It’s an endless summer at Chloé, as brands double down on core values

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Paris might be on a high after the Olympics, but the luxury industry is still experiencing a slowdown. And now French prime minister Michel Barnier has stated that in an effort to reduce the country’s widening budget deficit he may introduce tax rises for businesses and the rich, saying “I cannot exclude the wealthiest from the national effort to rectify the situation.”

How this will play out remains to be seen, but luxury brands may need to make a stronger case as to why customers should buy expensive inessential things.

During the first half of Paris Fashion Week it felt like heritage labels were leaning into their history particularly heavily, as well as to their house codes.

After the Chloé show, designer Chemena Kamali discussed the balance between being inspired by the label’s past and ensuring her designs “speak to the new generation.” It’s a juggling act for any designer at a heritage house. Rely too much on the past and you risk becoming a relic. But there is an emotional connection to be made through nostalgia and a sense of authenticity.

When Kamali made her show debut at the Richemont-owned label last February her breezy, cool-girl take on the ’70s was hailed as a sign that boho was back. For her second show, she revisited the decade, saying that “there is a real natural femininity to the 1970s, a lot you can take from this era and make it your own. I ask myself in fittings ‘do I believe this girl? Does it feel right? Does it feel real?’ There is so much fantasy at Chloé but the reality is very important.”

In many shows summer and winter clothes have been indistinguishable, but this collection radiated sunshine with oversized sunglasses, swimsuits — one frilled, one with a flamingo design — jelly shoes and laced flats with shells and fish charms. Kamali said “this is about how summer makes you feel, this moment in the year where we all start disconnecting.”

And so there were knickerbocker trousers, ruffled blouses, little camisole tops and tiered dresses in guipure lace or silk charmeuse, which had a lingerie feel to them. The colours, as Kamali put it, were “sun washed” with apricot, blush, faded mint and lemon, while billowing silk dresses with rolled hems came in a Chloé floral print from the late 1970s. Perhaps this show tipped slightly too much into fantasy — I’m not sure how wearable sheer lace knickerbockers are — but the soft-focus, carefree Chloé world is an appealing one.

Freedom and lightness were also a focus at the Dries Van Noten show, the first since the departure of the label’s namesake founder. Created by the design team in Antwerp, the melange of colours and textures such as a purple striped shirt teamed with fuchsia Bermuda shorts with fil coupé fringe, and matt sequins printed to resemble snakeskin on coats and dresses was in the spirit of Van Noten himself. However it didn’t quite have his special alchemy that made unexpected clashes sing.

Rabanne also combined a free-spirited mood with a strong house identity. Designer Julien Dossena has managed to move away from the space-age aesthetic created by founder Paco Rabanne in the 1960s creating something a bit more hippy luxe and eclectic while keeping the brand’s signature chain mail and metal discs. Watched by singers Cardi B and Camila Cabello, this show featured gold chainmail boots and a mini dress made of metal spheres, but overall it was a mix of oversized tailoring, athleisure and partywear, sometimes all in one outfit. A pale grey blazer over a striped shirt and silver dress felt like a fresh way to do metallics.

There was also a move upmarket via new artisan bags, one of which was made of 18-carat gold discs in collaboration with French jeweller Arthus Bertrand that will cost €250,000.

Statement bags in the shape of fragrance bottles appeared on the catwalk at Balmain, where Olivier Rousteing was marking the recent launch of the brand’s new fragrance line and an upcoming move into beauty. It was certainly literal: shoes had lipstick heels while minidresses with peplums and pointed shoulders featured images of red lips and nails created with hundreds of thousands of beads. Rousteing said he wanted to look back at his “Balmain icons” from his early days at the brand, namely tailoring and sharp tuxedo jackets featuring exaggerated shoulders.

It wasn’t subtle, but Balmain’s customers aren’t looking to whisper their tastes, and the same goes for Schiaparelli, where the collection included matching Zebra print trousers and a jacket with an almost Tudor silhouette and gold buttons.

Rousteing said, “the longevity of me being here is because I kept believing in my own DNA . . . I think the recipe of fashion is not to be trendy, it’s to be you.”

One label with a strong sense of self is Loewe, and the new collection felt on brand without being boring thanks to a mix of luxurious leather pieces, tailoring, sculptural shapes and a splash of quirkiness. In leather there were cape-shaped jackets, ultra roomy trousers and belted macs with the hem curved upwards. Tailored suit trousers were connected to jersey tops with a gold bobble detail and a wide legged navy pinstripe suit looked sharp and easy to wear. On the more experimental front, floral silk dresses stretched over crinoline hoops and trousers covered in (by-product) feathers gave the model the look of a stylish rare-breed chicken. A yellow T-shirt with a print of Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” explored the way in which famous art has almost become low brow through overexposure. Call it fridge-magnet chic.

The Row, too, knows what it stands for. Synonymous with quiet luxury, it’s always impeccably on brand, even down to another ban on phones at shows in favour of pencils and notebooks. Presumably to produce more quiet content.

Wide cotton workwear trousers in shades of white and stone were teamed with simple sleeveless tops with just a twist or drape of the material by way of detailing. Many pieces were roomy — such as a white poplin shirt with raglan sleeves and a poncho parka with a V-shaped back. The Row has a cult following for its flat shoes and this season showcased soft leather ballet slippers, pumps and slides. As ever it was chic, but I was hoping to see more of the eccentric art-collector style hats and humorous touches such as hotel slippers that have featured recently.

This week the US brand opened its first Paris store, shortly after it was revealed that investment funds controlled by the families of Chanel’s Wertheimer brothers and L’Oréal’s Françoise Bettencourt Meyers have bought a minority stake. Unlike some brands which aim to make more of a splash when they have something new on the horizon, The Row’s collection doubled down on what it’s known for, namely very expensive simplicity.

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