Paris Fashion Week’s Top Shows of Spring 2021

By: Olivia Marrone

With the world adjusting to a new normal amidst COVID-19, Paris Fashion Week continued in person this season with socially-distanced seating and attendees required to wear a mask. Collection presentations also went digital with fashion houses live-streaming their runway shows or sharing their collection presentations via photographs. Despite these significant adjustments to the fashion week protocol, the collections this season combined innovation and aesthetics, creating pieces relevant to the current trends and evolving with the world we’re living in today. 

Hermes

The Spring 21 Hermes show brought simplicity and consistency to the runway this season. The collection was a modern take on 90s minimalism, with sleek side cutouts on bodysuits, bandeau tops paired with trousers, skirts, slouched structured jackets, and A-line dresses that felt airy and comfortable in their minimalist form. Consisting mainly of neutrals with pops of color, boxy yet structured silhouettes, and subtly chic details, the collection was the perfect inspiration for post-quarantine dressing by bringing comfort into stylish everyday outfits. Click here to view the full collection.

Givenchy

Since Clare Waight Keller’s departed from the French Maison in May, the fashion industry has been waiting to see where Matthew Williams, founder of Alyx Studio, will take the House next. For his debut collection at Givenchy, Williams showcased his creations via photo collection instead of hosting a runway show. For Spring 21, Williams continued on the path of Waight Keller’s sleek and structured tailored suits but took it into an edgy direction. With sharp and modern silhouettes, deconstructed tailoring, and a more laid-back approach to styling, Williams is doing for Givenchy what Tisci did for Burberry: bringing in streetwear influences to broaden Givenchy’s range in product and ultimately, target consumer. Click here to view the full collection.

Balmain

BALMAINThis season, Balmain took a more pared-down approach to their usual bold and futuristic aesthetic. The French fashion House was brought back to the staples of an effortlessly chic French wardrobe with a touch of modern maximalism that is a quintessential component in Olivier Rousteing’s design aesthetic. The show took place on the runway with a sea of fashion’s elite in the front row: the international half on TV screens, and Paris’s fashion aficionado’s sitting in the crowd. Consisting mainly of suits in shades of grey, neon, neutrals, with the Balmain logo, denim shorts paired with sparkling tops that dripped off the models, and evening wear in the form of skirts and dresses made for a versatile collection of looks perfect for a night out post-pandemic. Click here to view the full collection.

Coperni

One of the most innovative shows of Paris Fashion Week came from Coperni, where a majority of garments were created from an antibacterial-infused jersey fabric that looks ahead to the future of fashion. Simple, adaptive, and comfortably chic are all words one might use to describe this collection, which encapsulate the aesthetic that Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer created for Coperni. Design-wise, the collection featured breezy tank tops & blouse sets, asymmetrical dresses, and effortlessly cool layering in menswear. Gone are the days when one needs to compromise practicality and comfort, for the sake of fashion. Click here to view the full collection.

Louis Vuitton

For Spring 21, Nicolas Ghesquière combined structured, minimalist silhouettes with his signature streetwear-inspired designs at Louis Vuitton. While the garment cuts came in modern shapes, the details of Vuitton’s looks this season were more classic, such as pleats down the front of wide-legged trousers. Seamlessly fusing colorful, graphic prints with neutral ensembles, and throwing in the occasional fully-vibrant attire, this season at Louis Vuitton showcased the mixing of minimalism and maximalism at its finest. Click here to view the full collection.

Although the Paris Fashion Week was very different this year, the collections still managed to leave a lasting impact. All of the collections presented this season proved that not only is the fashion industry quick to adapt to change but also that it can become more practical with time – in more ways than one. Digital collection presentations and innovative fabrics are just the starts, and these trends will only trickle down to the rest of the fashion industry from here. While we must adapt to the significant changes in the fashion industry as we know it, rest be assured we’ll be looking chic while doing so.