Note from Benoît: "A great lover of luxury, Romain immerses us in the (often incomprehensible) world of fashion week; with his usual frankness."
Ah, fashion week... This strange event unleashing passions on social networks, appearing on the front page of David Pujadas' news, cited as the ultimate style reference in certain magazines. At the same time, fashion week is also:
- Under the crackling flashes of the streetstylers, a young man dressed in a plastic skirt, a cardboard sweatshirt and a welding goggles hat who seems to have never known the difference between a public dump and a store clothing,
- Seated in the front row, an old lady who has abused cosmetic surgery,
- At the entrance, strange people kissing each other exuberantly, without touching, speaking in a language difficult to identify: “ Oh honey, how was your cruise prez in LA?! "
Note from Geoffrey: on this subject, Loïc Prigent's tweets are often laughable.
All this, literally, is of course real life. However, beyond all the usual trivialities in the quote-unquote-fabulous world of fashion, fashion week is truly an inspiring, fascinating and exciting event for all lovers of beautiful things .
It is clear that fashion shows have, in the collective imagination, an irrefutable mystical dimension, well integrated by marketers... It is, in fact, a moment supposed to generate dreams, where fashion comes to life, exposed to the amidst impressive scenographies. For brands, it is about offering a show that will “condition” the viewer to perceive the collection in a certain way. Impress, shock, question, captivate: brands spend hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of euros on these presentations, the media and commercial repercussions of which are immense.
The most impressive catwalks are those of Chanel, perfectly recreating a garden of several kilometers or a wind farm, always at the Grand Palais.
The objective of this article? Tell us what fashion week really is and how it is organized. : we're going to relive fashion weeks as if you were there!
When do fashion weeks take place?
The Men's collections are presented twice a year.
- In January, the Autumn Winter collection is presented for the end of the same year. So in January 2015, we know the collection for Fall Winter 2015-2016.
- In June, the Spring Summer collection for the following year is presented.
It starts with London, then Milan and finally Paris, all linked together without interruption. A men's fashion week lasts around 5 days , which means that there are a little less than three weeks of shows. There are around fifteen shows per day : the fashion federations of each host country organize the calendar in such a way as to avoid the shows overlapping, and causing anarchy. In Paris, for example, the first parade often takes place at 10 a.m., then there is one every hour until 9 p.m.
This is what I was able to use to organize my schedule: the fashion show schedule orchestrated by the Fédération Française de la Couture and the PAP.
FYI, the Women's schedule is busier, because there are 4 collections to present per year:
- January : Haute Couture collection for the following Spring Summer season. Only in Paris, because Haute Couture is an AOC for production on demand in unique pieces.
- March : ready-to-wear collection (what can be found in stores and which is not produced on special order) for Autumn Winter to follow.
- June : Haute Couture collection for the winter which follows at the end of the year.
- September : Spring Summer ready-to-wear collection for the following year.
No Haute Couture for Men then?
A thorny question that ALL brands with the “Haute Couture” designation ask themselves – even in secret. At a time when the share of turnover generated by men is equal to that generated by women, we understand the legitimacy of this question.
The Couture collections are an opportunity for historic Maisons to achieve true masterstrokes thanks to creations of barely imaginable virtuosity.
Currently, there is no fashion week dedicated to Haute Couture for men. However, there are two major exceptions to this statement.
Some brands on the Haute Couture calendar include male models in their shows , which is the case for Eric Tibusch, Atelier Gustavo Lins or, more anecdotally, Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier.
Is it possible to “purchase” these models which are supposed to be produced as unique pieces? Yes for the first two names mentioned, while this is less obvious at Chanel .
Having had the opportunity to discuss this with an advisor from the House, I was able to learn that the masculine "winks" were not intended to be sold and are none other than feminine models adapted to the man. So a priori, no possibility of purchase, unless there is an exceptional request, in which case a piece would go through the workshop to be adjusted to the gentleman's wishes ... You will have to rob a bank if you don't have one.
Eric Tibusch had worked numerous tweeds here, some of which were devoured* then reworked... The kind of material whose value per meter exceeds €700.
* devoured tweed is a tweed woven, sanded, then reworked to give it several textures.
Pure bespoke or large measure, by its technical requirements, can be considered Haute Couture . Dozens of measures will be taken on the client to create from all sides a patronage totally adapted to him. In most cases, the costume will be made by hand, using ancestral tailoring know-how. Nevertheless, without wanting to minimize the know-how characterizing men's haute couture, we still find pieces of astonishing virtuosity for women's Haute Couture... Where it takes a hundred hours for a men's suit, some dresses require more than a thousand hours of work involving dozens of different embroidery techniques .
Haute Couture for women innovates: Chanel files several patents per collection, its subcontractors literally creating new materials or new weaves, new embroidery techniques, and even the creation of... textile earthenware ! As magnificent and noble as this “art” is, bespoke remains more conservative and less virtuoso.
Fashion weeks Paris, Milan, London, etc.: what’s the difference?
It is said that Paris is the fashion capital of the world because, for a long time, it was the only city in the world to host fashion shows by brands from all over the world. Today, several capitals around the world (New York, Tokyo and Dakar...) offer their fashion week, except for Haute Couture which still remains a French specificity. But what are the specificities for each?
London
It occupies a somewhat similar place whether it is fashion or music. It is a laboratory in which young creators carry out their experiments: there is a plethora of new talents there, even if a few old brands like Burberry parade there to assert their British culture. This works well for men, but for women the result is much less conclusive.
Craig Green, Gieves & Hawkes, KTZ & Burberry Prorsum. I promise you that we won't be bored!
Milan
Unlike London, it contains almost exclusively large Italian houses. In Milan you can find fashion that is perfect for going out in the evening (but not only), relying heavily on the work of luxurious materials and opulent styles. Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Giorgio Armani, Gucci... All these brands are renowned for embodying Italian style, particularly represented on red carpets.
Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Giorgio Armani & Versace. Silk T-shirts, suede trench coats, embroidered leather perfectos: Italians love luxurious materials above all else.
Paris
It plays its role as a historic fashion week by welcoming very old Houses like Chanel, Dior, Lanvin... Its styles are still very heterogeneous and remains the most cosmopolitan of European fashion weeks. It has kept the traces of a very experimental past with creators still present like Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake or even Ann Demeulemeester: they revolutionized fashion by offering, precisely, "antifashion" parades rejecting glamor, deconstructing silhouettes and conceiving clothing as a means of expressing sometimes political opinions.
Yamamoto, Dior Homme, Lanvin & WooYoungMi. Old classic brands sit alongside more alternative ones.
In the rest of the world
There is New York , a real "mass fashion week" containing hundreds of fashion shows, Copenhagen which competes with London by offering a new Iberian fashion, but also Berlin , Sao Polo , Barcelona , Johannesburg , Tokyo ... It will take a few years so that these new events truly become part of the global fashion landscape.
New York, Johannesburg, Copenhagen & Tokyo. These new fashion weeks allow the emergence of a fashion that is sometimes less "Western", taking into account new cultural specificities.
How to attend a parade?
Unless you work for a very large media outlet, are a star, a department store buyer or a super good client, you will have to “request” an invitation. You can't buy an invitation, negotiate or do anything: PR people decide if you're important enough to receive an invitation. This is how things go in the cruel world of fashion!
Some major Maisons have their own well-organized press department (Dior, Lanvin, Maison Margiela, Issey Miyake, etc.), which send you your invitation several days before the show. But many brands use agencies and there, believe me, it's anarchy (Benoit can testify!). This means that you do not always receive a response, and the invitations can be sent so last minute that you receive them an hour before the parade when you have already left home, of course, or even the day after the parade. Super practical.
The floral capsules from Dior, or the plate covered in laminated imitation leather from Juun J: the invitations are tempting, there's no denying it. The small purse is typically the kind of gift that can be found on our seats.
On the other hand, we must admit, some invitations are absolutely magnificent, and it is always a pleasure to receive them . They are sometimes a first glimpse of the collection, and know how to make you want to attend the show! They mention your placement, which is very hierarchical. The first row is of course a must, but already having a “sit”, that is to say a seated place, is a very good sign regarding your notoriety.
Finally, there is also standing for certain parades with low capacity, or for those in high demand. In this case, there are no real rules, it will depend on the affinities and public relations strategies of each person. The big houses like Dior, Margiela or Lanvin, despite an insane number of requests, readily recognize and welcome bloggers , when, surprisingly, younger (even unknown) brands will almost ignore their existence!
The hustle and bustle will reign until the last moment. Between the photographers shouting in all directions (not always sweet words), the hugs here and there and the little last-minute scandals, the moments preceding the show are, in their own way, a real spectacle.
And once you receive the invitation, how does it work?
The invitation mentions the place and time of the parade: many take place at the Palais de Tokyo. When a parade takes place at 2 p.m., this actually means that access is only possible from 2 p.m. It generally takes a good half hour for all the guests and photographers to settle down, which also allows you to get into the mood. Sits are often benches on which you can quickly get crowded. Most of the time, each guest will find in their place a small text announcing the inspirations of the collection, and sometimes even a gift as seen above.
It's 2:30 p.m., "CHUUUUUUUUUT" are heard and the lights go out... the parade begins! The podium lights up, and music - too loud if all goes well - punctuates the pace of the models, sometimes elegant and rather muscular, sometimes juvenile, rickety with bizarre hairstyles. And ultimately, it rarely lasts more than 10 minutes . At the end, all the models come out at the same time for a final "synthetic" passage, and the designer comes to greet the audience.
As soon as the spots are turned back on, everyone gets up and rushes towards the backstage or the exit, where dozens of professional or amateur photographers are waiting to " streetstyle " the stylish individuals, or take certain details like the shoes... Rémi and Rafik will confirm!
What was on the catwalk can be found in stores, right ?
Yes and no...
Yes , because the goal of a fashion show is always the presentation of what we will find in stores a few months later, and thus arouse the interest - and desire - of the customer. The runway lookbooks are available, but there are some nuances to be made.
No , firstly because the clothes used for the fashion show - stricto sensu - will not be repackaged to arrive in stores, but will travel around the world for press presentations or photo shoots. Finally, the fashion show is a special moment during which the designer will be able to push his inspirations further , which attracts media attention but can put off the customer. So certain (only) podium pieces that are “too strong” are slightly restyled to ensure an easier sale behind them . That being said, a number of "alternative" designers (Demeulemeester, Iris Van Herpen, Astrid Andersen, etc.) have established the loyalty of a clientele hungry for strong sartorial sensations, and do not seek to achieve consensus: their products will always remain difficult to integrate into a classic wardrobe .
I perfectly remember finding this jacket in a store, without its imposing metal inserts. If the rest of the outfit was too much, the jacket became, thus "pure", a superb three-material piece, certainly imposing, but completely wearable!
You now know everything about Fashion Weeks. Do not hesitate to ask me any questions you want in the comments, I will be happy to answer them. We'll meet up very soon to take an interest in what's happening not around, but ON the catwalks!
