Chanel and Louis Vuitton made sure Paris Fashion Week ended on a high

It is only fitting that two of Paris's biggest hitters saved their shows until the very last day of Paris Fashion Week. Chanel and Louis Vuitton revealed their spring/summer 2023 collections on the same day and they were worth the wait.

At Chanel, creative director Virginie Viard looked to the 1960s film L’Année Dernière à Marienbad, that Chanel the house helped to restore to its full glory a few years ago.

Something of a classic, what the film lacks in dialogue it makes up for in breathtaking cinematography and clothes, many of which were created by Gabrielle Coco Chanel herself.

Using this as her starting point, Viard spun a collection that was sublimely Chanel — light and effortless. Easy, pyjama-cut trousers, fluid strapless trapeze dresses and simple tank tops worn with long, floor-grazing skirts arrived, in a palette of pale pistachio, light gold, cream and black.

Long, simple dresses swept past, totally unfussy save for dots of sparkle around the neckline, as lace was cut into an equally uncomplicated sheath. The simplicity of cut left all the focus on the details, such as tweed and black cloth shot through with sparkle, like the night sky.

Jewellery was restrained, worn as the occasional handful of necklaces, as the collection had almost no patterning, except for the looks scattered with film stills. These same images lined the entrance to the show space.

Louis Vuitton hits Louvre Paris

At Louis Vuitton, meanwhile, the show was held in a courtyard of Paris's Louvre Museum, in a set created by artist Philippe Parreno. Made of large red sails, that fanned out from a central point, it felt like a bizarre type of fairground, with mirrors that reflected the audience at itself.

Seemingly inspired by the sheer scale of Parreno's abstract flower “petals”, or vice versa, creative director Nicolas Ghesquiere played with sizing, sending out looks adorned with details exploded in scale.

The show opened with a look that had padded tubes around the neck and pads sitting on the hips. Next came short dresses printed with huge buckles and belts, while vast zip pulls, now the size of fans, hung from necks.

Models carried bag purses, now the size of an art school portfolio with scaled-up hardware to match, and buttons were the size of coasters, with real belts sat around the ribs like obis. It was remarkable, tough and almost aggressive, with leather, boxy external pockets and plenty of shiny hardware.

There were babydoll tops and dresses in leather, the latter with giant ribbons half threaded through the hem, as elsewhere dress hems were left half unzipped, and loose.

As the show ended, and the crowd started to leave, Janet Jackson hurried backstage, and make-up artist Pat McGrath and actress Lea Seydoux, a Vuitton ambassador, bearhugged one another. As a sign of the sheer visual impact of the show, we in the audience all felt like doing the same.

Brands from the UAE, Lebanon and Syria making waves at Paris Fashion Week — in pictures

SECRET%20INVASION

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ali%20Selim%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Samuel%20L%20Jackson%2C%20Olivia%20Coleman%2C%20Kingsley%20Ben-Adir%2C%20Emilia%20Clarke%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.

Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.

"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.

"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.

"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."

First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Chanel and Louis Vuitton made sure Paris Fashion Week ended on a high

Rounding off nine days of shows, the houses closed the week in style

Louis Vuitton hits Louvre Paris

Brands from the UAE, Lebanon and Syria making waves at Paris Fashion Week — in pictures

SECRET%20INVASION

Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'

Our legal consultant