Paris Fashion Week: Chanel evokes cinematic glamor, McCartney pushes animal-free fashion, L’Oreal focuses on skin, hair

PARIS — Chanel creative director Virginie Viard added a streak of Old Hollywood glamour to a slinky collection for spring and summer, sent down a catwalk lined with enormous screens projecting dreamy, black-and-white images of formal gardens and plush interiors. (See the show here: Spring-Summer 2023 Ready-to-Wear — CHANEL Shows ).

One of the largest labels to hit the runway for Paris Fashion Week, the show was held on the final day of events that have drawn crowds from abroad, marking the luxury industry’s strong return from pandemic disruptions.

The audience sat in a darkened space that lit up when a short film began. It starred Kristen Stewart, who sat in the front row with South Korean singing star Jennie Ruby Jane.

“The mythologies that define us, that unite us, they’re ours to create,” said Stewart, in the film that showed her posing in the Paris metro and walking on an empty cobblestoned street at night.

“Everything is on the table.”

Models marched around the room on a carpet of black sand that felt squishy underfoot, wearing sparkly, low-heeled boots and shoes, paired with matching socks pulled up over the calves.

Garments were elevated, with the lineup segueing from tweed minidresses and loosely-fitting suits to shimmery gold gowns and sweeping, airy skirts.

The designer went light on accessories, with just a few handbags and sparse use of the label’s signature gold chains, but added touches of sparkle and tufts of feathers to other looks.

STELLA MCCARTNEYStella McCartney sat her audience outdoors in a courtyard of the Centre Pompidou on Oct. 3, sending out a sensual lineup of fluid dresses and smart, low-waisted trousers, accessorized with handbags made from a leather alternative. (See the show here: https://www.stellamccartney.com/us/en/).

“We are proud to be eco-weirdos, and hope you will join us in our mission to end the needless deaths of animals for fashion,” Ms. McCartney wrote in show notes, detailing environmental costs related to using hides like water use, Amazon deforestation, and carcinogenic tanning chemicals.

Pressure continues to mount on fashion labels to improve their environmental credentials, particularly with younger generations who are increasingly embracing second-hand clothing.

A model in flaming red hair marched down the runway with an ivory sweater dotted with holes and slightly unraveled at the hem — stamped with the message “Change the history,” in red letters.

Jeans also had tattered hemlines, and patches of vegan leather for a chaps-like effect, but otherwise the collection was highly polished, with satin asymmetric dresses and smart suits in bright colors.

Models crisscrossed the courtyard on paths in yellow, red or blue, in front of the modern art institution’s facade of jumbled pipes.

The audience extended beyond the fashion set, and included artist Jeff Koons, former basketball star Tony Parker, and actor Jerry Seinfeld, while the designer’s father, Paul McCartney, sat next to LVMH chairman and Chief Executive Bernard Arnault and his clan.

Considered a trailblazer in eco-friendly fashion, Ms. McCartney shunned leather early on in her career, establishing her brand in 2001 as leather-free.

Her brand joined LVMH in 2019, brought on to help steer an acceleration of the group’s efforts on the environmental front.

The label added a vegan line of skincare products over the summer.

L’OREALL’Oreal Paris sent a pack of models and dancers down a giant runway in the center of the French capital on Oct. 2, throwing the spotlight on its hair and beauty products in a star-studded show that was beamed around the world on digital channels. (Watch the show here: https://www.lorealparis.com.ph/ ).

“A fashion show is a nice way to show what we know how to do with hair coloring and makeup,” Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, global brand president of L’Oreal Paris told Reuters in an interview.

Models including Camille Emilie Razat, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Eva Longoria, Gemma Chan, and Soo Joo Park sashayed down the catwalk, blowing kisses and twirling for photographers.

Andie MacDowell had sparkling eye makeup and a glittering, feather-lined dress, while Coco Rocha donned a slick, electric green mini-dress with matching boots, her bob cut straight.

Part of the L’Oreal group, which also owns Maybelline and Lancome, the label sits in the accessible luxury range, selling products spanning shampoo to more sophisticated skin treatments, costing from around €2.50 and to around €35.

Members of the public were invited to the event, which was also shown on digital channels including Instagram, where it counts 10 million followers, and TikTok.

“It is obvious that TikTok is a digital platform that carries an enormous amount of weight with young people because it’s a video platform — and we know that video is the format that is most watched,” said Viguier-Hovasse.

The L’Oreal group has been benefitting from a strong, post-pandemic rebound in demand for beauty products. — Reuters