7 fashion trends from Paris Fashion Week spring/summer 2020 to know now
As the final installment on the month-long fashion circuit, PFW spring/summer 2020 had the last word on the fashion trends set to rule next season. What’s in store? A mood-lifting take on the very best of Seventies fashion, a reimagining of delicate lacework and the simple beauty of celebrating that most feminine of objects, the bra.
The trend: Seventies super-clash
Where we’ve seen it: Louis Vuitton, Paco Rabanne, Altuzarra
What you need to know: Nicolas Ghesquière’s soulful Louis Vuitton spring/summer 2020 show ended Paris Fashion Week with a standing ovation. The creative director’s signature mix of Seventies tailoring and electrifying futuristic detail hit a euphoric note – think mesmeric print blouses in acid hues and trim trouser suiting. It’s a timeless fashion agenda for the start of a new decade, where a saturated colour palette and pop florals (as seen at Paco Rabanne) are set to unleash an uncompromisingly optimistic outlook.
The trend: bralets
Where we’ve seen it: Givenchy, Lanvin, Loewe, Mugler
What you need to know: The trend for visible underpinnings has seen a wave of early Nineties bodycon returning to the Paris catwalks. If you missed new Mugler creative director Casey Cadwallader’s epic spring/summer 2020 show, here’s your rundown. The American designer’s architectural eye (which brought us Bella Hadid in a buttock-revealing bodystocking) has set the gold standard in knife-sharp tailoring for spring, while also making flounce feel modern. Most important of all is Cadwallader’s unifying message on body-confidence. Cue the theatre of a ruched skirt and matching bolero paired, simply, with a black bralet.
The trend: frills
Where we’ve seen it: Balenciaga, Valentino, Miu Miu, Chanel, Off-White
What you need to know: There is a theory posited by economist George Taylor, in 1926, which suggests that hemlines rise in line with soaring stock prices. Meaning that shorter skirts come into fashion during times of economic certainty; and that as stocks plummet, trends for longer skirting take hold. Perhaps in 2020, Taylor’s theory ought to become the ‘frill index’ – the scale of the fluttering peplums and enormous ruffles that took to the Paris catwalks at Valentino, Balenciaga and Chanel, could mean more than first meets the eye.
The trend: bronzed metallics
Where we’ve seen it: Celine, Balenciaga, Rochas
What you need to know: Demna Gvasalia chose a circular room within Paris’ Cité du Cinéma complex to unveil his spring/summer 2020 Balenciaga collection. The entirely blue space (carpet, drapes and seats were configured to match one another, all the colour of the EU flag) played host to Gvasalia’s exacting suiting, slouchy leather co-ords and power-shouldered shift dresses. But it was the golden Ferrero Rocher-esque foil finish of an enormous bow-embellished evening gown that stole the show.
The trend: full-look leather
Where we’ve seen it: Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Isabel Marant, Hermès, Balenciaga
What you need to know: The luxury industry’s continuing love affair with roomy full-look leather, plus innovative vegan alternatives, within its spring/summer collections hints to an increasingly seasonless approach. Clare Waight Keller’s spring/summer 2020 collection at Givenchy delivered a wishlist of refined classics, which also boast durability – her sumptuous, leather looks included. The way to wear it now? Elegantly oversized, with enough room to accommodate a chunky knit underneath come winter.
The trend: power shoulders
Where we’ve seen it: Mugler, Balenciaga, Balmain
What you need to know: In a nutshell, the Eighties-style blazer you invested in two seasons ago is here to stay. Pad the shoulders of your vintage mac to tap the newly accentuated silhouette and opt in to an unadulterated primary colour palette. The ultra-clean lines of 2020’s vintage retake now spell out some of spring’s most glamorous looks.
The trend: lacework
Where we’ve seen it: Loewe, Alexander McQueen, Isabel Marant
What you need to know: Unlikely as it may sound, the age-old craft of open-web lace making is leading one of spring/summer 2020’s freshest trends. At Loewe, creative director Jonathan Anderson spearheaded the look from head-to-toe, with a delicately spun, co-ordinating trouser and dress duo. Likewise at Isabel Marant, the peekaboo fabric represented refined, modern day bohemia that was anything antique.