Paris Fashion Week: A celebration of sports, oversized clothes, naked dressing

One of the key highlights of the recently concluded Paris Fashion Week was Christian Louboutin's presentation, Paris is Louboutining. It was a hypnotic artistic performance by the French Olympic synchronized swimming team which introduced the brand's new Miss Z stilettos.

At Dior, too, there was an element of sports, with Maria Grazia Chiuri collaborating with multidisciplinary artist Sagg Napoli. As the competitive archer shot arrows at a target in a glass partition, models walked around in armour-like bodysuits and toga-tunic inspired one-shoulder dresses worn with sturdy boots. Chiuri's muse was the Greco Roman goddess of hunting, Diana, and hence, the pieces embodied a sense of agility and strength. 

Designer Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent, meanwhile, proposed a tailoring-focused wardrobe, comprising broad shoulder jackets, coats, trench coats and voluminous leather jackets. Informed by the personal style of the house's founder Yves Saint Laurent, the line-up ended with an array of brocade and lace evening ensembles, consisting of sheer blouses and mini skirts. Maximalism was back at Valentino, on the other hand, with Alessandro Michele sending out opulent pieces accented with bows, wide brimmed hats and ruffles. All in all, it's been a season of power dressing with indulgent nods to athletes. 

Here are some of the other key trends that emerged at the Paris Fashion Week:

Also read: The best of Paris Fashion Week

The aesthetics of femininity

At Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri reimagined the classic Roman toga dress, making it contemporary. An Amazone dress envisioned by Christian Dior for 1951-52 autumn-winter, was on her moodboard. 

Collating myriad influences, the silhouettes were unapologetically graphic: checks, and horizontal or vertical lines celebrated the Miss Dior logo, elongated to the extreme. The embroidery provided a profusion of shimmering metallic punctuations. 

The exuberant 1980s businessman vibe was the focal point of the Saint Laurent spring-summer 2025 collection, with models wearing different variations of oversized suits and minimal make up.

Playing with craft techniques

Designer Julien Dossena at Rabanne presented basics finished in silver foil, and jacket lapels were accented with silver discs, hinting at the brand's Spage Age couture origins. 

Nicolas Di Felice at Courrèges showcased a half trouser, half skirt hybrid and reimagined the 1962 cape as a contemporary version with an exaggerated hood. Victoria Beckham, too, experimented a little more this season, creating tops and dresses in molded fabric. 

Jonathan Anderson, on the other hand, offered a playful take on classics, from trapeze dresses slashed to mini variations, to hoop-printed transparent dresses. 

Also read: Is too much shine hot again?

Transparency and volume

Chemena Kamali at Chloé offered a collection of wispy romantic dresses and pleated tiered numbers, finding inspiration in the brand's archives. She reinterpreted the waist shapers of spring 1977 and lace separates from spring 1978. Christopher Esber, too, brought back a feel of the seventies by presenting anoraks embodying ample volume. 

Hermès offered an unmistakably luxe take on the sheer trend: the see-through zippered activewear-inspired pieces were punctuated with the maison's signature leather accessories and separates.

Maximalist touch

While fashion may have had a long spell of quiet luxury and understated elegance, but Alessandro Michele at Valentino turned the narrative around with his maximalist ensembles. Bows, polka dots, plumes and ruffles dotted his feminine dresses. Gender fluidity and inclusivity have always informed Michele's works and this outing too embraced sexualities, identities and genders with elan. 

Balmain's runway showcase saw face images rendered on dresses and jackets using handembroidered beads. 

Rabanne unveiled bags that were contemporary iterations of an archival 1969 bag. They were crafted in ceramic, handblown glass, and one in coins of 18-karat gold. At Louis Vuitton, designer Nicolas Ghesquière presented a series of maximalist looks, featuring exaggerated shoulders, tassels and prints reproduced from some of Laurent Grasso's paintings.

Manish Mishra is a Delhi-based writer and content creator.

Also read: Why preppy chic clothes will never go out of fashion