Paris
CNN
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At the Fall-Winter 2025 edition of Paris Fashion Week, which came to a close on Tuesday, the schedule was packed with megawatt shows. Notably, there were a wave of major designer debuts, including Julian Klausner helming Dries Van Noten following the founder’s departure, Sarah Burton stepping into Givenchy, and Haider Ackermann reviving Tom Ford, each bringing a fresh perspective to the storied houses.
Across the nine-day event, designers largely kept a safe distance from overt political statements and instead leaned into offering a space for escapism and more subtle explorations of empowerment. There were also retro-inspired looks and adventurous takes on office attire, as well as a few nods to to the filmmaker David Lynch, who died in January.
“We’re moving away from the ‘quiet luxury’ wave… I see a lot of happiness, humor and irony,” Alix Morabito, buying director for womenswear for French department store chain Galeries Lafayette, told CNN as she reflected on a week of “rational and playful” styles. For Morabito, that’s much needed in fashion. “(Brands are) reconnecting with people by offering something focused, but drawing them in through something fun,” she said.
Corporate dressing seemed to be top of several designers’ minds as a full return to the office gains ground.
As Ackermann unveiled his first collection for Tom Ford, the Antwerp-trained designer found common ground with the Texan founder as he explored desire and power dressing in all its forms. This included a new take on the brand’s signature “Perfecto” biker jacket, which Ackermann molded into a razor-sharp tailored ensemble; a crimson leather trench coat paired with matching red lips for a Hitchcockian feel; and a dusty pink slim suit contrasted with an acid green shirt — an iconic shade from Tom Ford’s Gucci heyday.
At Stella McCartney, the working woman aesthetic ran strong. The show took place in an open-space office setting, complete with mugs and stationary. As guests including actor Cameron Diaz, Vogue’s Anna Wintour and model Paris Jackson sat at desks, models walked to the beat of “Work It” by Canadian musician Marie Davidson, wearing broad-shouldered ‘80s jackets, reimagined pencil skirts with added pockets, oversized coats with a drop waist, and tote handbags that could fit a laptop.
Balenciaga, too, offered its takes on tailoring, opening its maze-like runway with slim, simple suits — some hand-creased, others worn-out — that felt less provocative than its usual offerings. Backstage, creative director Demna described the collection as an exploration of standards, particularly in business-wear. “It was a hard season to just make a normal jacket. What is a normal jacket? How is it different from some other jacket?” he questioned, as he spoke to editors after the show.
Demna also emphasized the invisible craftsmanship behind the tailoring. “A jacket that can fit a hoodie underneath, a double waist on the pants to wear in both ways,” he explained.“There is a whole study of dressmaking behind it.”
Retro also took center stage — though it wasn’t inspired by a single era. Rather, there was a bricolage of fantasized pasts, with lavish furs and ornate embellishment reimagined for everyday wear.
For his first collection at Dries Van Noten, designer Julian Klausner chose the Opéra Garnier — a gilded 19th-century building — as his stage. Tassels were transformed into boleros and belts, raw trimmings structured into midi skirts, and shoelaces whipstitched into button holes. “I imagined women passing through the opera, grabbing fabrics and objects, tying them with a shoelace while on a quest to find the answer to an unknown question,” Klausner said in the show notes.
Valentino’s show space took place in a bathroom — specifically, the replicated stalls, sinks and tiles typical of a nightclub, as designer Alessandro Michele sought to blur the lines between public and private. As pulsating techno music filled the room, which was bathed in red light (a reference to Lynch), models came out of cubicles wearing what looked like a blend of underwear and eveningwear. One look styled a Victorian lace leotard with a silk bra piece; another paired lacy shorts and a blouse with Converse sneakers.
Chloé, meanwhile, merged ‘70s influences with “indie sleaze” aesthetics of the late 2000s. Alexa Chung, It-girl of the latter era, made a surprise appearance on the runway wearing a tan dress and faux fur coat, while actors Selma Blair and Diane Kruger sat front row. The collection featured night gowns layered under overcoats and bias-cut silk skirts effortlessly worn with ballet flats. The house’s Paddington bag — a style popular in the ‘00s with stars like Kate Moss — was also revived and came accessorised with fur clips.
Designing for women is always a hot topic, and this season, some designers took a more experimental approach.
Alaïa designer Peter Mulier took inspiration from kinetic art and incorporated spirals into his designs. Tubular structures framed the models’ faces and encircled their hips, creating the illusion of exaggerated proportions, while pleats unfolded like corollas. Matte sheer knits, glossy leather and twisted fringes brought texture and movement to the show.
For her debut at Givenchy, designer Sarah Burton experimented with silhouettes reminiscent of Hubert de Givenchy’s 1952 debut collection. Attended by actors Rooney Mara, Kit Connor and Gwendoline Christie, who sat on piles of kraft envelopes instead of regular chairs, the show opened with a fishnet bodysuit that later evolved into a bodycon dress with a flounced hem. Later, a masculine blazer was reimagined as an hourglass minidress; a white shirt became a draped dress; and gigantic scarves, tied in a bow, were imagined in leather.
France’s oldest institution, La Monnaie de Paris, was transformed into the famed Red Room of Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” for designer Marine Serre, whose collection of leather bodysuits with hip paddings and dresses with amplified shoulders had plenty of femme fatale references. Backstage, Serre explained: “I want women to be free, to be radical…to feel hot for themselves… To achieve this, you need a lot of minimalism…really simple cuts,” she said, adding: “Everything is in the architecture of the garments.”
Designers also made a point of finding joy in dressing and wearing clothes.
Held at shopping mall Carrousel du Louvre, the Issey Miyake show marked a continuation of its roots in modular clothing. Designer Satoshi Kondo, who succeeded the late founder in 2019, presented a shirt that could be flipped and worn in different ways, a top crafted from a paper and cotton bag, and other pieces that, according to the brand, “allowed each wearer the freedom of styling choices.”
“By presenting a bag in the form of a garment, we are also challenging your perception of what defines a bag or a garment,” Kondo explained to CNN backstage, expressing the brand’s continued focus on “the excitement of wearing clothing.”
At Miu Miu, designer Miuccia Prada leaned into 1950s and ’60s archetypes. Actor Sarah Paulson made her catwalk debut in a Cloche hat and cone-shaped bullet bra, while brooches, fur stoles and bold color-blocking imbued the collection with a dressier feel.
Block colors also featured prominently at Saint Laurent, where designer Anthony Vaccarello showed dress coats, blouses and box-cut dresses in fuschia, incandescent orange and lime green.
Chanel, which has been without a creative lead for almost a year but will welcome its new designer Matthieu Blazy next month, incorporated splashes of red and pink in its skirt-suits. Looks were accessorized with XXL beads, bows and jeweled belts. Also among the highlights were the bags, which appeared on every model — understandably so given that it drives a majority of Chanel’s profits — and were worn by many of the show’s glamorous guests, including actor Dakota Fanning and singer-songwriter Camila Cabello.
