The best of Paris Fashion Week
Paris Fashion Week for Fall 2019 wrapped up on Tuesday, full of suits and sculptured silhouettes. Here are some of the best looks on show in the French capital.
Grace steals the show
The legendary Grace Jones wowed the crowds at the Tommy Hilfiger ready-to-wear show. The US designer teamed up with actress Zendaya to present a collection dedicated to diversity, hiring only African American models for the runway. Other iconic models included Pat Cleveland, the world's first black supermodel and Beverly Johnson, the first black woman to be on the cover of American Vogue.
Celine goes modest
The Celine show marked the sophmore outing for the fashion house's latest creative director, Hedi Slimane. After being criticized in his first collection for showing only tiny mini-dresses, the new Fall looks showed barely any skin below the neck. His 70s-inspired outfits were praised for, if not being revolutionary, at least being more in line with Celine's tradition.
Romantic Valentino
Valentino chief Pierpaolo Piccioli collaborated with Japanese designer Jun Takahashi for this collection. Piccioli said he wanted to move away from unearthly designs and focus on human connections. To that end, he set out to create pieces inspired by romantic love, complete with rose motifs. He also worked with poets to create a book on love to hand out to audience members.
Garden of Givenchy
Clare Waight Keller, the creative designer of French house Givenchy, may be best known for designing Meghan Markle's wedding dress. On Sunday, the English designer presented a Garden of Eden-inspired collection, full of vibrant pinks, blues, and greens. She also showed quite a few suits, which, along with other shows, has led to Fall 2019 being dubbed "the season of the suit."
Basic Balenciaga
Balenciaga was amongst several fashion houses embracing minimalistic, structured silouhettes and lots of suits. Designer Demna Gvasalia said he wanted to pay tribute to the street fashion of Paris, and saw the collection as a love letter to his customers. Several male models in the co-gender show carried shopping bags, to imitate the look of Paris fashionistas on the prowl.
Captivating Kenzo
Carol Lim and Humberto Leon did something unique for Kenzo's show this year, paying tribute to founder Kenzo Takada with a mixture of model looks and vintage pieces from when he started his first boutique in Paris in the 1970s. They also had a group of dancers come out and do a choreographed routine in vintage Kenzo that had everyone in the audience up and dancing.