The 5 best moments of Paris Fashion Week Women's FW24

After ten days, which seemed titanic in duration, the Paris Fashion Week Women’s FW24 has finally concluded. We witnessed an avalanche of shows, shows disguised as presentations, location changes disorienting any taxi driver, debuts, and returns – it could be difficult to make sense of the ocean of appointments, appearances, and special events. Nevertheless, amidst so many special occasions, there will be moments that are impossible to forget, moments we will remember in future fashion weeks and cite as worthy examples to remember. And we're not just talking about the classic moments that break the internet but also about what was unseen, what briefly appeared, or even what took place on the margins of official calendars.

So here are the 5 best moments of Paris Fashion Week Women’s FW24.

1. The Closed-Door Show of The Row

In reality, after several days, a video of this show leaked on social media – not enough to give us the impression of those who were present and were protagonists of the show that divided the fashion audience. And it divided not because of its outcomes (for some time, The Row is always a guarantee) but because it sparked a debate on the accessibility of fashion: is it right for a hyper-elite brand to decide not to show its runway to the public? Is it right to ask editors and content creators not to use images of the show if their job is to communicate it? But above all, for whom is a runway show really for? For fans or for actual customers? All very interesting questions that only a fundamentally mysterious entity like The Row would be able to ignite.

2. The "Surprise" Show by Saint Laurent

Another appointment that has to do with the idea of a revelation for a few, an exclusive off-program that tells itself in its unattainability. To close the schedule, Saint Laurent presents its new menswear collection, always according to the now tested format of Vaccarello and all centered on the grandeur of the moment and on the ad libitum repetition of a few silhouettes from which it wants to extract the purest and most fundamental essence. In this case, the theme was the 1980s, the double-breasted suits worn by Yves himself with large shoulders. There was some experimentation with shapes and fabrics, creating men's garments with very imposing shoulders where a soft fabric fell straight, revealing the models' body shapes.

3. Arca at the Bourse de Commerce

In a fashion week where events were little open to the public (despite a crowd of visitors whose size even inspired some fear), Arca's show The Light Comes in the Name of the Voice organized in the rotunda of the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, with the appearance of a grace-filled Bjork entirely clad in Rick Owens, was the "you had to be there" moment of the week. And it wasn't just about the location, spectacular as it was, but also about the people, the music, the vibe. All, of course, is due to Arca and his incredible performance: an artist we hope will return again and again to animate the fashion week (maybe even in Milan).

4. Balenciaga and eBay

"The invitation to the autumn-winter 2024 2025 fashion show is an object casually found on eBay, the platform Demna uses to search for vintage collectibles. These lead to imagine the stories of the people to whom they belonged, giving the objects themselves a new life" was the inscription on the shipping bubble of the invitations to Balenciaga's latest show – all different from each other, all various antiques picked from the depths of eBay. To the nss magazine editorial office came a silver candelabra, to Kim Kardashian an album of Sade, to Vanessa Friedman a plum-colored vase, and to Anna Wintour a porcelain dog. Obviously, the choice of eBay was not random: the brand has already created one of its ironic capsules entirely dedicated to the marketplace where, even today, fakes are sold and bought mixed with authentic archive fashion.

5. The Kate Moss Lookalike by Marine Serre

The idea comes from Vetements' FW20 show, which had proposed it a few years ago and the model is the same: Denise Ohnona who a few days ago went viral appearing unexpectedly in Marine Serre's show. It couldn't even be called a model (and Ohnona said so to Vogue) but a professional lookalike since a fashion model proper is a separate role. Nevertheless, the fact that the lookalike appeared so unexpectedly, causing a false alarm for the vast network of editors and content creators who from every corner of the world look to Paris, will be something we'll remember for a long time.