Paris Fashion Week SS25: a one-stop, rolling round-up of all the best shows

It’s just past the halfway point of yet another fashion month, and things are starting to really ramp up now. After Charles Jeffrey stans kept the spirit of a pared back London Fashion Week alive, it was on to Milan for standout showings from Miuccia and Raf over at Prada, Dan and Dean down at Dsquared2, plus loads more shows from Martine Rose, Jonathan Anderson and the rest of their peers.

After all that, we’ve promptly found ourselves in Paris for a week chock full of men’s fashion, each day attempting to outdo the last. So far, we’ve already seen Rick Owens assemble an army of 200 students for his biblical epic Hollywood, plus Pharell make the case for world peace at Louis Vuitton’s first fashion pageant. For all the other blockbuster shows – and the smaller, trailblazing ones, too – check out our guide below, and stay tuned for more as we update this rolling list.

Never one to do anything by halves, for SS25 Pharrel Williams decided to occupy the entire roof of UNESCO’s Parisian HQ for his Le Monde Est À Vous show, meaning “the world is yours” in French. A dedication to “the unifying spirit of the global mentality of Louis Vuitton,” the set was dominated by a giant metal globe structure, with flags of the world planted around the Damier check lawn runway.

With guests including Colman Domingo, Sabrina Carpenter and Central Cee taking their spots on the frow, the emerging silhouettes took cues from all different types of travellers, with pilots, UN diplomats and general holidaymakers all appearing as avatars on the catwalk. The pixelated ‘Damoflage’ check was back, but in the form of a world map splashed across a worker’s jacket, and football tops were given their own LV spin, because what’s more unifying than the beautiful game?

The show also featured a collaboration with creative collective Air Afrique, who contributed logos inspired by the now defunct Pan-African airline which they get their name from, while the leather goods offering was a particular highlight. As well as ball-shaped, binocular case and translucent red variations, models also clutched renewed versions of the classic LV trunk, but rendered in supple leather for a handheld twist.

The Bastille Design Center was the location for Bianca Saunders’ latest offering, a 19th century industrial building turned arts hub in Paris’ 11th arrondissement. The historical setting spoke to Saunders’ inspiration for the collection, namely the work of American photojournalist Bradley Smith and his images of a Jamaican resort from the 1940s, compiled in Escape to the West Indies: A Guidebook to the Islands of the Caribbean. But rather than capture the globetrotters on holiday, Smith’s work focused on the working class butlers, bellhops and fisherman of the resort, the people who inspired Saunders’ latest collection The Hotel.

Though the designer’s “exploration of character creation and rediscovery” was only a succinct 21 looks, Saunders deftly redesigned those vintage references for a 2024 wardrobe. There were the fisherman, swaddled in his own net, wearing brown wading boots and a longline yellow jacket; the butler’s classic tailoring was reconfigured as slouchy suits and psychedelic cigarette skinnies; and the bellhop’s hat appeared throughout as a floppy knitted creation.

As always, Saunders was concerned with masculinity and its various interpretations, and this time models arrived on the catwalk in satin, pussy bow shirts, similarly silky culottes, and 3-inch micro shorts that barely grazed the thigh. Elsewhere, the prints were particularly covetable, coming as kitsch slogans like “A happy home recipe” inspired by fridge magnets and prayer scrolls you might find in West Indian households.

Last season, Louis-Gabriel Nouchi surprised us by introducing womenswear to his catwalk for the very first time, but now he’s only gone and killed off those same women to extract their scent (okay, not really). Continuing his “library” of collections based on books that shaped his worldview, the French designer chose Patrick Süskind’s Perfume: The Story of a Murderer for SS25. Popularised by the 2006 Ben Whishaw movie of the same name, the story sees a deranged man called Jean-Baptiste Grenouille go on a murdering spree in 18th century Paris, killing women then dunking them in big vats to preserve their scent. Despite its obviously unhinged plot, the book is all about love, sex and desire, so perfect for an LGN catwalk.

Setting up shop in the grand building that houses the Paris Mint, LGN kicked things off with a series of monochromatic looks, with sharp suiting, silky shirts and even Moses Sumney making an appearance. This gave way to some deep burgundy looks, which were then replaced by pure white suits and cream three-quarter lengths. Jean-Baptiste also made an appearance on the runway in spirit, in the leather smocks and aprons that suggested potion making, while his victims were there too, in see-through t-shirts and tops slashed open at the heart. And in true Perfume fashion, the collection ended in a brutal finish, with three black and crimson ‘bloodstained’ looks appearing on the runway.

A ‘fictional tribe’ was the starting point for Jun Takahashi’s SS25 menswear collection for Undercover. Entitled New Cloud, this imagined cohort are not fighters, but lovers, painters, artists. “In response to the current uncertain state of the world, the pieces strongly express a desire for peace and tranquillity,” read the press notes. Envisioning what these artists might wear, the collection featured earthen and pastel linens, floral chiffon, and relaxed oversized tailoring. Elsewhere, a collaboration with Italian painter Robert Bosisio – known for his soft, out of focus works – saw prints of ghostly faces and landscapes barely visible on t-shirts and outerwear. 

This off-kilter feeling translated into the show’s soundtrack too – performed by Australian band Glass Beams. Drawing inspiration from the psychedelic sounds, Takahashi blended the traditional menswear looks with womenswear elements: pleated skirts, ladylike jewellery, and delicate lace veils that covered the models’ faces. 

For SS25, Grace Wales Bonner was dreaming of sexy summer nights, dressing up (and down) for an evening of partying and debauchery. The smell of the sea in the air, the collection had a distinct nautical vibe with this season’s boys heading straight to the function without even changing out of their skimpy speedos – simply throwing on a leather jacket or striped knitted polo. 

Celebrating the oeuvre of Trinidadian artist Althea McNish – member of the Caribbean Artist Movement, previously producing work for Dior and Liberty – the designer’s Midnight Palms collection featured three tropical prints, Osiris, Akarana and Trinidad, that poked out from under blazers or boldly covered two-pieces.

The collection also featured the latest iteration in the designer’s ongoing adidas Originals collaboration in the form of a revamped Superstar silhouette in suede and a brand new Country Low style.

Life’s a breeze this season at Homme Plissé Issey Miyake. For SS25, artistic director Satoshi Kondo imagined floating as free as the wind, transforming the courtyard of Paris’s Mobilier National into a field of dandelions that delicately swayed as models meandered through them. Up, Up, and Away as the collection’s title suggested is where the models dreamed of going, with their light and airy looks – crafted in the house’s signature pleats – bounced and floated down the runway. 

As free as the wind they float on, parachutes inspired billowing cocoon-shaped backs to garments that could be concealed if not needed. Elsewhere, kites were the reference point for structural garments with various buttons and fastenings that can be undone to change its silhouette. As always, the collection was made with the brand’s ongoing commitment to sustainability in mind – using recycled fibres and eco-friendly dyes to create its bright tones. 

Seemingly sending a message that we can fare any weather, for the finale, the models floated through the show space as their looks ballooned in air – a procession of coloured petals caught in a breeze, going wherever the wind blows.