Paris Fashion Week FW24: Key Trends including Western Wear, Menswear Fabrics and Cable-Knits

Paris Fashion Week for FW24 ran from Monday, February 26 through Tuesday, March 5, 2023 with a whopping 91 designers participating. All eyes were on the Chloé show where Chemena Kamali was making her debut. For Kamali, third time's a charm, having been at the House as a junior designer in the noughties and again during the tenure of Clare Waight Keller. Her FW24 collection was seen as a highlight of PFW, brimming with looks that harked back to the ‘seventies, when Karl Lagerfeld was the designer. It was full of maxi coats, boot-leg cut pants, lace dresses and ponchos. Kamali also showed fringed jackets and pants reminiscent of western wear, another strong trend from the ‘seventies.

Once Upon a Time In America

From Taylor Swift and Lil Nas to Post Malone and now, Beyoncé, the cross-over between country and popular music continues to grow, and along with it, donning elements of western wear. Last summer, the coastal cowgirl look transcended its TicToc roots to become the number one look at music festivals. Then, at the FW24 Louis Vuitton menswear show, designer Pharrell Williams featured looks that incorporated both cowboy culture and that of Native Americans.

Chloé: designer, Chemena Kamali

Look 19: a belted jacket with cargo pockets and fringe in peach leather over a tan-colored chiffon mini-dress and nude suede fringed open-toed sandals.

Valentino: designer, Pierpaolo Piccioli

Look 28: a black sequined jacket with long fringe over a black mini skirt, black hose and pumps.

Elie Saab

Look 11: a mid-length belted coat with fringe embellishment in peach wool and knee boots.

Isabel Marant

Look 23: a red suede fringed vest with a stenciled pattern over a long print dress and black fringed boots.

Stella Mccartney

Look 27: a black faux leather zip-up jacket with multiple fringes, black bustier, pants and a black faux leather bag with fringe.

Pep Rally

As seen in New York at Tommy Hilfiger and at Prada in Milan, designers in Paris showed a style that was a mash-up of athletic and collegiate styles. It’s a classic look that harks back to aspects of the youthful American lifestyle pictured by Ralph Lauren and Abercrombie & Fitch.

Meryll Rogge

Look 1: a tracksuit included a navy and grey jacket with neon yellow zippers and blue drawstrings; pants with a white side stripe, red and grey athletic socks and black strappy sandals.

Miu Miu: designer, Miuccia Prada

Look 47: a navy wool serge cardigan with grey tipping over a grey v-neck sweater, a white shirt, pale blue dirndl skirt and brown boots with buckle and lace-up closures.

Casablanca: designer, Charaf Tajer

Look 12: a tight-fitting athletic hoodie in red with white stripes and cutouts at the waist with a semi-sheer white skirt. Accessories included a silver handbag, semi-sheer white knee-highs and pale blue pumps.

Off-White: designer, Ibrahim Kamara

Look 23: a black leather Letterman jacket with white sleeves and ribbed collar, cuffs and hem and butterflies.

CFCL: designer, Yusuke Takahashi

Look 24: a rib knit bomber style jacket with broad and narrow burgundy, beige and nude stripes with a matching dirndl skirt. Accessories included red lurex gloves and black suede boots.

Lacoste: designer, Pelagia Kolotouros

Look 23: an oversized burgundy sweatshirt with a ‘tennis’ patch over a pleated skirt with the Lacoste logo and a lace slip. Accessories included a conversation print neck scarf, athletic socks and sneakers.

Dyed In The Wool

A feeling of generalized anxiety is running through western societies, culminating in a desire for the Scandinavian hygge lifestyle and a need for clothes that offer warmth and protection, at least from the elements. At PFW FW24, among the cocoon shapes and wrapped styles, were a series of sweaters in classic cable-knits. classic cable-knits

Chanel: designer, Virginie Viard

Look 18: a cream-colored cable-knit crewneck sweater over brushed wool culottes with shell buttons. Accessories included a brown belt with a square buckle, classic Chanel bag and black platform boots.

Coperni: designer, Arnaud Vaillant

Look 20: a cream cable knit crewneck sweater with a deconstructed hem over a white shirt/bodysuit, a black tote bag, hose and slingbacks.

Nehera: designer, Ladislav Zdút

Look 1: a cream-colored cropped cable-knit wool sweater was shown over another cable-knit sweater and a white shirt with a long black skirt. Accessories included a cable knit oversized scarf, a black tie and pumps.

Stella Mccartney

Look 8: a cream-colored cable-knit sweater with a funnel necked collar and shaggy wool sleeves was shown with a brown faux leather split-front skirt in a croc pattern and brown pumps.

Undercover: designer, Jun Takahashi

Look 35: a cream-colored cable-knit sweater with black patch pockets under a pleated sheer black layer, a black fringed skirt with a high-low hemline over jeans, and a black fringed cloak.

Borrowed From The Boys

As part of the ongoing quiet luxury trend, at PFW FW24, designers used traditional menswear fabrics to add power to feminine styles. Mostly, the materials used were tweeds in a variety of patterns including Donegal, herringbone and nailhead. In addition to the collections that featured pant suits, and other masculine renderings, were those that chose to use the fabrics to add power to feminine silhouettes.

Sun Dawei

Look 10: a strapless bustier with a zip-up front in salt and pepper grey pinhead tweed with a matching midi pencil skirt, black hose and black patent pumps.

Patou: designer, Guillaume Henry

Look 30: a tan cotton shirt under a brown check blouson jacket with beige ribbed cuffs and a broad hem and a matching gored skirt and pumps with crisscross straps.

Rabanne: designer, Julien Dossena

Look 22: a salt and pepper herringbone longline jacket and a matching skirt with a slit. It was shown over a flecked military-style jacket, diamante mesh layer and ditsy print slip. Brown scrunchy boots finished the look.

Givenchy: designer, Matthew M. Williams

Look 6: a two-piece suit in salt and pepper herringbone tweed, with a fitted DB jacket and matching pencil skirt. Accessories included frameless sunglasses, a mini satchel, black pumps and silver bracelets.

Uma Wang

Look 26: an oversized cocoon-style blazer in a large-sized red and cream herringbone pattern, a brown tie-front skirt, black ribbed sock/boots and a geometric head-piece.