Top 6 Trends of Paris Fashion Week for Fall 2018

As the last leg of fashion month, Paris Fashion Week is a time when trends gel into a cohesive idea at what to expect for the coming season. Here are the six biggest trends of Paris Fashion Week that are sure to be big this fall.

Paris, Texas

The Western trend has been building for a few seasons, but we can officially ordain fall 2018 as peak pony. Isabel Marant’s entire show was a coed romp of fringing and metal toe-caps galore. (The chief cowgirl? Gigi Hadid of course.) Natacha Ramsay-Levi’s Chloé boots came with western shaped heels in embossed metal and Pierre Hardy did the ultimate city cowboy boot in matte red leather.

isabel marant fall 2018 — One of Isabel Marant’s many cowgirl looks for fall ’18.

CREDIT: REX

pierre hardy fall 2018 — A matte red leather boot from Pierre Hardy’s fall ’18 collection.

Fluff Stuff

Paris designers also showed a softer side: Sonia Rykiel’s Julie de Libran opened the label’s 50th anniversary show with four pairs of plush, furry snow boots with matching coats and hats while Giambattista Valli showed faux fur runners and thong sandals with furry footbeds inspired by ’70s shagpile carpet. On the presentation circuit, it was the real deal with kitten heel ankle boots at Olgana Paris done in full-on mink and fur sandals with matching furry footbeds at Alexandre Birman.

sonia rykiel fall 2018 — Fur on fur at Sonia Rykiel’s fall ’18 show.

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alexandre birman fall 2018 — Multihued, fur-lined sandals from Alexandre Birman fall ’18.

The OTK Comeback

Last season saw more under-the-knee than over, but fall 2018 might be the comeback moment for the often divisive over-the-knee. They came chaps-style at Isabel Marant, in neon PVC at Balmain and in a blue croc with an exaggerated shape on Kaia Gerber at Off White.

kaia gerber off-white fall 2018 — Kaia Gerber in blue over-the-knee boots at Off-White’s fall ’18 show.

balmain fall 2018 — Neon PVC over-the-knee boots at Balmain fall ’18.

Eighties vibes

Everyone loves a retro trend, and this is the season for ’80s decadence. Anthony Vaccarello showed plenty of it at Saint Laurent‘s show, with sequined minidresses and giant platform booties. Meanwhile, Aquazzura’s Edgardo Osorio was inspired by the empowered and hedonistic women in Alicia Drake’s fashion tome “The Beautiful Fall,” set in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

saint laurent fall 2018 — An embellished eighties-esque frock and glam platform boots at Saint Laurent fall ’18.

CREDIT: REX

saint laurent fall 2018 platform — A black platform ankle boot from Saint Laurent’s fall ’18 collection.

Aquazzura fall 2018 — Disco-ready suede and ruffled boots from Aquazzura’s fall ’18 collection.

CREDIT: Xavier Granet

Jewelry Shoes

One of spring’s biggest trends has carried over into fall, for no other reason than to provide some serious shoe candy (that and the fact that bejeweled shoes make great red carpet contenders). Miuccia Prada’s Miu Miu girl is queen of the jewelry shoe, and this season was no different. Meanwhile, Bruno Frisoni’s swan song for Roger Vivier included plenty of diamond-like baguette crystal embellishments and colored-stone cluster details, many of which felt very close to the real deal.

miu miu fall 2018 — A plaid overcoat and bejeweled pumps from Miu Miu’s fall ’18 collection.

roger vivier fall 2018 — Roger Vivier’s bejeweled velvet mules from the fall ’18 collection.

Space Age Sleek

Fall 2018 was also very ’80s-retro in the way that many designers were interested in projecting an idea of what clothing should look like in the future (remember the wacky clothing of 2015 in the 1989 film Back to the Future II?). Both Nicolas Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton and Demna Gvasalia at Balenciaga worked with the idea; the former in a space-age vision and the latter by employing 3-D tailoring techniques. Buzzy new designer Marine Serre also presented similar ideas; all three relied on primary colors and sleek footwear.