Balenciaga revolutionizes luxury in Paris as McCartney focuses on high-octane fashion with a playful, eco-friendly twist

PARIS– In an ordinary Parisian market, on an ordinary rainy autumn day, Stella McCartney’s supercharged show on Monday was anything but.

Guests gasped when the drizzle stopped, the clouds parted and the sun appeared moments before the show – a celestial metaphor, perhaps, for the upbeat, inspirational exhibition. nature of McCartney.

Meanwhile, inside the famous Parc des Invalides and its golden dome, Balenciaga guests had to present a gold ring, instead of an invitation, to enter the show. Winding corridors led to a dark atrium with a sumptuous 100-yard polished and inlaid wood pool table. The front row, including American Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, sat in ornate chairs around this table, creating an intimate, up-close experience.

Here are some highlights from the spring-summer 2025 ready-to-wear shows in Paris, including Balenciaga:

The show opened with lingerie, accessorized with surreal shoes and sunglasses, setting an intimate tone against the backdrop of blues music. Interestingly, instead of stripping down, the collection gradually added layers. A loose, ruched-front ’70s dress featured frilly straps in the back, emphasizing a key theme of the collection: dualities. This subtle play of contrasts, with which Demna frequently plays, underlines the tension between the polished and the raw.

As the show progressed, jeans with tight straps almost held the legs together, adding a sense of constraint that played with notions of freedom and restriction. Crunchy puffer jackets gave the looks an edgy, avant-garde vibe, while moments of irreverence emerged through giant gold and metallic sneakers that looked almost clown-like, popping up as the models walked. A cap, worn low and adorned with spikes resembling wolf teeth, further amplified Balenciaga’s punk undercurrent.

Ripped jeans that appeared to have been customized at a thrift store made an appearance on the luxury runway – a striking commentary on Demna’s unwavering belief that true luxury is not about opulence or exclusivity, but to reimagine the ordinary. The contrast was clear: mundane items, like a striped men’s T-shirt, were juxtaposed with dazzling diamond earrings. It was Demna’s bottom-up, anti-luxury approach in full force, dismantling the traditional top-down view of high fashion and asserting that authenticity, ingenuity and subversion are the new symbols of luxury.

There were also unexpected moments of poetry: a black leather coat, loosely tied around the waist, exposing the model’s bare shoulders. These pieces went beyond clothing; they were statements about vulnerability and imperfection, two of Balenciaga’s central themes. The imperfect beauty, the spontaneous and seemingly random creations, testified to Demna’s love for the coexistence of perfection and imperfection.

The ultra-cool and eclectic collection was only cohesive in its madness, unpredictability and humor. It was an unapologetic celebration of creativity as the ultimate luxury – a bold reminder that, in a world overwhelmed by content, true originality is the rarest and most valuable commodity of all.

The designs were dazzling, fusing sparkle, wit and careful tailoring to capture a sense of disco fun.

The likes of Natalie Portman, Greta Gerwig and Paris Jackson couldn’t help but tap their feet amid the most infectious soundtrack of Paris Fashion Week so far. Models strutted around with artful hairstyles swinging theatrically, reminiscent of Gerwig’s own film, Barbie, adding another playful element to the show.

Savile Row tailoring was reimagined in true Stella style: strong-shouldered jackets paired with slim blazers and exaggerated belt loops, while voluminous trousers and cheeky boxer briefs kept things playful. This isn’t new territory for McCartney, who often reworks classic tailoring with a twist.

Pinstripe suits were modernized with clean satin lines and sparkling lead-free crystals, paired with sporty cropped sweaters – another of his signature juxtapositions of high fashion with a casual vibe.

Flowing drapes were another star of the show, from gravity-defying asymmetrical silk dresses to folded vegan leather skirts. Cream bombers with wing-shaped cutouts and sheer dresses injected an ethereal touch.

The cloud-style creations were a real success.

“We had some of these clouds in the knits (made from) a yarn made from recycled plastic bottles, which is amazing,” McCartney said backstage.

Bird motifs take flight, literally and figuratively. The doves painted on the silk and origami-inspired details were visual treats, recalling McCartney’s message from years ago: to remember to protect nature.

McCartney’s show opened with Helen Mirren delivering a “Save What You Love” manifesto – more of a direct punch than a gentle plea. Inspired by Jonathan Franzen’s “The End of the Earth,” Mirren’s voice rang out, urging action before it was too late. The birds, which disappear, were the symbol, the reminder of the stakes if we do not pull ourselves together.

Guests also each received a newspaper made for the show, humorously called “Stella Times,” which contained a wry, yet serious, message about sustainability. McCartney’s advice to readers to encourage positive action: “Read! Because I think people don’t read anymore. And “get a copy of our newspaper.” I will give you all the information you need. Be more aware, be more curious and learn the fashion facts to be more of the future of fashion.

McCartney has long been ahead of the curve when it comes to eco-friendly fashion. She was one of the first designers to champion sustainability, long before anyone cared. With fashion being one of the world’s biggest polluters, its 91% conscious materials and animal-free production are another sign that the designer takes the message seriously.

A giant wooden structure of a house – just exposed raw beams – set the stage for Sacai. It was not only a striking location, but rather served as a metaphor for Chitose Abe’s philosophy: deconstruction and reconstruction in the most unexpected ways. Like Abe’s clothes, the exposed beams represented an unfinished but powerfully architectural form and structure.

An urban t-shirt dress was paired with a black leather jacket featuring a ruffled leg of mutton arm, a detail more often reserved for historical dresses. It was the embodiment of Abe’s dualities: urban biker meets historical drama, masculine merges with overtly feminine.

Throughout the collection, the clever fusion of seemingly incongruous pieces was at the forefront. A crisp white shirt was fused with a dark pleated skirt, placed just below the bust. It was a single garment, and this mix illustrates Abe’s inventive approach to pattern creation. His concept of hybridization – combining clothes so that they look like one thing from the front and another from the back – is more than a gimmick. It’s Abe’s revolutionary way of questioning the very fabric of what fashion can be.

Another look was simple at first glance: a white rocker hoodie. But in true Sacai fashion, the back featured a soft, floor-length skirt, transforming what could have been mundane into something extraordinary.

Volume and silhouettes were also abundant, with flattened and boxy shapes taking center stage.

The modest pieces — like the long black skirt fused with a white shirt — were emblematic of her recent exploration of monochrome and moving her dissected clothing into elevated territory.

Isabel Marant blended South American craftsmanship with the raw energy of an Amazonian warrior, her artisanal aesthetic on full display in a powerful celebration of femininity.

Marant has always been unafraid to explore new territories and this season she ventured into the tribalist punk influences of the early 1980s, blending them perfectly with her profession of love.

The parade was illuminated with sunset hues: rust, mauve, pink and purple rippled on the pompom skirts and bow dresses, evoking the warmth of a Latin twilight.

Heavy gold bracelets adorned the models’ wrists as they paraded in braided and embroidered silk dresses. Weathered gray-black denim jackets and studded black leather shorts hinted at a rebellious streak.

This season marked another chapter in Marant’s evolution as she leaned even more into craftsmanship: embroidered leather, top-stitched suede and intricate bows that felt deeply personal to her.