Paris Fashion Week is back and perhaps bigger than ever for its fall ’22 season. While there are still a handful of digital events, most brands have moved back to in-person runway shows and presentations — a swift turn to a larger social presence, beginning at Paris Couture Week back in January.
Below, a look at everything you need to know about Paris Fashion Week’s fall ’22 women’s season, from buzzy runway moments, the best shoes at presentations around the city, and the top trends from showrooms, parties and more.
Vaquera Moves From New York to Paris Fashion Week
New York based designers Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee brought their experimental line to Paris on Monday with a high-impact collection that included latex-and-denim looks, puffer leg warmers with matching cropped coats and underwear, and gigantic white platforms that models wore while still doing the signature Vaquera walk that show attendees have come to delight in. The show comes with the investment of the brand with Dover Street Market Paris, which has helped the emerging but influential label to have gain more commercial appeal.
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Dries Van Noten Debuts Beauty Line Alongside Fall 2022 Collection
Just days before his fall ’22 collection presentation at Paris Fashion Week, Belgian designer Dries Van Noten unveiled a beauty line of fragrances and makeup with packaging that nods to his title as the master of mixed prints. In the fashion, Van Noten brought a new spate of print combinations together for fall ’22, including animal-on-animal prints that showcased another crop of statement boots sure to gather a following later this year.
Acne Pairs Upcycled Denim With Oversized House Slippers and Knitted Boots
In a delicate but powerful fall ’22 collection, Acne Studios leaned into handmade and homemade techniques, using distressed jersey, textured cotton knits and hand-painted leather combined with upcycled denim from the brand’s own studios to create a line that shows what recycling might look like if more brands adopted more of its practices with more materials. Standout footwear included thigh-high moto boots in black and cream with heavy square toes, distressed knitted thigh-high boots matched with knitwear garments and a series of house shoes
Alexandre Vauthier On Working With Giuseppe Zanotti
When it comes to footwear, Alexandre Vauthier knows exactly what he wants. “I’m precise. It’s like a punctuation of the look. It’s very important. I really enjoy working with shoes,” he said at his Paris Fashion Week presentation. The designer has been working with Italian shoe veteran Giuseppe Zanotti on the footwear collection since 2020, and the process is seamless, according to Vauthier. “I fly to Italy, I go to Giuseppe’s factory and I find everything I want,” he said. Across the spring ’22 couture collection and fall ’22 offering, the collaborators offered up an array of leopard looks, thigh-high sequin boots, metallic ankle-strap sandals and pointy-toe embellished booties.
Platforms Rule at Alexandre Birman as Demand in America, Brazil Heats Up
Platforms are fueling Alexandre Birman’s growth in the U.S. and internationally — and the designer is betting on party heels to continue for fall ’22. Birman’s favorite? A sky-high iridescent Clarita platform. For fashion month, the brand also released a capsule collection of jeweled-tone heels in various silhouettes. All told, the brand’s parent company Arezzo makes 100,000 shoes each day, including 20,000 in its Brazilian factory. The designer and CEO said owning a factory has given the company an edge in a challenging sourcing climate.
Thigh-High Boots Are the Shoes of the Season at Isabel Marant
Gigi and Bella Hadid were back in action together at Isabel Marant, where thigh-high boots ruled the runway. The boots in a variety of hues were paired with simple knit dresses, all denim ensembles (a nod to Y2K fashion) and oversized coats.
Pierre Hardy Gets Back to the Essentials for Fall ’22
Elegant evening shoes. Sporty sneakers. Tried-and-true boots. Pierre Hardy knows what women really need for fall — and it’s not all about glitz.
The iconic Blade boot, in stretch nappa leather with a square-toe heel from Hardy’s very first season in 1999, returns for fall.
“It’s clean, pure, graphic, very straight,” the designer said.
The Napa series features a curved heel used on wide-strap mules, pumps and boots. The Janis platform boot with a chunky heel fits well with the current trend cycle, and its androgynous look is sure to appeal to both men and women.
The collection is fashioned either in winter tones — like black, khaki and burgundy — or more poppy colors like metallic pink and green.
