The best of Paris Fashion Week: men’s ready-to-wear spring-summer 2025

If you want to step into an alternate reality for six days, Paris Fashion Week is the perfect place to do it.

When I board my Eurostar from St Pancras on a rainy Tuesday, I’m not sure what to expect from the Spring/Summer 25 men’s collection.

The usual cohort of bleary-eyed London commuters are this time interspersed with sunglasses-clad models and exhausted-looking PR professionals, desperately trying to stay on top of their emails.

Paris is a city in full evolution: although it is known for its art and romance, it has evolved over the decades into a savvy business center, but one of the areas to which it will always maintain its dedication is to be one of the biggest fashion scenes on the planet.

And Parisians take their commitment very seriously, as a stylist surrounded by at least 15 Russian models told me: “It’s a fashion week afterparty, course we have to go with sunglasses.

Twice a year, designer brands from all walks of life invade the city and historic buildings are temporarily co-opted; all for the love of fashion.

One of these buildings is the UNESCO building, which houses the unveiling of Louis Vuitton’s new collection under the creative direction of Pharrell Williams.

As one of the world’s most acclaimed luxury brands, the anticipation for the show is matched by its surroundings.

Murmurs about the stars’ appearance echo through the streets, as fans line up in the neighborhood, pressing against barriers and standing on tree trunks to catch a glimpse of the show’s VIPs.

The front row includes Anna Wintour, Sabrina Carpenter, Burna Boy, Stormzy, Loyle Carner, Tems and Michael Fassbender.

The show celebrates athletic prowess, with reworked football jersey designs and nods to the upcoming Olympic Games.

During the finale, Williams appears jubilant, mobbed by a crowd of Louis Vuitton crew members wearing denim jackets emblazoned with “The World is Yours.”

If Louis Vuitton is a sophisticated big brother, Prototypes is its rebellious little sister.

Just like Louis Vuitton, Prototypes draws its inspiration from sport and a devotion to football that borders on the religious.

The main difference here is that this younger sister clearly spends her weekends in the heart of Berlin’s clubbing scene. Prototypes is a brand that is part of the alternative fashion movement.

Since its launch in 2021, it has garnered star fans such as Playboi Carti and Noah Cyrus. As I wait for the show to start, I ask a reporter why the show is an hour late? » She turns around and says, “Didn’t you hear? Because Kanye is coming.”

The controversial rapper has defended the brand since its inception. His public appearances with his wife, Bianca Censori, have caused a stir in recent years and it has now been revealed that these looks are the work of designers at Prototypes.

It was no exception when the couple arrived at the Paris show: West’s face was completely hidden in a beekeeper-like outfit, while Censori wore a sheer see-through bodysuit filled with pink hair.

The audience members are dressed the same – alongside Kanye, one of the front rowers is looking fit as a sexy, scantily clad, dark-eyed demon.

The show begins and the moody, experimental collection blurs the lines between ready-to-wear and show-only.

Looks varied from dark and moody streetwear to dystopian face coverings and balaclavas that sported an air of protest – fitting for the last few months that France has experienced.

On the other hand, the shows of Issey Miyake and System are dreamy and calming.

System, a Korean brand known for its clean lines and modest layers, featured a construction site with high ceilings and fog machines.

Issey Miyake’s theme is “Up, Up, and Away!” » and the outdoor track is ethereal, colorful and sophisticated.

Refinement is what people expect, as I hear on the way to the show: “There will be no celebrities in Issey.” elegant brand.”

A real highlight of the week is A$AP Rocky’s off-schedule show. The rapper’s creative agency, AWGE, is hosting a show called “American Sabotage,” which pushes the boat out even further, filling a French mansion with political posters and rap music.

The drawings make pointed references to political discontent and social unrest. In a turn of events so ironic it seems choreographed, despite being asked to arrive at 7 p.m., guests line the streets waiting to enter for nearly an hour.

During Fashion Week, many chose their outfits based on fashion rather than function and, as a result, now find themselves hitting the streets in oversized jackets, headpieces and impractical high heels.

As it is also mid-June, the sweat is starting to show and people are getting restless.

Tensions rise as a series of impeccably dressed punters turn up, walk past the hectic queue and insist they are VIPs and must be admitted straight through. We hear them say: “Surely I don’t need to queue… RIGHT? ” as they confidently avoid the crowds.

In true Parisian form, they are told the same thing as everyone else and sent straight to the back of the line, which now goes around the block, in front of everyone they have passed.

The icing on the cake of this delightfully entertaining cake occurs when the “garbage collectors” arrive and the smell of garbage sitting in the heat all day wafts through the queue.

When guests are finally admitted, the show compensates tenfold, offering guests a multi-sensory experience, full of glamour, activism, an impeccable soundtrack and politically charged cakes.

The Berlin cultural magazine 032c invites its guests to experience Fashion Week through the eyes of its co-founder Maria Koch. Koch transports the audience to a 90s New York underground and glam-rock club, under flashing lights and heavy basslines.

Models with slicked back hair, sunglasses and heavy eye makeup donned leather, structured lines and sequins – crossing the lines between Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, David Bowie and Neo from The Matrix.

The star-studded line-up for the show includes: Stella Maxwell, Yasmin Wijnaldum, Alex Consani and Gabbriette Bechtel, who recently announced her engagement to 1975’s Matty Healy at a Charli XCX dinner.

The crown jewel of this season’s fashion week is undoubtedly Dries Van Noten’s final show. The designer’s first show took place in 1991 and after 33 years of gradually becoming everyone’s favorite, he announced that this men’s fashion week would be his last.

Much of the discussion over the past few days has been about how great the final show was, who was in attendance, and whether there would be dry eyes in the house at the end.

As expected, the Belgian designer does not disappoint. I arrive at the scene, on the outskirts of Paris, where the usually quiet industrial streets are now filled with blacked-out taxis and supercars.

We head towards the vast warehouse in front of us and I think of a funeral procession. The atmosphere is palpable, as another journalist told me: “This is Dries Van Noten’s last show. Are you ready to cry?”

As I enter the room, I am fascinated by its scale. In the center of the room, whose ceilings easily reach three stories, from floor to ceiling stands an enormous cube.

Giant images of different parades over the years are projected there. I am fascinated by his use of color, movement and joy on the models’ faces.

This is clearly a legacy show and the guest list for the cocktail dinner is living proof. Like I…