On Tuesday 19th June, 2023, the streets surrounding the Pont Neuf bridge were locked off as heavily-armed police guarded each end, and cars stood in complete gridlock. Although security levels were presidential, this was no world leader summit.
Usually showing during the later stages of Paris Fashion Week, Louis Vuitton’s bold switch to opening night sent waves across the French capital. Hosted on the city’s oldest bridge, Pharrell’s debut collection as the creative director of menswear seemingly received a bottomless budget as the show was as grandiose as you could imagine—lights, cameras, action!
The guestlist was remarkable, too: music icons such as Jay-Z, Beyoncé and Skepta sat alongside footballers like Jude Bellingham, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford as we watched Pharell’s bold and colourful designs come to life. Benard Arnault, owner of LVMH and the world’s richest man, watched on from the frow as a new dawn for one of his leading houses was fearlessly brought in.
Louis Vuitton’s decision to include prolific UK photographer Gabriel Moses, popular American DJ Hank Korsan, UK rap golden boy Dave and The Clipse as models showed their true understanding of the cultural landscape—which, of course, was helped by the former creative director of mens: Virgil Abloh. Pharrell dedicated the show to the late, great Virgil, who was known for promoting young talent across music, skating and streetwear through his work at Louis as well as his own fashion house, Off-White.
On day two, Rhuigi Villaseñor presented his latest Rhude collection, which took place in the gardens of the Nissim de Camondo museum. And, despite the recent controversy regarding the business of his label, Rhuigi was all smiles. The stars in attendence were plentiful: UK rap dons Digga D and Headie One sat on the front row next to ballers like PSG’s Achraf Hakimi and Real Madrid’s David Alaba to witness arguably one of the brand’s cleanest lines yet.
Wednesday also coincided with the annual Parisian ‘Fete de la Musique’, an all-day party on the streets of the capital. The festival always brings out the best of Paris (think Notting Hill Carnival), with people from many different cultures coming together and bonding over their shared love of music.
Maintaining annual tradition, streetwear brand Stüssy drove their party bus from street to street, allowing different DJs to play in front of the chaotic swarms dancing beneath them. The bus’ final stop was at the Place de la Concorde, where a huge crowd gathered to watch ASAP Nast, Zack Bia and more spin the sounds of UK rap, US trap, and everything in between.
At around 11:30pm, the Trapstar boys—donning (exclusive) matching camo tracksuits—came through and took over proceedings on the bus. Headie One performed a few tracks for the crowd, and the party continued late into the early hours of the morning.
Givenchy presented their SS24 menswear collection on day three at the Parisian Army Museum—a fitting location for a brand historically inclined towards tactical-wear. The likes of Jack Harlow, Jared Leto, Tyga, Skepta and Jammer were all in attendance, each receiving a chorus of screams from the gathered crowd as they entered and left the venue.
Later that evening, Vans hosted a skate pop-up on the banks of the Seine. British singer-songwriter King Krule performed with intensity, often struggling to hold onto his guitar as he passionately thrashed about on stage, and by that point, it felt like a true British invasion.
The only place to be on Thursday night was at model and skater Evan Mock’s party at Deflower. Guests included Leonardo Di Caprio, Jared Leto and Tobey Maguire, the latter of the three aggressively toking a Strawberry Ice Lost Mary throughout the night.
Day four saw Japanese designer Mihara Yasuhiro present his latest creations in an industrial warehouse neighbouring the Eiffel Tower. Speaking to him after the show, he told me that the fall of the Berlin Wall inspired the collection, which he witnessed when he was just seventeen years old. The wall coming down catalysed a period of free expression and creativity, and he wanted to channel this innovative energy in his pieces.
Paris Fashion Week has once again proved that it is so much more than just the runway shows and glamour: it acts as an incubator for creativity, a catalyst for new connections and a source of inspiration for young people watching with hopes of one day making it in the industry, too.
