Highlights of Paris Fashion Week Gigi Hadid stumbles in DHL tape, Rabanne shows off 250,000 euro bag
Paris Fashion Week stands for luxury and elegance. Between September 23 and October 1, designers presented their new collections. These were the highlights of the fashion week in France's capital.
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- Paris Fashion Week is coming to an end. From September 23 to October 1, designers presented their spring-summer looks.
- Alessandro Michele made his debut as creative director of Valentino with an extravagant collection.
- Gigi Hadid and Heidi Klum stumbled at the shows, but continued their appearances professionally.
- Bella Hadid returned to the catwalk after a two-year break.
- And Rabanne presented a bag made of 18-carat gold with an estimated value of 250,000 euros.
The fashion month of September is over. And with it the world's major fashion weeks. As every year, Paris brought up the rear. Fashion enthusiasts always look forward to the shows in the French capital in advance. This is because the crème de la crème of the fashion industry present their new collections there.
Whether Balenciaga, Loewe, Alexander McQueen, Hermès, Dries Van Noten, Balmain or Sain Laurent - they all presented their creations for spring and summer 2025.
But it's not just the fashion itself that is of interest, the setting around it is also a talking point. And the big question: who is walking with whom? This year there were stumbles by two major model icons. These are the highlights of fashion week in Paris.
1. Alessandro Michele's catwalk debut for Valentino
Was he nervous? At least the new creative director of Valentino, Alessandro Michele (51), made his catwalk debut. The designer was previously artistic director at Gucci, and in spring he followed in the footsteps of Pierpaolo Piccioli (57) at Valentino.
Eagerly awaited, Michele lived up to expectations: Anything but simple, but with plenty of extravagance, bows and floral prints, the looks of the new Valentino creative director were convincing. The fashion house succinctly summarized Michele's runway debut on Instagram: "The reinvention and rebirth of a narrative, historical house codes and new inspirations."
2 Dior combined glamorous and sporty
The Olympics may be over, but sporty cuts seem to be inspiring the big designers at the moment. And luxury house Dior is also moving with the times: creative director Maria Grazia Chiuris (60) combined haute couture with sporty elements for the new spring-summer collection. Bodysuits, fringed skirts, high-laced sneaker boots, bows and arrows exuded a vibe of Amazonian warrior princesses.
3. 2000s flashback at Balenciaga
Demna (43) is head designer at Balenciaga. Since 2015, he has repeatedly surprised us with sophisticated collections. His looks for the coming spring/summer season are nothing like anything fashion fans have seen before: They combine sexiness, glamor, coolness and trends, they stand out, make people talk and don't hold back when it comes to creativity.
It's a kind of homage to the 2000s. The models strutted down the catwalk to Britney Spears' (42) hit. First in skin-tight outfits reminiscent of lingerie, then in oversize looks. For the men, he celebrated low-rise hipster jeans, a Y2K trend that mainly adorned women at the time. The futuristic Matrix sunglasses were also striking. Will they catch on in everyday life? Only time will tell.
4 Isabel Marant celebrated boho style with lots of fringing
Boho vibes at Isabel Marant: the French fashion designer returned to her roots for her new collection and celebrated the playful boho look with lots of fringing, suede, warm tones - and flat Roman sandals as well as soft suede moccasin-style boots. Models without high heels? Probably rather atypical for Fashion Week, but Isabel Marant (57) showed that it can look just as chic when women do without high heels. The contemporary looks skillfully combined lightness and elegance with cut-outs, folklore patterns, lace-up details, embroidery and embellished cross-body bags.
5 Ganni at Paris Fashion Week for the first time
The Danish label Ganni may have turned its back on its home country and made its Paris Fashion Week debut this year, but it remained true to the brand's roots. Opposites are known to attract and so the popular brand combined masculine and feminine or practical with romantic. Ruffle details and delicate flowers are just as much a part of Ganni's signature as sportswear features. See-through elements are balanced out by structured outerwear. Understatement and pieces that scream for attention are what make Ganni stand out, but playful and light characteristics are also part of the Danish label.
6. Gigi Hadid tripped in a skimpy dress made from DHL tape
The yellow dress by Vetements that Gigi Hadid (29) presented at Paris Fashion Week caused a lot of reactions on social media. Not only because it was made of yellow DHL tape, but also because the model almost tripped in it. However, the 29-year-old simply carried on walking professionally as if nothing had happened.
7 Heidi Klum also stumbled
Gigi wasn't the only one to stumble. Heidi Klum (51) had a mishap at the opening show of Paris Fashion Week - which was organized by a beauty label rather than a fashion label : the model mom returned to the catwalk for L'Oréal in Paris, but her comeback didn't go entirely smoothly as she tripped. Her shoe got caught in the black latex dress. But like the professional model she is, she simply smiled away the misstep and carried on walking.
8. Bella Hadid back on the catwalk for Saint Laurent
After a two-year break, Gigi's sister Bella Hadid (27) returned to the catwalk as if she had never been away. The model announced in October 2022 that she would be taking some time off. In recent years, her focus has been on her health. For Saint Laurent, she walked the catwalk in a wide-cut suit and striking glasses, reminiscent of the typical look of brand founder Saint Laurent (1936-2008).
9th most expensive bag in the world at Rabanne
It's nothing new that luxury bags come at a price, but 250,000 euros seems pretty expensive. This is the estimated price of a bag from Rabanne's spring-summer collection, which was presented at Paris Fashion Week. The piece pays homage to a mini dress that the label tailored for style icon Françoise Hardy (1944-2024) in 1968. Like the dress, which was considered the most expensive in the world at the time, the shoulder bag is also made of gold plates. Created in collaboration with the legendary jeweler Arthus Bertrand, 100 gold medallions made of 18-karat gold were assembled by hand in more than 100 hours of the finest craftsmanship. It is not yet known whether it will remain a unique piece.
