The Fashion Month journey is coming to an end in Paris, France. From September 25th to October 3rd, Paris will be hosting Paris Fashion Week. This year, French designers will be showcasing their Spring-Summer 2024 designs. Designers hitting the runway this year include Chanel, Saint Laurent, Schiaparelli, Elie Saab, Louis Vuitton, and more!
As Paris wraps up Fashion Month, brands and designers of every category, from footwear and jewelry to ready-to-wear, labels are taking over the City of Lights. The fashion capital of the world is indulging itself in taffeta, embroidery, and creativity as designs hit the catwalk.
Balmain – Spring Summer 2024 – Paris Fashion Week
The start of Paris Fashion Week was not the most ideal for Balmain this year. 50 pieces from Balmain’s collection were hijacked by carjackers when en route from Charles De Gaulle airport. Nevertheless, within the week they had before the show, Balmain’s team worked relentlessly to keep the show on schedule.
Nevertheless, Balmain’s show prevailed in a grand spectacle that displays the craftsmanship of Balmain. For this year’s Paris Fashion Week show, creative director Olivier Rousteing celebrates founder Pierre Balmain’s legacy. Appropriately, Balmain’s favorite flora was the rose, which became a prevalent motif throughout this year’s collection.
Rousteing pulls inspiration from Pierre’s designs from the late 40s and early 50s as he honors his works. In addition to the recurring rose motif, polka dots make their way into the designs as a nod towards Pierre’s time. For Rousteing, the goal of this collection is to instill a legacy that he made sure that Balmain is a French luxury.
Balmain – Spring 2024 Designs
The collection starts with simple black designs that include small gold accents. Chain strap conical bags with gold roses accompany the sharp black, white, and gold tailoring accompany the designs and bring out Rousteing’s floral motif. Another fashion house, Schiaparelli, has become well known for its primarily black designs with bold gold accents. Due to this, people criticize Balmain for their lack of originality with this year’s collection.
As the collection moves through the black and gold designs, pops of color begin to reveal the masterpieces behind the mind of Rousteing. A green blazer pairs over a pink ruffle skirt with electric blue heels. A daring contrast of colors that reveals the hues of Balmain’s spring collection.
Then the ingenuity begins to shine as a blue ruffle edge skirt accompanies a bodice of tangled metal branches with red enamel roses. The roses grew and spread throughout the collection, from the neckline and hem of a blue and red minidress to a red plastic long-sleeve dress. Thereon, the crowd’s heads turn as minidresses adorned with crystals that craft shimmering roses, thorns, and branches make their way down the runway.
Elie Saab – Spring Summer 2024 – Paris Fashion Week
Elie Saab’s Spring 2024 collection, ‘Moonlight Shadow’ emulates the fashion of a glamorous downtown princess aesthetic. This collection further illustrates Saab’s signature style of combining elegance and glamour.
For this year’s Paris Fashion Week collection, Saab focuses more on daytime designs despite the name of the collection. This collection details the Elie Saab woman that is always ready for moonlight gathers wearing day looks to bring radiating glimmer to the evening.
Saab’s main goal for this year is to create a collection that women want to wear and what women like to wear. Accordingly, Saab designs a colorful collection of breezy designs perfect for any occasion for all women to fully embrace themselves. This year, Saab envisions the Elie Saab woman with an effervescent spirit as she is colorful and vibrant.
Elie Saab – Spring 2024 Designs
The collection starts with a consistent pattern of black and white designs. Black dots often contrast the white fabric and create a dynamic illusion in its placement. Throughout the collection, Saab plays on the moon and its phases in the form of dots as its motif. Through this, he displays the Elie Saab woman as one that is naturally chic and charismatic.
After a cloud of predominantly white designs, breezy fabrics, and vivacious colors brings out the beauty of spring. From Cosmopolitan Pink and gin blue to seafoam green and pastel yellow, radiating hues paint the once colorless collection.
Flowing summer dresses with open backs and scalloped hemlines consist of detailed white English lace. Citrus organza flowers flourish along the hemlines of silk bomber jackets revealing the blooming possibilities of this collection. Sapphires, rubies, and platinum chains trace the caftan of a sleek cape. Saab pairs his designs with raffia leather platforms, mini top handle bags, and gleaming gemstone jewelry.
Schiaparelli – Spring Summer 2024
This year, Schiaparelli is embracing the madness of Elsa Schiaparelli as they draw inspiration from Elsa’s most famous designs. Starting with a simple everyday garment and then enhancing the possibilities of what it can be. A seemingly utilitarian design soon becomes something desirable, something worth mentioning, or even thought-provoking.
One of the most known avant-garde designs of Elsa Schiaparelli is her 1937 Lobster Dinner dress. This year’s spring collection incorporates the lobster motif through various creative directions. A gilded ceramic lobster necklace and off-white lobster embroidered over the crotch of a draped jersey skirt reinterprets Elsa’s classic design.
An off-white dress with the house’s name covering the center of the dress in bright red letters captivates the audience. With this, Schiaparelli pays an ode to the 1937 off-white silk organza dress with a lobster painted by Salvador Dali. Other sea creatures make their way into this collection as a gold ceramic crab and a wooded fish skeleton.
Schiaparelli – Spring 2024 Designs
Shalom Harlow opens the show wearing a black wool jacket trimmed with Maison Schiaparelli’s signature measuring tape on the collar. For this collection, Schiaparelli wants to make the everyday wardrobe more vivid and surprising. While simple designs compare to bold accessories, daring designs become balanced with simpler jewelry.
Other designs inspired by Elsa include a black raffia-embroidered spiked collar that pairs with simple black trousers. In addition to Elsa’s signature details, Schiaparelli includes Maison’s signature golden keyhole. Maison’s signature golden keyhole hangs from a wool twill jacket that is paired with high waisted compact jersey pants. One can also find the keyhole making up the bodice of several designs as fabric drapes around it.
This collection includes a new sneaker, which is symbolic of who Schiaparelli is himself. Through the sneaker, Schiaparelli embraces his Americanness along with his profound Frenchness. This ready-to-wear collection describes the easiness of being an American and the rigor of French chic.
Giambattista Valli – Spring Summer 2024 – Paris Fashion Week
This year’s Paris Fashion Week became a significant milestone for Giambattista Valli. Not only did Valli present his new collection, but he became a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. This is one of the highest honors the French Republic bestows on its citizens. It recognizes those who have significant contributions to the arts and literature.
At the Musee Picasso, Diana Widmaier Picasso welcomes Valli to the museum as his spring collection hits the runway. Picasso also shares her words as she compares Valli’s artistry and ability to capture the essence of life and modernity to that of her grandfather, Pablo Picasso. During the evening, Vogue’s editor in chief Anna Wintour presents Valli with the honor.
Valli’s Spring 2024 collection creates a mix of the elegance of a Parisian and the sensuality of an Italian. This year, Valli pulls inspiration for this collection from the Grand Tour. Overall, in this collection, Valli details the journey of self and cultural discovery as he blends timeless masterpieces and contemporary styles.
Giambattista Valli – Spring 2024 Designs
Valli’s collection reminisces on the cultural journeys of the past which shape the future. Subtle boteh details decorate a porcelain white belted dress with an open front, a semi-transparent collared top and structured short pair, an off-the-shoulder halter dress, and a floor-length low scoop neckline dress. The transparency of the white macrame lace creates a whimsical allure that captures that of a Valli girl.
Embroidered designs that resemble micro mosaic jewelry adorns white poplin cotton in the form of a floor-length off-the-shoulder dress, a peplum top, and an ankle-length dress with a ruffled waistline. Enhancing the collection, crystal embroidered designs and an iridescent minidress glisten down the runway.
Contrasting the predominantly white designs, deep red, rich shades of green, and baby pink add a refreshing touch of spring. The pure white designs contrast against the hues of the vibrant red, creating a harmonious juxtaposition. Moreover, Valli creates billowing chiffon dresses with intricate embroidery and lush floral prints.
While Fashion Month may be over, the designs will be making their way into people’s wardrobes this upcoming spring. To explore other collections from this year’s Paris Fashion Week, click here. To discover the collections from last week’s Milan Fashion Week, click here.
