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Paris Fashion Week is, without a doubt, the most anticipated show week of fashion month, and perhaps even the one that holds the most 'prestige' (for lack of a better descriptor).
With the biggest maisons in the industry all being French such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Saint Laurent, Hermès and Balenciaga, all exhibiting at PFW, it makes sense that even those who don't make up part of the primary global fashion community would keep their eyes peeled for these shows.
READ MORE: To all the French brands I've loved before... I'm shopping local now
Paris, France has long-endured as a global fashion hub through the most controversial and traumatic of political eras (so every year then), serving as post-conflict optimism every time. And not much has changed since then, except for the way we consume conversations about the cloth. Conscious consumerism has defined a new moment for the industry, where the race to be the most 'understanding and open-minded' is prevalent on almost every runway.
Although well-meaning more often than not, we can't help but make the observation that "in today's mediatised world, the announcement is already the accomplishment," to use Angelo Flaccavento's words with regards to fashion going green in his verdict on PFW published on the Business of Fashion.
READ MORE: Save the planet, but make it fashion: SA Fashion Week commits to a sustainable fashion 5-year plan
But even with that said, there was an unavoidable quirk and festive whim about this Paris Fashion Week. It was almost as if designers were indeed trying to provide some form of post-economic depression catharsis similar to what I mentioned above - the same kind that birthed the flapper dresses of the roaring twenties in all their consumerist glory.
So amid 2019's threatening climate concerns, spiking gender-based violence numbers, and continued political unrest, fashion taking itself less seriously than usual is a welcome breakaway from the grim reality of the daily news cycle. Even briefly so.
Yes, even the Chanel runway prankster and her two seconds of infamy, was a welcome laugh.
Here are five runway moments that presented historic references, optimism and the (fun)damentals of fashion:
Giambattista Valli revamps the flower crown
Issey Miyake sparks joy in bouncing pleats
Balenciaga brings their strange, but refreshing IG feed on the runway
Thom Browne says "let them eat cake"
Lacoste brightens up the tennis court even in rainy weather
Images: Getty
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