PARIS (AP) — The spring fashion season ended with silhouettes you could spot from a block away.
As Paris Fashion Week wrapped up this week after myriad debuts and shake-ups, three trends took hold. Shoulders were broadened and jackets snapped to attention. Skin showed on the wearer’s terms. And dressy, formal fashion came back — lighter, simpler, and meant for real life, not just red carpets.
Call it Paris ’ no-nonsense reply to a jittery year: clothes
that square your shoulders, put you in charge of your body and add walk-in impact to any weekday at work.
Because the French capital remains the ultimate fashion gateway and the city that closes the season, trends seen here will rapidly cascade to high streets in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo and beyond.
Celebrity isn’t new to fashion — but its pull is growing, and this season it felt central once again.
Meghan Markle at Balenciaga, Madonna gracing Saint Laurent, Kim Kardashian sweeping into Maison Margiela, Nicole Kidman front-row at Chanel.
The star arrivals turned shows into broadcast moments before the first look. Designers responded accordingly.
This week’s shows underlined the impact of the digital age. Celebrity-driven fashion shows now reach a global audience online, so designs must look great both in person and on camera. The most successful looks are those that impress live and also stand out in quick, eye-catching clips.
The first and loudest shift was power up top. Jackets broadened the shoulder and cleaned up the line.
Saint Laurent set the mood in razor-shouldered black. Mugler revived the hourglass with no apology. Givenchy eased the padding but kept the authority. Celine offered the daily uniform in crisp blazers and trousers.
Even Chanel — a house that can tilt ornate — lightened the suit and cropped the jacket so it moved. The message is simple: after seasons of slouch, tailoring is back.
Sheer looks were finished, not flimsy. Givenchy’s transparency read as strength. Dior’s lace felt airy, not uptight. Saint Laurent’s clingy layers made openness the point. Low waists returned with a steadier hand: McQueen brought back the low-rise line without the old shock factor.
Even the “proper” houses joined in — Chanel nodded to underwear roots, and Hermès traced equestrian lines into the city. The fight over where the waist sits is back, but the choice belongs to the wearer.
Dressy, formal fashion came back — lighter, simpler, and built for real life, not just red carpets. Paris remembered how to do drama without dead weight.
Balenciaga floated a clean, sculpted volume that photographed big but wore light. Valentino dialed back ornament and let color and cut carry the room. Westwood kept the riotous spirit but cut it to move. Louis Vuitton scaled grandeur to everyday life. The cape stepped off the costume rack and into daylight at Dior — easy to wear, easy to fit, instant drama.
Feathers followed suit across houses — glamorous, yes, but designed to walk. Dress-up isn’t dead. It just punched a time card.
In Milan, Bottega Veneta’s Louise Trotter turned the house’s craft into motion, showcasing sleek intrecciato outerwear and shimmering knits that backed the season’s bigger-shoulder, lighter-feel mood. And at Versace, new creative lead Dario Vitale brought the brand down from Olympus to everyday — sexy, a little undone, and cut to live in, not just pose.
Craft met tech quietly, resulting in fabrics that looked richer but felt lighter. Bags got more practical. These pieces don’t want a glass case, they want scuffs and repeat wears. From New York, Michael Kors pushed the same idea of ease for a warming world — travel-minded, desert-light layers that breathe and move instead of cling.
Color spoke plainly, too. Black led — it framed the big shoulder and sharpened the new suiting — with bright exceptions used like highlighters rather than paint buckets. You’ll see the dark stuff first on the street, then the jewel tones. And the American minimalism test applied: strip the extras and let the shape do the work — a Calvin Klein lesson that echoed across runways.
If one caption fits the week, Rick Owens supplied it when he sent models wading through water and made a case for tenacity in uncomfortable times. Paris took him at his word.
The best looks didn’t chase viral moments; they did a job. A strong jacket that squares your posture. A sheer dress that doesn’t blink. A cape that turns a commute into an entrance. Three trends, plain as day — big shoulders, real skin, and dress-up with a day job — and a fashion capital reminding everyone that bold and useful can be the same thing.
