Paris Fashion Week March 2022

Paris Fashion Week: as iconic as ever

Written by: Leah Brainerd

Chanel saw this fashion week as a blast to the past. Their show was an ode to the 70s with colorful suit jackets and knee-length skirts, all focusing on the use of tweed. This show was one of the most different shows of the entire week, and had fun accessories and many warm colors. There was also a focus on chunky sweaters and plays on the blazer. While many other designers went with the future, Chanel went such a different direction that they stood out the best.

Photo by: AEWorld

In contrast to Chanel’s blast from the past show, Balmain went with a very futuristic look, with mock-armor and focusing on only two colors of black and white. There were also very high platform boots and large shoulders with heavy quilted and denim fabrics as well as lots of leather.

In addition to the black and white of Balmain, Dior had a color scheme of black and white with pops of neon. Their designs were very structural, with suits and corsets. Their start was very alien, with glow-in the dark lines on a tight jumpsuit, starting out the show with a bang. They also had a very futuristic, football padding feel with large lines. Their show had a very similar vibe to Balmain, but without the large, funky platforms and with heels that added color but felt strange with the large outfits.

Matching Balmain’s 2-color show, this year, Valentino stripped the colors to only bright pink and then only black, so as to focus on style and craftsmanship. Their over- the top dresses showed their creativity and beautiful craftsmanship. This was the second-best show after Chanel this year, because of black and white there was all black and pink but without such large structural lines and huge padding.

Yves Saint Laurent went with a black and white main idea, following the trend as many other Fashion Week shows, but also had browns as well. Their designs, however, were a very different silhouette in terms of going very tight. However, they also incorporated very large shoulders in their suit jackets and very long skirts for everything. Their feel was much more 80s working man but for women’s high-fashion vibes.