city’s rising talents (Kenneth Nicholson, Dauphinette, and Keenkee included), and if you live in Los Angeles, you’re getting something of a mini Fashion Week of your own. Plenty of other designers are rethinking the fashion-show model entirely, opting for videos and pop-ups in lieu of the catwalk. Here, catch up on everything you need to know before the shows start next week. 
 Tom Ford Leads the Great California Migration   
 The Oscars were moved up this year to February 9, smack in the middle of New York Fashion Week. For a designer like Tom Ford, who not only dresses celebrities for the red carpet but invites many of them to sit front row, the obvious answer was to show in L.A., not New York. It follows a similar move he made in 2015, where A-listers including Beyoncé, Jay-Z, and Jennifer Lopez attended. His front row will no doubt have just as much star power on February 7 (fingers crossed for Oscar nominees like Charlize Theron, Saoirse Ronan, and Cynthia Erivo).  
 Baja East ’s Scott Studenberg is taking his show west as well; it will take place at the Edition hotel in West Hollywood just a few hours before Ford’s. As a Laurel Canyon resident, the decision makes sense for Studenberg. (Our only question is: Will Billy Porter be there in another remote-controlled accessory?) Margherita Missoni, who took over the M Missoni little-sister line last year, is also heading to L.A. with an event at Pink’s Hot Dogs on February 4. Later in the month on February 22, Los Angeles designer Pierre Davis will stage her latest No Sesso show at the Museum of Contemporary Art. 
 Fashion With a Side of Art and Culture    
 Speaking of museums, fashion showgoers will spend a lot of time around art this month. Tory Burch is showing uptown at Sotheby’s on February 9, directly followed by Area ’s show at the Africa Center (formerly known as the Museum for African Art) on Fifth Avenue. Brandon Maxwell ’s show might be the most photogenic of all: He’s staging it at the American Museum of Natural History and will be the first designer to show in the Hall of North American Mammals. We’ll be attending art-filled shows in other cities too; MM6 Maison Margiela and Tommy Hilfiger are both happening at the Tate Modern in London.

The Designers You Won’t See on the NYFW Schedule   
 Everyone wants to talk about who  isn’t  showing at New York Fashion Week, so here’s our list: Hilfiger, for starters; Jeremy Scott, who just made the switch to the Paris couture calendar; Phillip Lim , who will host a party in his Great Jones Street store instead; Ralph Lauren , though he may announce alternate plans soon; Matthew Adams Dolan and Maryam Nassir Zadeh , who are both skipping the fall season; and Tanya Taylor , who is forgoing her usual presentation in favor of videos filmed with popular female comedians. In addition to wearing her fall collection in short films, they’ll be featured in her look book. Kate Spade New York is also forgoing a show or presentation and will instead share its fall 2020 collection with fans directly on social media. The brand plans to post short documentary-style video episodes as well as behind-the-scenes imagery leading up to the full lookbook reveal during NYFW Kozaburo Akasaka is also taking a fresh approach to the NYFW model with a monthlong concept shop called Phantom Ranch, where he’ll stock pieces from his personal vintage archive and host craft demonstrations for sakiori weaving. It opens February 6 at 175 Stanton Street on the Lower East Side.

Savage x Fenty Isn’t Showing, Either, But You May Still Get a Rihanna Sighting   
 Following her blockbuster show at Barclays last September , Rihanna is taking a break from the runway. But her presence will still be felt at NYFW: Her Fenty label is opening a pop-up at Bergdorf Goodman on February 3. The retailer will celebrate with a party on February 7, and rumor has it the Bad Gal herself may even stop by at some point during the week…. 
 Other parties to keep on your radar: Bulgari’s B.Zero1 Rock event at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on February 6, which promises a range of “special performances”; Miu Miu’s screening of its latest Women’s Tales film series on February 11 at the Village East Cinema; and a Khaite x MyTheresa dinner, also on February 11 at the Monkey Bar, featuring a special performance by Maggie Rogers.

The Oscars Will Compete for Your Attention   
 Collina Strada, Jason Wu, Chromat, Kim Shui, and Palm Angels are all scheduled to take place in the evening on Sunday, right in the middle of the Oscars red carpet and awards show. Let’s just say the Vogue.com team will be working double time. Those designers are likely a bit anxious about their show attendance, but with all the up-to-the-minute coverage of stars’ outfits and the night’s winners, it will be pretty easy to stay caught up in between shows (or when you’re sitting in your seat waiting 30 minutes for one to start).

By José Criales-Unzueta

By Emma Specter

By Noah Eckstein

How Will Designers Address Sustainability?   
 Despite our best efforts to take the subway, carry a reusable water bottle , and shop more consciously , there’s no escaping the fact that Fashion Week is just not that sustainable. A runway show itself can result in a mountain of waste and require tons of energy to produce , and when you factor in the trains, planes, and automobiles people take to get there, it’s staggering that the main event lasts for just 10 minutes. That said, designers seem to be taking their carbon footprints more seriously this season; we’re expecting fewer plastic water bottles and show notes that outline how a runway’s set will be recycled or reused. At the ClimateNow conference in Paris this week, EcoAct director Cristina Raventós, who helped Gabriela Hearst stage her carbon-neutral show in September, revealed that her team has been working with other brands to do the same. Hearst even insisted on electricity-free hair and makeup, and her slicked-back ponytails tied with leather became a favorite look of the season. 
 Following Extinction Rebellion’s “die-ins” and protests at London Fashion Week last year , we’re also expecting X.R.’s New York team to take action during the shows next week. Yes, designers are making sustainability a bigger priority, but Extinction Rebellion’s argument is that Fashion Week shouldn’t exist at all because the model itself drives consumer desire for constant new clothes (and, as a result, constant thrown-out clothes). If and when anything happens, we’ll be reporting on it first, so watch this space for updates.

Don’t Skip Out on the New Guard   
 New York Fashion Week has always been a place to discover young talent, and the fall 2020 schedule is full of new names we’re excited about. Among them are Keenkee , a New York menswear label founded in 2018 by Seoul-born designer Kee Kim; Dauphinette , a wanderlust-y line of feather-trimmed dresses and flower jewelry by Olivia Cheng; Overcoat , a new project by men’s designer Ryuhei Oomaru; Slashed by Tia , the Renaissance-inspired line by Tia Adeola; and Kenneth Nicholson , whose gender-bending menswear pulls inspiration from art history and his own background in the U.S. Navy.  
 The New Hangouts of New York Fashion Week 
 The weather in February can be brutal, so finding a good place to decamp between shows—and grab a bite to eat, if you’re lucky—is crucial. Locals and international folks traveling to NYC for the week should bookmark the city’s popular new spots on Google Maps now: If you’re in Gramercy or Midtown, you’ll want to head to Veronika , the gorgeous new Roman and Williams–designed restaurant in the Fotografiska photography center. In the West Village? Try your luck at Anton’s , a new old-school Italian restaurant by Nick Anderer. And if you find yourself in Chinatown or the Lower East Side, you won’t want to miss Ernesto’s , a new Basque eatery by Ryan Bartlow. Here’s to a week of great fashion and a few good meals too.

Why Fashion Presentations Matter Now

Some of the greatest moments of london fashion week s/s16 happened off the runway; we explore where, and why.

"I am not interested in catwalks at all," proclaimed Faustine Steinmetz  following her much-lauded S/S16 London Fashion Week presentation – and she wasn't the only one making such a statement. In a time where fast fashion is ruling the industry and reporters are filing their reviews from their iPhones before they even arrive at the next show, new designers are taking a newfangled approach to their seasonal collections. While the rest of us are reaching peak panic, and the fashion industry seems as though it couldn't possibly be any speedier, a new, thoughtful movement has emerged: the experientially-oriented fashion presentation. 

These moments are opportunities for designers to communicate the totality of their brand and are being created with dynamic consideration like never before; using sound, art and scenography to interact with their audience without the cost that goes into a catwalk show. While a static presentation is nothing new, London Fashion Week S/S16 proved that there is something delightfully refreshing and seductively relatable occuring away from the traditional runway – and here, we consider some of the best.

(Above image: Le Kilt S/S16, Photography by Chris Rhodes)

A Resurrection of Intimacy "Before, after seeing a fashion show, you’d leave, you’d go and have a drink and you’d talk about it," explained fashion illustrator Richard Haines  to AnOther a few weeks ago. "You would process it differently; everything felt more intimate." And, in spite of the hurried schedules that apparently summon people from their seats before a show has finished (see: Vivienne Westwood S/S16, Giles S/S15 ), London's young designers are making valiant efforts to recreate this intimacy. Their atmospheric presenations enforce a different pace of experience, and a different type of interaction with both the collections and their designers. It's (quite literally) very hard to rush through a surrealist maze like the one Faustine Steinmetz constructed; it's near impossible to hurry through the rooms of L'Escargot where Richard Malone  showed his collection (if not only because the corridors are so very narrow). At Le Kilt's presentation at 100 Club, everyone stuck around drinking whiskey in a scenario which felt more like a well-dressed clubnight than a fashion event – and at Molly Goddard, people couldn’t stop talking about the slightly depressing ham sandwiches (and what they meant to a designer who is often known for her girlish aesthetic).

"With a show you miss it all, because you’re stuck backstage." – Lola Chatterton

On top of this, as Faustine Steinmetz’s stylist Lola Chatterton explained, “It is great to be able to see the finished thing yourself – whereas with a show you miss it all, because you’re stuck backstage.” A presentation means that a designer and their team can literally be on hand to answer questions one-to-one, rather than closing the backstage entrance post-show in exhaustion, or only engaging in the strange 'group interviews' that seem to have become the norm. It makes discussion par for the course, an integral part of understanding a collection, and returns a sense of real life community to an industry that is sorely lacking it in a digital age.

That Human Connection On Saturday, Claire Barrow  showed her newest designs amidst Owen Pratt's powerfully emotive soundscape, and there was something brilliantly unsettling yet enchantingly fluid about it all; the hand-painted silks sat in a darkened room, illuminated by the sounds of clanging metallic instrumentation and a beautifully droney furore. "I wanted to create that human connection," she explained. "I think [the music] evokes a certain feeling – and for me, the process of making clothes is all about that. I do it by feeling things." With the models hooked up to microphones, so that their disenchanted tapping at sheets of metal or little xylophones reverberated throughout the space, the impact was all-encompasing: it was a thoroughly multi-sensory offering. It was the sort of thing that couldn't be communicated through Instagram – and, according to Barrow, that was what it was about, "creating a futurist, post-technology dystopia where the servers were down and we all had to rely on our own human experience." If Barrow's world is the one we enter if we take time to unplug, it certainly made chucking your iPhone away an attractive proposition.

"I wanted to create that human connection" – Claire Barrow

A Holistic Approach "You can create more of an atmosphere with a presentation," explained Molly Goddard , whose street-cast sandwich production line added "something bleak and grim" to her tulle dresses, preventing them from appearing too twee and instead taking her collection into a slightly sinister direction (still very pretty, but with plaid smocks alongside the peachy frills). "I think presentations give you the opportunity to present your work in a much more creative way; while catwalk are all about the girl, presentations are all about the clothes and the little world you create around them," said Faustine Steinmetz. Ed Marler's post-apocalyptic universe was constructed in a Soho alleyway, where his girls were smoking cigarettes in their luxuriantly dishevvelled but immaculately fabricated outfits. This Is Uniform created a cafe-cum-ping-pong-club on Greek Street, where girls wore clothes that paired velcro with silk cotton for a brilliant subversion of the elitism of fashion culture. McDonalds chips and Look Magazine met rouleau trimmings; it made for a self-explanatory scenario without the philosophising of shownotes.

"I am not interested in catwalks at all." – Faustine Steinmetz

Dissembling Boundaries "It means that you can show a bit more of your personality," explained Sam McCoach, the woman behind Le Kilt who chose a tribute to her namesake Eighties Soho clubnight to present her new collection. "We lit the club up with red lights, the music was loud and the floor was sticky with whiskey. I just wanted people to have a good time!" And indeed they did; the girls who weren't insouciantly lounging on Marshall amps in her immaculately constructed kilts while kicking their Converse-clad feet were dancing to the grunge-pop sounds of Garbage, blending in with an audience who were doing much of the same thing. And this is another key aspect to choosing a presentation over the show: it creates an easy, interactive experience where people can engage with one another, discuss the collection, and form proper opinions after getting up close with the clothes. You can see a Shirley Manson-inspired eyeshadow up close; McCoach is on hand to wax lyrical about Linton tweeds. Accompanied by an open bar, there are certainly worse ways to spend a Friday night in fashion.

"The music was loud and the floor was sticky with whiskey. I just wanted people to have a good time!" – Sam McCoach

An Anti-Elitism Once you take away the traditional runway, you also take away the typical minefield of hierarchical seating arrangements and put everyone – editors and stylists to bloggers and buyers – on equal footing. "I appreciate that fashion has an elitism," expressed This Is The Uniform's Jenna Young, who was showing as part of the Fashion East initiative. "But at the end of the day, I make clothes for girls and I want them to be comfortable in them." And maybe this is a part of the industry dismissed by the large-scale brands – not only can they afford the literal costs of show production, but they are less invested in forging new relationships with industry figures and stockists. They already have them sorted, know where they stand, and the elitism of backstage access serves them well; it's positively brand-building. When it's your first collection and you're creating it on a wing and a prayer, establishing a gentle intimacy and having a chat with the people who come by is key to establishing your future. What the presentaton has proven this season is that it's a more democratic means towards fashion's future – and, in a season that has been slightly stagnant thus far, perhaps that's exactly what we're missing.

"At the end of the day, I make clothes for girls and I want them to be comfortable in them." – Jenna Young

See full galleries of the S/S16 collections at  dazeddigital.com

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What is a Fashion Week: 3 facts you didn’t know about fashion weeks

Do you know that every February we have most important Fashion Weeks?

Fashion Week  is one of key events in the world of fashion.

Not everyone had a chance to take part in such events, and it would be interesting for you to learn about what it is, and how and when it all happens. Our teachers – Italian stylists will tell you about it in more detail.

Fashion Week Sale in Italian E-Learning School This week get maximum 60% Discount on all fashion and design courses from Italy

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Fashion Week  is an event where designers present their fashion collection to public for the first time. One may say that it’s a sort of presentation of things , which will later be sold in shops.

What is Fashion Week: When do Fashion Weeks take place?

Fashion week is held twice a year – in spring and in fall – in many countries. There are Chinese, Brazilian, Turkish, Japanese fashion weeks. However major cities, where the most famous designers in the world present their collections, are New York, London, Milan, and Paris.

Fact №1. Most important fashion weeks always take place in the same order

Fashion shows of women’s clothing begin in New York in February/September, next take place in London, then in Milan, and the last one is in Paris in March/October. Men’s clothing is presented in January and June.

In between the major fashion weeks there might be showings of interseasonal collections . However, these events are more of advertising/commercial nature, where designers can present parts of their collections in different countries.

There are also specialized fashion weeks dedicated to specific clothing – such as the Miami Fashion Week, where swimsuits are presented.

Typically, it’s “local” designers who present their collections during the Fashion Week (i.e. Armani shows in Milan, Hermes in Paris, Donna Karan in New York, etc.), but it’s often that designers organize showings in other cities. For example, many Japanese designers nowadays present their collection during Fashion Weeks in Milan and Paris.

Fact №2. On a fashion show you always see the clothes for the next season

As part of the Fashion Week, clothes for the next season are presented.

So, in fall you see demonstration of clothing from spring-summer collection of the next year, and in spring – clothes from fall-winter collection of that year.

What is Fashion Week: Why is that so?

It’s due to the fact that buyers (procurers of collections, boutique directors) need time to pick, purchase and deliver things to their shops, so that they would appear on display in due time.

Journalists need time to prepare press releases and issue magazines on trends and collections in due month. It’s during such fashion shows that journalists from such magazines as Vogue or Elle evaluate general tendencies and write us later, what’s trendy to wear.

Fact №3. You can’t buy tickets to visit the Fashion Week

Normally you can’t buy tickets to the Fashion Week. All participants attend with special invitations, which designers send to their clients, buyers, partners and other designers, journalists and friends. At the showings many celebrities can be noticed: singers, actors, etc.

If you represent a magazine or want to purchase a collection, you need to contact the designer’s manager in advance and privately arrange for your participation in the show. Or you may watch fashion shows on Fashion TV channel – online or on TV.

Fashion show is almost always followed with the  after-party – party at a club, where designers can communicate with clients , partners and friends in an informal environment. However not everyone attending the fashion show participates in the after-party. You also need to have a special invitation for it.

Now you know what is a Fashion Week.

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• What Is Cinema?

‘A Different Type of Thrill’: Behind the Scenes with Offset at Balenciaga’s Paris Fashion Week Presentation

By Kia D. Goosby

Offset is known for many things. He’s one-third of the hip hop group Migos , husband to rapper Cardi B , father to five children, designer behind label Laundered Works Corp, and now, model for Balenciaga after making his debut during the brand’s Paris Fashion Week presentation over the weekend. While the “Culture III” hitmaker walked his first runway back in 2018, he cites this experience as being far more meaningful. “ Demna [ Gvasalia , Balenciaga’s creative director] actually personally requested me so it was an honor to be able to work with him and the entire brand -- he’s a great creator,” Offset tells Vanity Fair.

Every season, designers are tasked with how they can reinvent themselves and come up with new ways to present their collections. Balenciaga’s Summer 22 presentation was no different, as it was shown in two parts, beginning with a Hollywood-style red carpet where a mix of models and friends of the house including Ella Emhoff , Lewis Hamilton , Dev Hynes , Elliot Page , along with Offset, paused on the runway before being escorted into a theater for a screening of the short film, The Simpsons I Balenciaga . 

“They didn’t set it up like a normal runway, it was more like something that I already knew and was relatable to me. It was a red carpet vibe, and then you sat down and watched the red carpet and how fast they turned it around. By the time I’m sitting down, I’m watching myself walk the red carpet. That was amazing, the production on it was crazy. It was more like an award show, so it gave it a different type of thrill,” Offset says.

Between performing and his high-profile relationship with Cardi B, Offset is used to being in the spotlight. But crossing into fashion, where his music has been used as a source of inspiration, this felt like new territory. As for how he prepared to become part of Balenciaga’s innovative presentation? “I prayed!” Offset says. “I prayed to God that I get the task done. That I get it completed and I was successful with it and it turns out to be a beautiful show.”

Videographer & Editor: LABRANCHE Gregory

Creative Directors: SheShe Pendleton , Offset

Project Coordinators : Phreshy , Afrikaa

— Met Gala 2021: See the Best-Dressed Stars on the Red Carpet — The Trials of Diet Prada — Emmys 2021: See All of the Red-Carpet Looks — Anthony Bourdain’s Longtime Director and Producer Releases Memoir — The 2021 Met Gala’s American Theme Winners: Who Did It Best? — Inside the Hermès Workshop That Makes Its Iconic Bags — Love Is a Crime : Inside One of Hollywood’s Wildest Scandals — The Best Beauty Moments From the 2021 Emmys — Ted Lasso: How to Dress Like Keeley and Rebecca — From the Archive: Influencers on the Coast of Utopia — Sign up for “ The Buyline ” to receive a curated list of fashion, books, and beauty buys in one weekly newsletter.

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• Fashion Week

11 Designers So Imaginative, They Came Up With Themes For Their Runway

Fashion Week has been a source of escapism and a hint of light at the end of the tunnel for many of us. For those of us in the industry, appreciating new clothes and trends on the runway (or via digital presentation) is enough to turn our heads toward the future. But for those who need even more of a pull, or reason to find faith and hope from designers and their creativity , you can look to themed runway shows. But don't expect to see costumes.

This season in particular, we saw designers accompany their fall, pre-fall, and even spring RTW 2021 collections with subtle messages meant to uplift — or at least get us thinking — and they were all willing to talk to us about the thought process behind their inspiration. Their lookbooks do not only invite us to preview clothes, but challenge us to use our imaginations and enter a world of fantasy. From Staud's cozy, comforting home to Tibi's campsite, read ahead to discover a new method of self-discovery as you envision yourself dressed — not just in an outfit, but a mood — and a very specific moment in time.

Staud: Home

"Our homes have been our sanctuary this last year. They have kept us safe and helped us reconnect with simple emotions we may have forgotten about or have taken for granted. This collection is about taking that comfort — taking what we've reconnected with — back out into the world with us." — Sarah Staudinger, fashion designer of Staud

Jason Wu: Americana

"Americana was the theme this season, and I wanted to create my fantasy store 'Mr. Wu's General Store' as the show set, going back to my New England upbringing for inspiration. It was a really fun concept to put together, and it married two of my favorite things: fashion and food." — Jason Wu, artistic director and fashion designer of Jason Wu

Victor Glemaud: Hope

"An ode to hope, the theme of my fall/winter 2021 collection, resonates right now because it represents innovation — from the technical design standpoint to how we are adapting in day-to-day life. We must keep moving, we must innovate." — Victor Glemaud, fashion designer of Victor Glemaud

"Spring was really about the celebration of what is, not what will be or what was. Simply what is. A group of individuals who are living in our environment, relishing style, and simply being. Enjoying the company of curious, interesting individuals and comfortable with being in the moment." — Amy Smilovic, founder and creative director of Tibi

Mr. Saturday: Generations

"They were a group of young people rejecting the status quo through the way they dressed and what they did."

"They had just come off the Spanish Flu and WWI, and although they didn't know it, WWII was looming in the not-so-distant future. This created a group of people whose lives can be described as decadence fueled by nihilism. They were a group of young people rejecting the status quo through the way they dressed and what they did. In a lot of ways, that feels like us." — Joey Gollish, founder and designer of Mr. Saturday

Prabal Gurung: Love Letter to NYC

"The pre-fall/fall 2021 collection was my love letter to New York City and to the incredible people who make this city so special: the artists, misfits, impossible dreamers, creatives, community organizers, and more. This summer in New York was one of the best — and most challenging — of my life. What I witnessed here while attending marches, protests, vigils, and peaceful demonstrations was a revolution of unabashed self-expression . . . and of love. The love in the air was palpable. Everyone coming together to bear witness to this moment in history where we all united to create progress and change. That type of universal acceptance and love is what will heal this world." — Prabal Gurung, fashion designer of Prabal Gurung

"I have always loved exploring the intersection of fashion and pop culture at Coach. I am excited to bring my latest vision for the house to life via 'Coach TV.' I wanted both the collection and the presentation to make sense and resonate in these unique times, and I am excited to share both in a way that I hope will entertain and inspire." — Stuart Vevers, executive creative director of Coach

Oscar de la Renta: Summer

"The Oscar de la Renta fall/winter '21 collection is a tribute to late summer, when sunflowers and wildflowers radiate in glorious full bloom. Inspired by the splendor of nature, the collection has its origins in flowers gathered and pressed in collaboration with artist Tricia Paoluccio." — Fernando Garcia and Laura Kim, creative directors of Oscar de la Renta

Marni: Dressmaking

"This Marni collection is a quest for romance expressed in color and shape, both intensely tactile, at once dark and oozing a gleeful, bright rebound." — Francesco Risso, creative director of Marni

Prada: Transformation

"The Prada fall/winter 2021 womenswear collection is inspired by the idea of change and transformation, opening possibilities. A fusion between disparate themes and intents mirrors the nature of humanity: a belief in the fact that men and women each hold the masculine and feminine within themselves. This collection explores the space that exists between conventional polar opposites — the point between simplicity and complexity, elegance and practicality, limitation and release, transmuted." — Prada fw21 show notes

Claudia Li: High School Nostalgia

"I fell in love with fashion during high school, and it was dreamy, surreal, and dramatic."

"Before the world changed last March, fashion was an 'escape' for many of us. It was something that we dreamt of and something we fantasized about. With that in mind, I went back to the first time I fell in love with fashion. I fell in love with fashion during high school, and it was dreamy, surreal, and dramatic, so we drew references from '80s high school prom. I think we all need a little dreaminess right now." — Claudia Li, fashion designer of Claudia Li

• Fall Fashion
• New York Fashion Week
• London Fashion Week
• Milan Fashion Week
• Paris Fashion Week
• Fashion Designers
• Fashion Trends

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