A model wears a creation as part of the Issey Miyake Spring/Summer 2025 collection presented Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Paris. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

PARIS (AP) — Loewe’s latest VIP-filled collection dazzled at the Paris Fashion Week runway Friday, presenting an explosion of flowers and form that captured designer Jonathan Anderson’s innovative spirit.

The Northern Irish designer again showed his talent for infusing theatricality into his designs, showcasing whimsical creations like a surreal giant hoop skirt that lent the display an eccentric, circus-like feel. A stunning white gown adorned with vibrant floral prints radiated energy.

Here are some highlights of spring-summer ready-to-wear shows:

Loewe’s twists

Unexpected lines and twists on classic silhouettes dominated the runway, with the giant hoop transforming floral patterns into eccentric spectacles. Anderson expertly wove together historical inspirations from the Renaissance with the carefree looseness of the 1920s, mixed with surreal structured skirts and peplums that evoked a rich sense of heritage. All designs had something off-kilter about them.

A standout piece, a beautiful feathered poncho featuring a Van Gogh print, dazzled with its artistic flair. It illustrated Anderson’s ability to transform art into fashion and resonated deeply with camera-ready audiences. Each piece seemed to challenge the viewer’s expectations, daring them to reconsider the boundaries of traditional fashion.

In its exploration of bold concepts and mind-bending forms, the display occasionally veered into the overly conceptual. But Anderson still delivered a wealth of wearable pieces. The collection included striking items like a black trench coat with a fashion-forward midriff cut-out, which exuded rock-star magnetism and exemplified the brand’s leather heritage.

The piece, along with others, showcased Anderson’s mastery in balancing creativity with practicality.

Schiaparelli shines with bold whimsy

Daniel Roseberry's latest collection for Schiaparelli focuses on blending high fashion with refreshing accessibility. Though it featured less of the Surrealism associated with the late, great house founder Elsa Schiaparelli, the collection still celebrated whimsy, albeit a dialed down version.

Gone are the days of celebrity-driven runways. Instead, Roseberry crafted an eclectic mix of bold silhouettes and playful designs. Standout pieces included denim with a unique U-shaped dip at the waist, paired with curve-hugging ivory bodysuits that highlighted an hourglass shape. This motif, evident in a zip-front dress and sleek halter top, appeared throughout the collection, showcasing Roseberry’s knack for redefining femininity.

With fewer embroideries this season, the designer emphasized texture and details. Models strutted in gathered mesh jersey dresses, with fabric coiled like a braid, and dresses accented with suede for added luster.

Footwear also stole the spotlight, featuring Roseberry’s signature trompe l’oeil sneakers alongside leather babouche slides adorned with golden toe rings — transforming everyday items into artistic statements.

Roseberry drew inspiration from the women in his life who crave statement pieces that are effortlessly chic, with daring patterns, exaggerated shoulder pads, and bold floral motifs.

In a fashion landscape often driven by commercial pressures, Schiaparelli’s latest show carved out a dynamic space for creativity. Roseberry proved he can balance artistic whimsy with wearable elegance.

Issey Miyake’s papery beauty

Issey Miyake’s latest collection unfolded like a poetic exploration into the art of simplicity and craft. Much like the house’s previous offerings, this collection combined innovative techniques with tradition — a hallmark that has continued under the vision of Satoshi Kondo and the design atelier.

This time, the team explored paper as a medium and inspiration, delving into its textures, lightness, and nostalgic feel. If previous shows dabbled in geometry and fluidity, Friday's collection was about the fragility and strength of paper through airy, pleated garments and origami-inspired folds.

The collection began with kamiko pieces — garments made of traditional washi paper — that paid homage to Japan’s centuries-old crafts. This nod to the past didn’t come at the expense of wearability.

The Fold-to-Form pieces were nothing short of architectural brilliance, with angular, origami-inspired folds. It felt like a natural extension of the Miyake legacy: one part innovation, one part reflection on the past.

The house’s fixation on textiles sometimes tipped into over-conceptualization. The EAU series, with its water-like transparency and fluidity, had all the ethereal beauty one could expect, but the weight of its metaphor — garments flowing like water — felt familiar.

Marketing madness

As Paris Fashion Week unfolds, so too do the latest gimmicks. The newest trend and subject of front-row chatter was the introduction of Uber Fashion cars, designed in collaboration with fashion house Coperni. The vehicles feature a metallic sheen inspired by the brand’s Swipe Bag.

Fashion-conscious riders could book a free ride in these cars by selecting the Uber Fashion option in the app, and each ride even comes with a custom playlist to enhance the Fashion Week experience, according to Uber. However, availability is on a first-come, first-served basis, meaning that many may be unable to secure a ride amidst the event’s chaos. It’s yet another example of how the fashion industry seeks to capitalize on Fashion Week’s excitement.

Victoria Beckham blows in a new breeze

Victoria Beckham’s latest collection swept through Paris with the force of a Greek myth, evoking the Victory of Samothrace as a twisted cropped vest opened the show. It billowed like a gleaming shard of fabric, as if it were poised to take flight off the runway — setting the tone for a collection that danced between poetry and practicality.

The windswept aesthetic was unmistakable throughout, from a sheer pastel top that exposed nipples in a diagonal cascade down the torso, to loose-waisted signature trousers with a billowing slit. Beckham’s recurring play with proportions was here, albeit with a softer, more sculptural touch, subtly nodding to her signature focus on elongating the body. This time, her references to Ancient Greece gave her collection a new kind of dynamism that felt almost ethereal. Gigi Hadid, draped in a gleaming green gown with a gathered skirt, moved like a sculpture come to life — a striking moment that embodied this unexpected, but highly welcome, more poetical direction for the former Spice Girl.

But amid the billowing silhouettes and minimalism, Beckham deftly anchored designs with the staples that have made her brand so popular. Florals made an appearance — subtle, yet essential — as did her commitment to relaxed, modern tailoring. While the poetical gestures floated through, the bread-and-butter of the house remained: practical, wearable luxury.

Yet the collection walked a fine line between creativity and wearability — a line Beckham has navigated with mixed success in the past. While the draped, windswept garments invoked a sense of playful experimentation, critics of her previous work may wonder if her eccentricity is in danger of overpowering the brand’s practical core. Beckham’s last few seasons have seen her balancing the theatrical with the everyday, but the sheer pastels and sculptural gowns here flirted with pushing that envelope a little too far.

Still, Beckham has proven her command of deconstruction and silhouette, and here it paid off. The architectural approach she’s honed, from slashed jackets to exposed backs, found new life in this Grecian motif. Her ability to expose and conceal in the same breath, to deconstruct and rebuild, once again highlights her strength in mastering complex garment construction—a talent honed across her Parisian shows.

News from © The Associated Press, 2024