The Show Notes: Karen Binns analyses the Paris Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 20 collections

This season’s shows in Paris had a turn in the women they were portraying. It felt like designers and design houses were more precise about the aesthetic that reflected the woman’s personality. There were collections that had a classic and powerful woman in mind— she works for a living, makes money, a possible mother of two, she has the responsibility of a CEO as well as her family. She reads novels, she has a very strong viewpoint on life, love and art. She has a slight bar-girl nature, but always in extremely good taste. There were no ‘trick or treat’ looks this season— no Pole dancing aesthetics involved, no ‘sex only’ to get what she wants. It was as if Bette Davis and Jane Fonda were running things. Sheer talent, brains and important political views with a little radicalism added in for flavour. My favourite shows this season defied even the dreaded coronavirus. They stood tall and strong with real depth of character.

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN 
Back to the facts— Lee was a true legend, because the work, the cut and fabrics in his collection, and the full presentation have always been the most important thing, not his Instagram popularity. 

SACAI 
The warrioress. When running the streets daily— from meetings to the responsibilities of a real home life— you can feel like a true soldier in both strength and beauty. Sacai gave this season some of the best coat looks on the catwalk.

YPROJECT 
Artist relations—This collection was very impressive and perhaps more so than usual. It gave me the feeling of a female art dealer who’s constantly going into the man’s world of the Arts. She shows her female intuition through her more radically thought out form of dress. It’s through her clothing choices that she exhibits her flair and openness to the New Contemporaries.

STELLA MCCARTNEY 
Sustainable animal free moves— Stella was the freedom fighter for political correctness in fashion this season. She gave animal rights as her statement, but with an extremely intelligent collection. Dresses and styles of a politically aware woman, sensually smart and well designed with a slight urban ‘cool bitch’ edge.

BALENCIAGA 
The sacrifice— This show and collection was absolute fire. I imagined Cate Blanchett playing Joan of Arc in a religious crusade in the year 2030 through digital battlefields pressing all the right buttons in order to win intellectually. Brilliant interpretation of the New ‘Church On Sunday ‘ looks. Beautiful full lengths from AM to PM. Black super-pleated to smart neoprene perfectly fitted looks. There was a touch of the Adams family added in like hot sauce from Lurch to Uncle Fester. The most attractive darkness yet for the woman that might have to make the hardest decisions in life with no apologies.

GIVENCHY
French Aristocrat with a job— This collection was “French chic women” all day, from head to toe. She’s from old money but embraces the modern. She now works for a living and definitely has strong values on what is right; there’s a softness to her strength. Fluid dresses that show power not intimacy. Broader 1940s shoulders without it looking too retro— from Bette Davis to Charlotte Rampling, there’s an undercurrent of a French femme fatale.

JUNYA WATANABE

Heart of Glass—This was the soundtrack of the collection, showing his muse Debbie Harry throughout. Well, more like his interpretation of her. A woman that carries her life with her daily with brilliantly formed luggage attachments to each look. With girls in blonde to black hair, you felt Debbie in the room as if she’d had to run away with Edward Scissorhands on tour. It was a great update to her aesthetic, as if she just became a star yesterday in using current radical trends with leather and tulle. And as usual for Junya, it was intellectually executed.

HAIDER ACKERMANN 
The High Priestess— Haider always delivers a certain type of woman with both feminine and masculine influences… because she’s a woman that has no time to play games. She’s fit, lean and ready for the jungle that she has to deal with daily. There’s an extra added dose of super sensuality and her power moves are invisible to the untrained eye. She’s always tailored to perfection.

SAINT LAURENT 
Latex Moves— Now this is how you do latex with pure 100 percent class all the way. Anthony Vaccarello took us back to the 80s tailoring of the YSL blazer and pumped it up with Latex instead of the wool pencil skirt. Genius because it engages a new and younger consumer without letting go of the grown women. The staple strong primary colours of the Saint Laurent aesthetic stood firm, mixing it all together to create a palette that’s fresh and exciting. Super tailoring with sexy latex leggings— this is a new power move that we can all embrace, chic as you like.

VIVIENNE WESTWOOD 
Andreas Kronthaler has completely embraced the strength of Vivienne’s draping. More and more throughout this collection, the usage of her staple draping is in full force. There was a more youthful injection than usual this season as trainers and big boots were styled with most of the collection, as if they wanted us to walk the streets longer in each look. The clothes weren’t just for special events but for everyday at work and at dinner. It felt fresh and more pedestrian with great colours and patterns.

LACOSTE
The Sportif— I loved this show and collection. It was as if it was dedicated to Coco Chanel with its 1920s sportswear for today. Every look represents the correct Prep with colour, style, great fabrics and the coolest tracksuits ever. This is how it’s done. Smart cuts and cool retro references from the early twenties college dorm dream. Every look was cute, attractive, fun, and perfect. I hope this is a new wave for youthful, intelligent, sexy, sportswear that is actually designed to play in. It’s ageless.

OFF-WHITE 
Virgil always manages to keep his consumer happy and excited. This season he included both his young and old consumers in his show— he gave the older woman youth with his tailoring and extra long trousers, and his younger consumer a bit more literary credibility and sensuality with his dresses. Covering the right current trends he pulled together a more inclusive collection which broadens his American customers. This is a very smart move as he already has them in the palm of his hand.