Ooh La La - Paris Runway Rundown

Is it just us or has the SS ’18 season gone even faster than usual?

Maybe it has something to do with the New York and Milan schedules losing a day each, or maybe the colorful, upbeat collections have simply kept us in such high spirits but time seems to have flown. So the final destination has been and gone in spectacular form with surprises and can’t miss moments on and off the runway!

In terms of Instagram success, it was Anthony Vaccarello’s most recent outing at Saint Laurent - set against a glittering Eiffel Tower below the Trocadéro - this had the most buzz on the social media channel. It sent social media wild and watching the runway shows and stunning visuals sent goose bumps on all its viewers.

Kaia Gerber | Saint Laurent

Second place this season went to Maria Grazia Chiuri's Dior showing. As the fashion dust settled, Twitter gathered its verdict too, crowing Tommy Hilfiger and Gigi Hadid as the tweet-victors of the season.

Awe-filled and dramatic, we watched fashion in Paris take over and it was certainly alive and kicking - and a special week for locations it was. Spectacular in the cases of Saint Laurent at the beginning, where Anthony Vaccarello paid tribute to Pierre Bergé under the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower to the Louis Vuitton show at the finale, when Nicolas Ghesquière presented a time-lapsing collection by the 800-year-old medieval moat surrounding the Louvre. Watching le tout Paris—and plenty more tourists, to boot watching the Saint Laurent show from their spots on the Trocadéro.

When it comes to avant-garde runway fashion, Thom Browne always delivers - and this SS 2018 collection was no exception. After moving his show from New York to Paris Fashion Week, the designer made his debut in the French capital with a splash - with a giant white lace unicorn.

Thom Browne's Unicorn

And while you were spending your Sunday afternoon relaxing, Dame Helen Mirren and Queen Jane Fonda were busy reinventing a little something called the runway walk at Paris Fashion Week. Both women were part of L'Oreal's first runway show, which took place along the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The inclusive runway featured a mass lineup of A-listers, supermodels and brand ambassadors including Doutzen Kroes, Iskra Lawrence, Irina Shayk, Cheryl Cole and more. But it was the two icons in their seventies who stole the show.

Helen & Jane | L'Oreal

Janaye Furman became the first black woman to open for Louis Vuitton in the fashion house's 163-year history, marking a historic moment on the Parisian runway. Furman took to Instagram to write about the experience, "This is such an incredible and unbelievable moment! Not only for my first opening show to be Louis Vuitton but to make history as the first African American girl to open LV?!"

Janaye Furman | Louis Vuitton

Not only was it the model's first time opening Vuitton, but it was her first time opening any runway show.

"I'm so glad more women of colour are rocking the runways. It's so important that we stand up for ourselves and make a difference in this world. I'm so happy I was able to tell this beautiful story. I mean look at that coat," she added.

Still... the progress toward diversity in fashion is moving way too slow. Here's hoping more women of colour get the runway opportunities they deserve.

At Rochas, hairstylist Anthony Turner twisted and tied fabric into loose, knotted buns, while hairstylist Sam McKnight encased low ponytails in transparent headwear at Chanel and Tomohiro Ohashi wrapped them in silk scarves at Lanvin.

Chanel

And that’s before we even discuss the crystal lined partings at Dries van Noten. Whichever way you choose, it’s safe to say hair accessories aren’t going anywhere next season, so you might as well embrace the trend now.

For most people that’s a very obvious statement - skin will look like skin of course. But so often on the catwalk it’s treated to lashings of highlighter to give it a surreal illumination, or layers of gloss to provide a sweaty, high-shine finish. Perhaps in retaliation to the hyper-real complexions seen across social media, for SS '18 make-up artists have declared that it’s about healthy, natural-looking skin - the kind we all want to wake up with.

And now we await Autumn / Winter!