Brands Returning to Physical Formats in Paris for Women’s Shows
PARIS — Paris Fashion Week will go ahead this fall with 92 brands on the official calendar, up from 88 last season, according to the preliminary schedule released Tuesday evening by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode.
Of these, 71 will put on physical events, broken down into 37 runway shows and 32 presentations, according to French fashion’s governing body. Akris and Olivier Theyskens had not yet confirmed the format of their physical events.
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All displays will be broadcast on the Paris Fashion Week digital platform, in keeping with previous phy-gital seasons.
Still notably absent from this season’s calendar are Celine, Saint Laurent, Off-White, Alexander McQueen, Junya Watanabe, Comme des Garçons and Sacai, whose designer Chitose Abe guest-designed the spring 2022 Jean Paul Gaultier collection last July. Jil Sander also joins the absentee list this season, as does Thom Browne, who will be showing in New York.
Others not showing include Altuzarra, Each x Other, Mashama, Paco Rabanne, Jarel Zhang, Maison Mai, Ellery, Kristina Fidelskaya, Anton Belinskiy, Mazarine, Lecourt Mansion and Jitrois. Last season’s new entries Takahiromiyashita The Soloist, Ujoh, Ninamounah, Lourdes and Wataru Tominaga also fell off the schedule.
LVMH Prize winner Kenneth Ize opens the nine-day season, while fashion start-up AZ Factory will close the spring 2022 edition of Paris Fashion Week with a celebration remembering its late designer Alber Elbaz, as previously reported.
Entering the calendar for the first time is Chinese luxury house Shang Xia.
Among the major brands returning to the calendar are Balenciaga, Loewe and Maison Margiela as well as Valentino, which showed in Milan last season, and Paul Smith, which had favored the eponymous designer’s home turf of London.
Rochas is also back for Charles de Vilmorin’s debut at the helm of the storied Parisian label, as is Olivier Theyskens.
After showing off-schedule last season, Ann Demeulemeester will unveil the first women’s outing after its 2020 purchase by Antonioli.
In keeping with increasingly fluid offerings, Raf Simons leads the charge of brands usually in the men’s wear calendar entering the women’s ready-to-wear schedule. He previously added some women’s looks in his men’s wear line. Ludovic de Saint Sernin and Botter have also migrated to the calendar this season.
Staging their first presentations on the official schedule are Shanghai-based genderless label Didu; Canada’s Lecavalier, and French brands Minuit and Alexandre Blanc, which previously took part in the FHCM’s Sphere showroom.
The returning class of September 2021 includes Alexis Mabille, Lacoste, Ungaro, Victoria/Tomas, Agnès b. and Ester Manas.
As rising cases of Delta variant continue to concern, the organizers have indicated that a sanitary pass, which shows proof of vaccination or a recent negative test result, will be mandatory for showgoers.
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A Fashion Show in Homage to Alber Elbaz Will Close Paris Fashion Week
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