After almost two years of empty catwalks, summer 2022's ready-to-wear collections were finally able to be shown in public, and designers rose to the occasion. Yohji Yamamoto's collection was all about the perils of climate change. But the standout feature of this season is an approach to fashion that privileges the female gaze, with Marine Serre, Dior and Isabel Marant all presenting clothes designed to be worn by women and enjoyed by women – rather than having men looking at them!

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Ready-to-wear, summer 2022: The era of the female gaze

Florian, Antoine, Noémie and Juliette aren't students, they're interns. That's because at Casa 93, a non-fee-paying school for alternative fashion, there are no students, teachers or grades. It’s an approach that’s already bearing fruit on the outskirts of Paris. The school encourages collaborative working, overseen by industry professionals. The latest cohort of 20 young designers already have something to be proud of: a collaborative collection, accompanied by a film they’ve entitled "Inouï’" ("Unheard of"). We went to check it out.

In praise of difference: Budding French fashion designers unveil collection and film

Fashion is about creating desire and stimulating curiosity, and nowhere is that as apparent as with Cruise collections. Back in the 1920s, Cruise collections were marketed to wealthy clients who escaped the European winter and headed to more tropical climes. Today, a number of labels offer these mid-season collections to satisfy consumers' demand for novelty. We check out those of Chanel, Dior and Moschino. 

2022 Cruise collections, a fashion journey through time and space

Next winter's haute couture offerings are as concerned with protecting our oceans as they are about showcasing the best of ancestral savoir-faire. Lebanese designer Zuhair Murad rubs shoulders with Kerby Jean-Raymond, the first Black American to be invited to present his collection in Paris. Plus, the likes of Christophe Josse and Chanel celebrate the artistic accomplishments of their artisans, while Iris van Herpen embarks on a thrilling collaboration with Domitille Kiger, the French freeflying world champion!

Haute couture, winter 2021: Hoping for a better world

Thread, the primary building block for any piece of clothing, is increasingly inspiring a number of fashion labels. At Dior, Maria-Grazia Chiuri experiments with a new tweed made from cashmere, while Indian designer Vaishali Shadangule creates her own fabrics from scratch as part of her homage to the power of nature. And Parisian designer Clara Daguin explores the intersection between science and mysticism through her beguiling use of fibre optic threads.

Haute couture, winter 2021: Not without my threads!

They dictate the latest trends, but the fashion stories published in glossy magazines can also be vehicles for questions about the world we live in. Laurent Dombrowicz is a fashion editor and stylist. For his latest work for the magazine Citizen K International, he's doing a shoot in Belgium inspired by Tim Burton's masterpiece "Edward Scissorhands" – a perfect context to explore questions of eccentricity, identity and acceptance. We went to meet him.

Behind the scenes at a fashion shoot with Laurent Dombrowicz, master of eccentricity

After seemingly endless months of cancelled and postponed events, life has almost returned to normal in the French capital. Theatres, cinemas and museums are throwing their doors wide open and catwalk shows are back. In Paris, Dior presented a dreamlike collection set against an arid decor, Parisian designer Louis-Gabriel Nouchi created a collection for Chinese label Joeone, while Maroussia Rebecq, queen of upcycling, issued a defiant call for a "fashion revolution". We bring you a glimpse of Paris Fashion Week.

Fashion shows make a comeback! Summer 2022 menswear in Paris

For years, fashion followed a simple formula: source, produce and sell – with any leftover stock simple thrown away or burned. But we gradually realised there was a different way of doing things. Fashion became notorious as a polluting industry. Could what's good for the planet also could also be good for business? The idea is now so ingrained it's even got its own university course at the prestigious French Institute of Fashion, with graduates awarded a Sustainable Development Certificate. We take a closer look.

Saving the planet and revolutionising fashion: New cohort of students leads the way

In just a couple of decades, collaborations have opened up a world of possibilities for the world of fashion, with consumers now attuned to the letter X that indicates the marriage of two brands. High-profile collaborations include Prada x Raf Simons and Gucci x Balenciaga, but younger labels are also getting in on the action, as we've seen with La Draft Paris x Apnée. Commercial success is often a given, but the best fusions happen when the brands involved have a shared vision. We take a closer look.

Fashion collaborations: Revolution or commercial tool?

He was exuberant, creative and undeniably eccentric. But he was also fundamentally curious – and loved nothing more than asking questions. Designer and stylist Alber Elbaz worked at Guy Laroche and Saint Laurent before going on to be creative director at Lanvin for 14 years. In January 2021, he launched his latest project, AZ Factory – the fruit of his desire to democratise fashion. He passed away just a few months later, aged 59, after contracting Covid-19. We take a look back at his legacy.

Remembering Alber Elbaz, the immortal fashion designer

With her signature red lips and sharp black bob, Chantal Thomass is a true fashion icon, a woman who embodies the essence of her eponymous label. With several decades in the business under her belt, the designer has decided to put 650 pieces from her archives up for auction. Chantal Thomass is best known for her ground-breaking lingerie, but her ready-to-wear collections from the 1980s are also iconic. 

Chantal Thomass – a career up for auction!

Barbara Blanchard is a business owner on a mission. Her belief in the importance not only of diversity but also inclusion infuses everything she does. In the 1990s she helped put on a groundbreaking fashion show with Lamine Kouyaté, founder of the label Xuly Bët, casting 100 Black models at a time when diversity simply wasn't on the industry's radar. Today, she offers diversity training to companies, while also working as a talent agent and running a fashion label devoted to women's football. We went to meet this exceptional woman.

Barbara Blanchard, a champion of diversity and inclusion in the fashion world

The pandemic has transformed way we consume and experience fashion. The latest Paris Fashion Week was entirely digital. For the first time in the event's history, proceedings kicked off with the work of students from the Paris-based French Institute of Fashion (IFM), who see their creations through the prism of cultural and political significance. Meanwhile in Johannesburg, South African designer Thebe Magugu is dedicated to reviving the "blaxploitation" cultural movement of the 1970s.

South African designer Thebe Magugu revives 1970s 'blaxploitation' movement

They were supposed to come from Johannesburg, Brazzaville, Lagos and Abidjan but their travel plans were thwarted by the Covid-19 pandemic The eighth edition of the Lomé International Fashion Festival had to recruit models from closer to home instead, with a handful managing to travel to the Togolese capital from Ghana and Gabon. So what exactly does it mean to be a model in Africa in 2021? We hear first-hand from some of those in the industry.

Modelling in Africa: Pursuing dreams, challenging perceptions

Mirror, mirror on the wall… who's the fairest of them all? Dior’s sumptuous and subversive film for next autumn's ready-to-wear offerings suggests the answer isn't a simple one. With in-person fashion weeks still cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the film was shot inside Versailles's world-famous hall of mirrors. Maria Grazia Chiuri takes us deep into a world of fairy tales with the help of a challenging set from Italian artist Silvia Giambrone, set off by choreography from Sharon Eyal. 

Ready-to-wear, autumn-winter 2021/22: Dior's unsettling vision of beauty

All the best of the Parisian catwalks and a look behind the scenes at the big names in Haute Couture. Every Friday at 10.20 am Paris time.

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