Fashion Week

Bra Tops, Slip Dresses, & 3 Other ’90s Trends At Paris Fashion Week

The season did not disappoint.

Paris Fashion Week 2021 shows did not disappoint with the reemergence of retro trends from cut-outs ...
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We’re in the final leg of Fashion Month — can you believe it? The style set traveled through New York, London, Milan, and now landed in the City of Lights to celebrate the biggest design houses in the world as well as a plethora of emerging brands.

Amid a world emerging from lockdown, this season of Spring 2022 is bittersweet. Paris Fashion Week is missing many a designer who was forced to shutter, while others still remain open but are choosing to forgo an in-person presentation in the name of safety.

But several others are coming out of the woodwork to safely throw the runway shows fans have missed so dearly.

As for the collections themselves? Well, they reflect the sentiment of a world recently been shot out of a cannon. Clothing is colorful, bold, sculptural, and above all whimsical. Even the tailored suiting has a bit more personality than in seasons past.

But above all, nearly every single design that has walked down the runway so far is wearable. Taking a cue from ’90s trends like slip dresses, crop tops, and overalls, designers are newly focused on clothing that looks and feels great.

In short, brands are choosing ease of wear, while also pushing boundaries as much as ever before when it comes to style. Ahead, find everything you need to see from the final stretch that is Paris Fashion Week.

Hermès Spring 2022

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Hermès presented a wardrobe for the jet-setter, even holding the Spring 2022 at Le Bourget airport. The looks were comfortable enough for a day of travel, but still wearable.

“I think it’s not about going to anything too casual,” creative director Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski told Vogue. “I think it’s about making an effort, but also the ability to move within your clothes.”

There were leather dresses with flowing skirts, bustier tops paired with looser bottoms, and mini skirts made for a true power walk. In tones of white, black, and rust, the collection brought merged the brand’s heritage with today’s affinity for casual dressing.

Valentino Spring 2022

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The scene of Valentino’s show was a marketplace, where invited guests were seated at café tables. The casual setting gave way to a collection that was easeful, youthful, and gender inclusive.

Models of all genders walked together, in long green silk coats, sheer lace paneled tops, gender-inclusive suiting, and 2000s-inspired cutout mini dresses.

Stella McCartney Spring 2022

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Stella McCartney has always been a vegan designer, crafting jackets, dresses, and handbags from faux leather, fur, and feathers.

This season, she’s looking towards shrooms to craft her material, a technique that the designer has been working with a lab on since 2017.

As for the looks that didn’t consist of faux exotics? They went along with the theme as well, with many either in psychedelic mushroom-inspired prints or mushroom-themed toile.

Lanvin Spring 2022

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The once classic and traditional fashion house is now incorporating more body-hugging silhouettes, bright pop prints, and disco-inspired pairings made for the dance floor.

This season, designer Bruno Sialelli went even further, crafting a collection of leather mini skirt suiting, printed crop tops, metallic mini dresses, and printed catsuits styled with heels.

Isabel Marant Spring 2022

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Isabel Marant has a long history of designing for the Parisian boho surfer, a style that is both sporty and sultry, slouchy and tailored.

For Spring 2022, she took the concept further, showing ’90s dip-dye overalls and Victorian-inspired lace tops; eyelets mixed with low-slung surfer shorts; metallic cropped pants paired with ruffled blouses; and the list goes on.

Chloé Spring 2022

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Chloé’s Spring 2022 show was quintessentially Paris. Not only was it held along the Seine, conjuring up images of the chic dresser out for a stroll, it was decidedly effortless with everything from carwash skirts to open trenches.

It also marked a major change for the fashion house. Gabriella Hearst recently sought to overhaul the production line, shifting to a more sustainable process and using more locally-sourced materials.

Givenchy Spring 2022

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Spring 2022 was only Matthew Williams’s third ready-to-wear collection for the house and his first live show with an audience for the brand.

And he made a memorable statement. Not only was the setting itself like an arena, but the show featured a whopping 75 looks.

The collection told small stories, though it felt somewhat disjointed as a whole. While some looks were rooted in all black power dressing, others embraced the colorful prints of the ’90s. There was even an all-white finale that went well beyond the traditional closing bride.

While Spring 2022 didn’t give much of an indication of what’s to come for the new Creative Director, Williams certainly threw out some strong options for his new army.

Balenciaga Spring 2022

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It turns out that Kim Kardashian’s Met Gala look was more than just a one off. With few exceptions — like a pink gown and turquoise mini — Demna Gvasalia presented an all-black collection for Spring 2022 á la the second eldest Kardashian sister.

Though the silhouettes themselves were fussy at times, like a tiered lace ballgown or bustled backless dress, there were other looks that are sure to become the post-lockdown uniform.

Think midi skirts and oversized knits, wide-leg pants and slouchy bombers, long black turtleneck dresses, and yes full body catsuits.

Creatively, Balenciaga’s show was one to watch, as the fashion house collaborated with The Simpsons on a show that dominated the conversation on social media.

Marge got a sharp-shouldered gown delivered to her doorstep; Bart, Lisa, and Maggie took to the runway; and an animated Anna Wintour sat front row.

Giambattista Valli Spring 2022

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Giambattista Valli always knows how to lift the mood, and there’s just something about the Spring season that speaks volumes towards the essence of the design house.

Always brimming with florals, layers of tulle, and cascading silks, Valli crafted the perfect garden of dresses that seem both innocent and edgy.

This season, though the layered confections and off-the-shoulder silk gowns were on full display, Valli included a range of more casual, wearable looks.

There were mini dresses pulled straight from the 1960s, midi skirts paired with cropped tops, and printed coats to style with mod dresses or jeans.

Balmain Spring 2022

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“This is my most personal presentation to date,” Creative Director Olivier Rousteing wrote in his show notes: an apt statement considering his 10-year anniversary at the helm of the fashion house.

To celebrate that milestone, the Spring 2022 collection included a re-addition of many of Rousteing’s favorite looks from the past decade.

An iconic model cast including Naomi Campbell showed a parade of heavy knits, embellished minis, slinky knits, and leather cutouts.

Saint Laurent Spring 2022

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Anthony Vaccarello’s first in-person show since lockdown began, the Saint Laurent presentation in Paris was one to remember.

The show was inspired by Paloma Picasso, specifically her “independence of spirit; her freedom, her instincts, her energy which let her breathe freely,” the house stated in a press release.

Her effortless way of mixing seemingly disparate references came thorough in Vaccarello’s designs, from his skinny leg suiting to his angular gowns.

The collection was also predictably body-conscious, made of sheer mesh, spandex, high-waisted silhouettes, and the like.

And though the show was mostly inspired by Paloma Picasso, you have to admit there was a large dose of Halton in his heyday thrown into the mix.

Coperni Spring 2022

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“The industry is a nightmare now. But we want to escape and have fun,” said Arnaud Vailliant, co-creative director of Coperni alongside Sébastien Meyer.

The duo embraced escapism and camp with ’90s slip dresses, paisley printed shirting, shimmering minis, and bright green tops.

Walking across a sandy runway, the model set included Steve Jobs’ daughter Eve and Gigi Hadid in a top that felt like the chicer version of Tik-Tok’s viral halter scarf look.

Cecile Bahnsen Spring 2022

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Cecile Bahnsen chose to debut her Spring 2022 collection with a film, titled “My Heart is Pounding.”

“I didn’t want to do anything too complicated this season,” Bahnsen explained in a press release. “It was about the beauty of the everyday.”

As such, models were filmed up close in portrait, shot against wide-open spaces meant to focus on breath and vastness. The clothing was voluminous with cutout materials, giving life and body to her already ethereal silhouettes.

Christian Dior Spring 2022

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Christian Dior’s Spring 2022 show was the first major in-person event to kick off Paris Fashion Week. And Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri pulled out all the stops.

On a vibrant set, she debuted a collection of mini shift dresses, skirt suits, and double-breasted coats with color block stripes.

There were bright oranges, electric greens, butter yellows, and even an army of boxing-inspired silks.

Like many designers post-lockdown, Chiuri found a way to ensure that future wardrobes are both easeful and whimsical.

Courrèges Spring 2022

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Courrèges is always mod but this season, the design house added an edgier vibe including crisscross dresses with cutouts, metallic crossover ’90s bralette tops, and totally sheer halters.

Presented outside on a gorgeous fall day, the collection was edgy and unapologetic while remaining true to the brand’s history of monochromatic colors, slim flare pants, brightly colored leather, and more.