DRIES VAN NOTEN

After almost 40 years and 150 collections, Dries Van Noten bowed out in his quietly elegant manner – not with a retrospective or greatest hits show, but with his usual forward thinking exploration of craft, colour and story telling. Model Alain Gossuin, who walked in Dries’s first show, opened the show alongside other familiar (and some new) faces. The pieces expertly mixed metallic and iridescent fabrics with floral prints and navy wool. As he said in his show notes, these are ‘clothes that move through life with us, carrying us forward’. Au revoir, Dries

RICK OWENS

Returning to the courtyard at Palais de Tokyo after a sojourn of showing at his home, Owens said ‘This time around I wanted to welcome everyone’, which meant casting fashion students and teachers to make up the 200-strong cast in his ‘white satin army of love’.The centrepiece was a ‘Gymnast bouquet’ – a structure featuring three gymnasts carried by nine others.The show played out as a procession with groups of 20 models wearing the same look, including hooded biker jackets, distressed gym shorts and chiffon capes, on a range of body types. The message, Owens said, was one of unity.

COMME DES GARÇONS

‘I want to hope for some light, even if very small,’ Rei Kawakubo said in her short but to the point show notes. The clinks of light on the catwalk came as flashes of hot pink escaped through the seams and erupted from the pockets of black blazers, bursting forth into whole looks of bold pink. A bold polka-dot trench encased in black tulle was similarly cautiously optimistic. Cheering headdresses shaped like skull caps with unicorn horns covered with colourful plastic hair clips were worn with every look. The message seemed to be: seize the joy when you find it

BIANCA SAUNDERS

Saunders’s tightly edited and superbly executed collection took inspiration from photojournalist Bradley Smith’s book Escape to the West Indies: a Guidebook to the Islands of the Caribbean, and her own Jamaican heritage. Interested in the perspective of the tourist when they visit a location, Saunders subverted the classic tailoring of the resort’s butlers, chauffeurs and fishermen. A string top and dress were reminiscent of fishing nets. A new ripple print on shirts and denim pieces mirrored the contours of the male body. The shorts were a nod to a Jamaican schoolgirl uniform.

LOEWE

Titled ‘A Radical act of Restraint’, Jonathan Anderson’s latest collection for Loewe was a lesson in less is more. Objects from a group of artists he admires for their singular vision were positioned on the catwalk space – a copy of Susan Sontag’s Against Interpretation lay on the floor beside a Charles Rennie Mackintosh chair. On the catwalk, models appeared with feather face coverings (only Anderson could re-imagine a fascinator to make it this chic). Trousers were voluminous with added drape, a handcrafted feather polo shirt and watch strap link tank tops stood out.

DIOR

South African potter Hylton Nel filled the artist collaboration spot at Dior this season. Six large whimsical cat and dog sculptures dotted the catwalk. The quote ‘Dior for my real friends’ appeared on a cream jumper that was based on a plate once given to the artist by the designer. Elsewhere, the silhouette focused on knitted bucket hats trimmed with ceramic beads, roomy shorts cut to mid-thigh and tailored jackets with a mock ceramic scarf collar, taken from a 1960 Saint-Laurent design for Dior. Nel’s playful animal characters also came rendered in studs on saddle bags and boots.

WALES BONNER

Grace Wales Bonner’s SS25 collection celebrated the work of pioneering Trinidadian artist and textile designer Althea McNish, who designed painterly textiles for Liberty and Christian Dior among others. Bold floral prints appeared on jackets and dresses. Further inspiration came from the nighttime vibrance of cities by the sea, with nautical influences evident in striped crochet and mouliné knitwear, swimwear and nylon anoraks that shone with the sparkle of water. She also continued her successful collaborations with Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard and Adidas Originals.

HOMME PLISSÉ ISSEY MIYAKE

Kinetic kite-like sculptures swayed gently in the courtyard of Mobilier National as ominous rain clouds overhead held back from a downpour, providing the perfect setting for the SS25 ‘Up, Up and Away’ collection, inspired by the wind and the interaction of wind with the brand’s signature pleated fabric. Undulating lightweight coats came to life, catching the breeze as models walked. Rain coats came with internal straps meaning the garment could be worn off the shoulders like a backpack, and a built-in pocket meant the whole thing could be rolled up compactly.

LOUIS VUITTON

Pharrell Williams unveiled his fourth Louis Vuitton collection in the grounds of the Unesco building in Paris. It was billed as a celebration of humanity, (outfits were designed to match the model’s diverse skin tones). Silhouettes nodded to the archetypal codes of travellers; there were cropped pilot jackets and zip-collared knitwear, tailoring for business and tracksuits for leisure. With the Euros underway a series of timely football themed looks, including a jacket made from flattened leather footballs, paid ‘homage to the world’s most unifying game.’

HERMÈS

The seaside has proven a popular inspiration for designers for SS25. Véronique Nichanian’s Hermès collection caught the ocean breeze, too. An aquatic colour scheme from pale blue through to navy ran throughout. Care-free details like neckerchiefs knotted through shirt collars and painted on ‘tattoos’ in the same swirling harness motif seen in the collection emphasised the beachy mood, underscored by strappy sandals worn with most looks. Hermès equestrian heritage came through in softly sketched prints of a horse on a shirt.