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Background

This season, fashion month saw several highly-anticipated debuts (Sabato de Sarno at Gucci, and Peter Hawkings at Tom Ford) as well as goodbyes (Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen, Fabio Zambernardi at Prada and Miu Miu, and Gabriela Hearst at Chloé). But, beyond those headline-making moments, the highlights included the slyness and humour at Prada where models walked down a runway against a backdrop of dripping slime to an Alfred Hitchcock soundtrack, Dries Van Noten’s and models at JW Anderson in plasticine-made hoodies..

“The best shows make you think and make you feel a little uncomfortable or they evoke some kind of emotion — but they also make you want to shop,” says Imran Amed, BoF’s founder and editor-in-chief.

Following the conclusion of Paris Fashion Week, Amed sat down with BoF’s editor-at-large Tim Blanks to discuss the highlights of the Spring/Summer 2024 season and the hallmarks of a great fashion show.

Key Insights

• Sabato de Sarno’s much-anticipated debut at Gucci, which included a change of venue from the streets of Milan’s Brera district to Gucci’s headquarters forced by inclement weather. “If those girls had been walking on cobblestones just like people going somewhere, seeing those clothes in a real environment, it would have taken on a different kind of life,” says Blanks.
• Alexander McQueen said goodbye to Sarah Burton, who served as a steward for the brand for more than 10 years after the death of its namesake designer. ( " She was so umbilically connected with [McQueen] that the brand ethos was sustained to a remarkable degree. I would hate to see McQueen now become one of those brands where no one really knows what to do with it and it’s in play,” says Blanks.
• Rick Owens show featured plumes of coloured smoke and bursts of rose petals — and a collection full of thought-provoking statement pieces. “There is really no one like him in fashion, and I don’t know if there has ever been anyone like him in fashion,” says Blanks.
• Blanks calls Undercover’s Jun Takahashi one of the industry’s most fascinating designers. This year, Takahashi showed a provocative collection that played with proportions and layering, with a finale that included “terrarium” skirts, filled with plants and live butterflies. “He makes clothes that … people might consider to be avant garde, but they’re so beautiful and wearable as well,” says Blanks.
• Prada was the “show of the season.” A few years into Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons’ collaboration as co-creative directors, the show’s success was a convergence of elements beyond the collection itself — from the soundtrack (Alfred Hitchcok’s “Vertigo”) to the set. “It reminded us of Prada in its full glory where there was that slyness and humour and perverse glamour,” says Blanks.

Additional Resources

• Paris Day Four: Dressing With Abandon. The fearlessness of Rick Owens and Daniel Roseberry at Schiaparelli ought to be inspirational for the fashion industry, writes Tim Blanks.
• Paris Day Two: A Stark Statement at Dior, A Change of Heart at Saint Laurent. How do Maria Grazia Chiuri and Anthony Vaccarello impose their personal idiosyncrasies on two of the biggest brands in fashion?
• Paris Day Three: The Power of Memories at Dries Van Noten and Undercover. Two of the most evocative shows of the season, one firmly based in reality, the other existing in a melancholy dream realm.