Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Courrèges, Chloé

Paris Fashion Week Spring 2025

Loewe will be in the next one, but I feel like I have to start this by bringing it up, because Jonathan Anderson should not be allowed to be that good.

Saint Laurent Spring 2025

I need a cigarette after seeing this collection. 

This season, Anthony Vaccarello followed up on his most recent menswear offering, and gave us suiting and styling that, once again, embodied Yves Saint Laurent himself. A smart choice that led to an incredibly compelling collection– especially after last season’s impractical pantyhose situation, and the uninspired safari collection before that. It finally feels like he’s back and truly starting anew, as opposed to the alleged fresh palette of two seasons ago. 

Vaccarello said that the starting point for this season was a quote by Saint Laurent where he said that the Saint Laurent woman was him. However, when looking at all the suiting and masculine styling– even down to the side of the buttons on jackets– I can’t help but think of a quote from Catherine Denueve where she said, “Saint Laurent designs for women with a double life. His clothes for daywear help women to enter a world full of strangers. They enable her to go wherever she wants without arousing unwelcome attention, thanks to their somehow masculine quality. However, for the evening, when she may choose her company, he makes her seductive.” 

During the Fall 2024 menswear show, where we first saw this YSL suiting, Vaccarello said he was partially inspired by Patrick Bateman. In my review of that collection I discussed how Bateman uses fashion to create an identity for himself in a certain social hierarchy. He uses his knowledge of fashion and luxury to assert his dominance and superiority over people, and his sense of self is more so defined by the things he owns, rather than who he is. Similarly, he only associates with people who dress the way he does– he doesn’t actually care about them as people because they are just as decorative as his clothing. In the context of the womenswear collection, I’m inclined to believe that the Saint Laurent woman knows exactly what she’s doing, the same way Bateman does, except that she’s in on the joke, and she knows how to wield it to her benefit. This idea manifests in suiting that exudes confidence and armor-like strength while retaining sharp, clean lines with broad shoulders reminiscent of the Le Smoking, but with even more direct references to traditional menswear. Suiting for women might not be as subversive and groundbreaking as it was when YSL first gave us the Le Smoking, however, I’d argue that although this collection might not be something entirely new, it’s still incredibly strong, and incredibly fresh. It would make sense in a Saint Laurent collection of yore, yes, but it also feels very contemporary and relevant. 

The eveningwear, on the other hand, is rich, sensuous, and free. Much like Denueve once said, the Saint Laurent woman is made seductive. Silk, chiffon, and plunging necklines reclaim the body’s movement, transforming the woman from a power figure to a ravishing force. This contrast between day and night shows how fashion offers women tools to navigate social roles, constructing and deconstructing their identities through fabric and form. We can also look at Elizabeth Wilson’s idea of “fashion as disguise and performance.” The masculine suiting acts as a "disguise" in a modern world where a woman’s presence is often scrutinized, while the chic, almost hedonistic eveningwear allows for performance — a voluntary reveal of sensuality and an unraveling. 

The way the 70s is referenced in the eveningwear feels very honest, and is obviously a period when Saint Laurent redefined modern femininity and sexual liberation through his designs. The 1970s saw a cultural shift where women began embracing clothing that blurred the lines between masculinity and femininity, and it mirrored broader cultural movements like second-wave feminism and the rise of personal expression. Instead of feeling like a 2010s boho redux, the clothing here captures that same feeling of liberation and sensuality, but through a contemporary lens, similarly to the suiting. It’s incredibly decadent and features familiar, Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent styles and silhouettes, but with more texture and dimension. 

The Saint Laurent woman is always in control. She has the ability to conceal with masculine authority and reveal with the freedom of sultry, retro elegance. I’d even argue that this is the most sure she’s felt in a long time. 

Christian Dior Spring 2025

I wasn’t going to talk about this collection, because this shit pissed me off so bad, but alas. 

I have very rarely had good things to say about Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior, however, I have given credit where credit is due, and I have always tried to understand. I’ve told myself that I’m not this customer, I do not have the lived experience of this customer, I do not move in the same circles as this custom, but at this point, I don’t actually know if this customer exists. Who is the Dior woman, genuinely. I can’t imagine someone who would covet a lot of these pieces simultaneously, it doesn’t make sense. The brand gets a large portion of its profit from accessories, specifically bags, but I’d say even those were concerning this season. 

Then there’s the obvious play at appealing to a younger audience that always feels like there was absolutely no research done into figuring out what that audience actually wants. A Dior couture client, or one that is just regularly buying the ready to wear, is often someone a little older who has a disposable income and not a young adult, but they do exist, and I need to know what they genuinely think of these clothes and this styling, because I am almost at a loss for words. 

Let’s try to unpack it a little bit. 

*deep breath*

Like we’ve seen in the past, Chiuri continues to use sport as a way to show strength in femininity and to convey her idea of feminism. Figures like the Amazone and Diana the Huntress were on the moodboard, which obviously hold a lot of feminist symbolism, representing women who transcend traditional roles. Chiuri also mentioned that she was inspired by the ways in which women wear their workout clothes out of the gym. Perhaps we can say that her use of sportswear is a commentary on how women in today’s world embrace athleticism not only as a form of exercise but also as a vehicle for liberation. However, as usual, Chiuri’s vision often feels very performative and disconnected. Her feminist symbols are often just visual cues that lack depth and rarely feel like they actually represent the modern woman, let alone the House of Dior. The collection’s reliance on motifs like warrior-inspired silhouettes, Grecian draping, and sparkly details feels like it's turning the modern woman into a costume. 

Sportswear, in theory, represents the body in motion, liberated from traditional constraints, and wearing such pieces outside of the gym is a very casual merging of function and form. Whereas here, the clothing feels too clunky and formalized, to put it kindly, to embody this everyday practicality. 

I also often feel a disconnect between Chiuri’s approach and the house codes of Dior. Historically there has always been a focus on elegance and femininity, and I see no issue in trying to translate that to the modern woman, however there seems to be a magic and fantasy that’s been lost. How easy would it be to highlight strength through Dior’s use of the feminine silhouette? Iris Marion Young argues, the way women dress is often about "accommodating both beauty and the demands of a practical life,” and I can’t imagine it would be difficult to infuse Dior’s romanticism into functional everyday pieces. 

In Fashion and Psychoanalysis, Alison Bancroft argues that fashion’s relation to feminism is "constantly in tension between aesthetic display and the desire for authenticity." Well, you can sure as hell feel the tension here. Chiuri’s execution of connecting these mystic feminist icons to the active present feels like it’s just playing at feminism instead of actually engaging in it. 

Courrèges Spring 2025

No one does sexy as effortlessly as Nicolas Di Felice. The Courrèges woman is just automatically the coolest and hottest person in the room.

Focusing on the Möbius strip, Di Felice delivered a collection that was a masterclass in  achieving a delicate balance between sensuality and intellectual exploration. His idea of “sexy” might be rooted in simplicity, but its impact is profound. About the collection he said, “in the period that we live in, it’s always a comeback to something else… so I decided we’re going to work on cycles and repetition. The Möbius ribbon expresses it really well: a simple piece of paper becomes something where there’s no beginning or end.” Di Felice brings attention to the fact that the ribbon, with its continuous surface, symbolizes the endless cycles of fashion, time, and identity. 

Through his iteration of the Möbius strip, Di Felice blurs the boundaries between past, present, and future, and between internal and external identity. This is manifested in his designs through cuts and silhouettes that loop back on themselves, such as dresses with cut-outs or unexpected twists, where fabric seems to have no distinct beginning or end– quick shoutout to pants that are attached to a piece of fabric on the inside hem on one side and the outside hem on the other, pwah. Another example of this specifically is a stunning, sleek white dress that features a circular cut-out at the waist, suggesting a sense of infinity—both sensual and cerebral. It becomes a visual metaphor for the Möbius strip, playing with inside and outside, a perpetual loop. There’s also his use of sheer fabrics that trick the eye into seeing two pieces when there is actually one, and play with the idea of the body being seen and unseen at the same time. 

He creates a wardrobe that is aware of the current culture, but exists beyond trends, echoing the Möbius strip’s symbolism of continuity. This is further enhanced by the monochromatic color palette and the display of similar garments being worn in a variety of different ways. His focus on time aligns really beautifully with Andrè Courreges exploration of futurism, and his approach is an elegant commentary on how fashion is never fully new or old, but something in between, simultaneously looking backward and forward. 

Chloé Spring 2025

Chemena Kamali is two for two. Where her debut collection for Chloé created the perfect foundation to build off of, her sophomore collection has effortlessly added a layer to the Chloé woman and how she lives her life. 

Kamali said this season was all about summer and how we feel during the summer season. She captured the fluid transition from the carefree, liberated feeling of summer back to the groundedness of everyday life, using clothing to express how one comes back into their body after time away. Garments felt like pieces sometimes found in the back of a closet that were given a new life once brought on a summer vacation or summer clothes trying to find their place in a 9-5 officewear rotation. Mixed in were a few period finds a la the 1850s and 90s like bloomers and leg of mutton sleeves that could catch only the coolest girl’s eye at a random little vintage shop. The collection reflected the ease of summer, the joy of escapism, and that slow comeback to reality. 

There were nods to Chloé’s archives, with the SS1977 and SS1978 collections by Karl Lagerfeld being on the moodboard, and were translated through vintage inspired silhouettes and playful floral prints. This take felts very unforced and fits in with Kamali’s contemporary bohemian approach. Billowing dresses and earthy tones evoke a natural, groundedness, while moments of structural tailoring root the wearer back to the present. Kamali was interested in the way summer makes you feel light, fluid, and carefree, but also how it reconnects you to yourself, a theme she translates into the softness of the fabrics and the relaxed yet thoughtful silhouettes. Cheeky graphics also felt like a little nod to Stella McCartney’s era of Chloé, and Kamali’s graphics felt both very modern and nostalgic. 

The boho aesthetic is known for its laid-back, effortless appeal, however Kamali quirks it up a little bit with historical elements, and creates a treasure trove of finds, and creates a woman that is very believable, that you may have even seen walking down the street in her modern lacy slip top and 19th century trousers. Pieces like bloomers also create a sense of intimacy and play to that idea of returning to the body that aligns with her exploration of how summer invites a more relaxed, personal connection to clothing. Bubble hems feel very topical but also feel like a nice evolution from the dresses tucked into boots from last season. The Victorian era was marked by its fascination with layered, structured garments, and Kamali incorporates these historical jackets to give her collection depth and dimension, contrasting them with the loose-fitting dresses and relaxed silhouettes elsewhere. This creates a tension between freedom and restraint and feels like a nice conversation between intimacy of past and present. 

Kamali takes boho chic and creates a sophisticated interplay of freedom and formality. Through her we know exactly who the Chloé woman is and we know exactly what the inside of her wardrobe looks like. When I was younger, I vividly remember myself getting lost in the Chloé campaigns and making them a part of my daydreams, and I feel like Kamali is allowing me to do that once again. 

Okay, back to staring starry eyed at Loewe.

TTYL!!!

xx