The Top Shows From Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2022: Balenciaga, Lanvin, Raf Simons & More

Image via Complex Original

The most touching moment of Paris Fashion Week was when some of the industry’s biggest names come together to honor one of their own. Israeli designer Alber Elbaz is perhaps best known for his time as Lanvin’s creative director from 2001 to 2015 before founding womenswear label, AZ Factory, in 2019. AZ Factory officially launched in January 2021. Just months later, Elbaz would pass away at the age of 59 due to complications from Covid-19 on April 24. The purpose of AZ Factory’s Spring 2022 runway show was to honor the beloved designer who lost his life too soon. In total, 45 designers came together for the presentation, including names like Raf Simons, Rei Kawakubo, Virgil Abloh, Ralph Lauren, Kim Jones, Rick Owens, Dries Van Noten, Demna Gvasalia, and more. Each designed one piece that represented how Elbaz personally inspired them, which resulted in a myriad of unique offerings. Illustrations of Elbaz covered some of the garments. Other models dressed in outfits reminiscent of Elbaz’s uniform, complete with his signature bow-tie. Others wore ruffled pink dresses that took cues from Elbaz’s design language. The show’s finale featured looks arranged in a grid-like structure beside the phrase, “Love Brings Love.” The entire premise was meant to be a reinterpretation of 1945’s Théâtre de la Mode, when 60 Parisian haute couture designers dressed doll-sized figures for a traveling exhibit that showcased life in Paris.

As the fashion world returns to normalcy with in-person shows, the AZ Factory presentation acted not only as an unfortunate reminder of those who passed away during the pandemic, but also as fashion’s ability to transcend garments and relay a feeling.—Mike DeStefano

Perhaps in an effort to keep the attention of the streetwear consumer intrigued by its recent Gallery Dept. collaboration or the emergence of its Curb sneaker, Lanvin’s Spring 2022 presentation included a series of pieces created in collaboration with DC Comics that incorporated illustrations from vintage issues of Batman. Sleeveless striped button-ups and tan blazers featured black and white sketches printed across the chest. Other button-ups featured colorful illustrations that covered the entire right half of the garment. These images depicted the popular hero in his old school purple costume or his Batmobile burning rubber on the pavement. A new version of the label’s chunky, skate-inspired Curb sneaker also made an appearance. It was dressed in a purple suede colorway with black accents and a large purple Batman head replacing the usual puffy tongue that made it look like something Jeremy Scott may have made with Adidas in the 2010s. Purple satin bomber jackets, purple leather shorts, and teal trench coats sans any comic book imagery kept the color palette consistent. 

The rest of Bruno Sialelli’s presentation remained eye-catching with a mix of shimmering tinsel skirts and dresses, bright floral patterns, metallic-threaded knit cardigans, and leather trench coats. Supermodel Naomi Campbell closing the show, albeit in a much more subdued ensemble consisting of a black suit and cloak (perhaps a subtle Batman tribute in its own right?), made for a perfect cap to the eccentric presentation.—Mike DeStefano

Just weeks after presenting a womenswear collection alongside Miuccia Prada for Prada , Raf Simons emerged in Paris with a genderless collection of garments that reinterpreted modern dress codes of youth today. Titled “Flashes of a Future Romance in a World Full of Noises,” Raf Simons Spring/Summer 2022 collection was filled with experimental silhouettes that felt both traditional yet rebellious. Suits with shapes that fit perfectly into the uniform of any private school were hijacked and emblazoned with screen printed graphics from metal, techno, and goth bands. While the rugged look of oversized bomber jackets were beautifully softened when juxtaposed with matching dresses boasting floral and marble prints. As hardcore Raf stans know, those bomber jackets, music references, and innovative silhouettes are nothing new for the Belgian designer. But somehow, Raf always manages to observe how young people dress today and flip it on its head. Overall, his Spring/Summer 2022 collection questioned the labels placed on genders and what garments are meant to be. Why not twist the accessories trend of tiny clutch bags by blowing them up to the size of a small couch pillow? Or take an oversized V-neck sweater, add fishnet neck lining, and put the same exact look on both women and men. Instead of just designing another trendy baseball hat, Raf looks toward the past and blends it with a voluminous beret to create something that looks both playful yet ominous. Although younger Raf Simons fans may be saving posts on Instagram archive pages to reminiscence on the designer’s storied past within menswear—like those skeletal hand accessories adorning oversized sweaters within his latest collection—Raf is still observing what the youth wear today, and thus looking at a more gender-inclusive world with wide eyes.—Lei Takanashi

For Spring/Summer 2022, John Galliano scrapped an in-person runway show and opted to present his latest collection digitally through a film once again directed by Olivier Dahan—a French film director best known for directing La Vie en Rose. Unlike the full-length feature horror film that Galliano and Dahan released earlier this year to present Maison Margiela’s Artisanal couture collection, the film presented the house’s latest ready-to-wear collection through a series of roughly edited montages. And like Galliano’s Fall 2020 presentation for Maison Margiela’s Artisanal Co-Ed Collection collection last year, Galliano’s new film carried similar notes of transparency. Not in the exact same way Nick Knight did last year, with a detailed documentary that showed Galliano designing the collection with his team at Margiela from start to finish, but in a more haphazard fashion. Models in his film, dubbed “revelers of the night,” jovially hopped from one bizarre scene to another inside what is clearly shown to be a film studio with clear backdrops, a camera dolly track, and even film crews on set. The models were captured rowing a boat on cellophane plastic sheets that resembled water in thigh-high rubber Tabi boots. Later, they strutted down a dystopic abandoned amusement park in oversized wool cocoon coats decorated with feathered fishing flies. As some of the myriad settings of the film suggest, Galliano’s latest collection was inspired by coastal and marine lifestyles, and pulls beauty from the look of the humble fisherman. Although it’s up to the viewer to decide what Galliano wants us to see through those Margiela masks made out of eyeglass lenses, what’s clear is that these opportunities to delve into unconventional methods of storytelling through digital presentations will be missed post-pandemic. And although the message behind these presentations is purely up to one’s own interpretation, that’s really the beauty of Galliano’s clothes, which feel like something out of a bizarre dream that we only wish we could remember.—Lei Takanashi

Demna Gvasalia, the creative director of Balenciaga, has been busy for the last few months. The designer, who joined the house in 2015, reintroduced Balenciaga couture after a 53-year hiatus, creative directed two of Kanye West’s “DONDA” listening parties, and dressed a few celebrities for the MET Gala including Rihanna, Tracee Elliss Ross, Elliot Page, and Kim Kardashian. Gvasalia understands how to make a big fashion house culturally relevant without sacrificing his vision. The Spring/Summer 2022 show also underscored this idea. For the show, Gvasalia recreated a movie premiere event. Show attendees walked a red carpet before filing into a Paris theater to watch video of celebrities and models including Offset, Cardi B, Lewis Hamilton, and Naomi Campbell also walk the red carpet wearing looks from the collection. Gvasalia played with the red carpet concept, allowing observers and the observed to take part in this faux movie premiere that also served as a runway show. His collection continues to play with everyday basics like a tracksuit, a jean jacket, or a wool coat, but he makes them feel uber special by playing with silhouette. He also debuted a new Balenciaga x Croc platform with silver studs and plating. Little did the attendees know that following the red carpet would be the actual premiere of a Balenciaga x The Simpsons episode that brought the residents of Springfield to Paris to walk in a Balenciaga fashion show. It was an endearing episode (Gvasalia is a longtime fan of the show) that brought humor to the sometimes overly serious fashion industry. It also showed how well made, exciting clothes can lift spirits and change how we view ourselves. Gvasalia continues to leave his stamp on Balenciaga and connect the house with popular culture.—Aria Hughes