Paris Fashion Week showcases climate change-inspired dresses

Creative Director Nicolas Ghesquière unveils airy designs to counter rising global temperatures

PARIS:

Louis Vuitton showed fluid jackets and slinky, sheer dresses on Tuesday as womenswear creative director Nicolas Ghesquière said hotter temperatures caused by climate change were changing his approach to developing fabrics and designing clothes.

Light, flowing fabrics were used throughout the spring/summer 2027 collection on simple strappy dresses, loosely fastened jackets and sheer skirts in white or pastel pink and blue.

A black and white check look and dresses covered in an iridescent diamond pattern provided graphic elements in otherwise pared-back, tonal outfits.

Models emerged in between Louis Vuitton-branded cars on a set made to look like a highway, with a tar floor and road markings - decor Ghesquière said was inspired by learning that the stunning Louvre courtyard was for decades used as a parking lot for finance ministry officials, before the ?museum's ?famous glass pyramids were installed.

Jackets featured flowing sleeves with some also extending into a long train trailing behind the model, and trousers were wide and fluid with long slits up the side to let air in. Small, simple handbags came in cream and lemon tones.

Ghesquière told reporters after the show that despite the ?minimalist appearance, "making things extremely light is very complex and the engineering and development of fabric to fight that gravity is also very complex".

Louis Vuitton, the flagship brand of luxury giant LVMH, has struggled with falling sales ?of its famous monogrammed handbags as fewer middle-class shoppers feel they can stretch to high-end purchases. The monogram was used lightly in the collection, featuring only on a couple of handbags and ?a leather bomber jacket.

A crowd of screaming fans outside the show greeted the arrival of K-pop star Felix, while France's first lady Brigitte Macron was among the celebrity guests, along with actors Zendaya, Emma Stone, and Saoirse Ronan.

In addition to ready-to-wear shows, there are men's and haute couture shows; these are held semiannually for the spring/summer and autumn/winter seasons. The haute couture collections are always presented and exhibited before the ready-to-wear collections, with there being a total of a little over 100 collections each season. Also, every year, famous brands like Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Kenzo, Givenchy, and Céline host their shows in historical places such as the Carrousel du Louvre and the Grand Palais.

In order to participate, the houses must fulfill the criteria that are set in place by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, such as a requirement of 35 looks per year that need to include day and evening wear. Only a few houses are able to fulfill this requirement; therefore, this leaves few to participate in haute couture fashion shows. Since there are only a few spots left for those to participate, there are the well-known high-end fashion brands like Chanel and Alexander Mcqueen, but also the lesser-known ones like Maxime Simöens and Eymele Burgaud.

Paris Fashion Week is part of the global "Big 4" fashion weeks, the others being London Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week. The schedule begins with New York, followed by London, and then Milan and ends in Paris. New York was the first city to hold a "fashion week".

Although the first fashion week was held in New York, the event itself derives from "salon shows" ("défilés de mode" in French, literally "fashion parades") in Paris couture salons.

Before this organized event was recognized in New York City, fashion showings were being held in Paris as early as the 1700s.