Premier fashion houses in Paris newly debuted looks which evoked a sartorial balance of the multi-dimensional human experience. Here, Whitewall shares a closer look at the grounding and freeing collections by Giambattista Valli, Mugler, Valentino, and more.
Giambattista Valli Echoes Milan Kundera’s Novel “The Unbearable Lightness of Being”
Courtesy of Giambattista Valli.
Courtesy of Giambattista Valli.
Giambattista Valli’s Spring/Summer 2025 runway unfolded with an angelic gravity, sincerely invoking Milan Kundera’s 1984 novel “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” in its sartorial balance of the multi-dimensional human experience. A passionate palette humming with orange, pink, yellow, and lime was spotted in nobly draped gowns, skimming over the head, across the shoulders, and reaching down to the ankles. Complex, nature-inspired embroideries across protective yet charming vests, translucent dresses, and ultra-mini skirts were spellbinding in their construction and presentation. Playful movements in shades of divine white—from a succession of sleek bows down the torso to a flurry of suspended flowers around the legs—were harmonious and freeing for body and mind alike.
Mugler’s 50th Anniversary Runway Stems from the Feeling of a Flower
Courtesy of Mugler.
Courtesy of Mugler.
Mugler’s visionary Creative Director Casey Cadwallader rejoiced in the maison’s 50th anniversary with a blossoming Spring/Summer 2025 catwalk of archival energy and revitalized sensuality. Stemming from the form, texture, and feeling of a flower, Cadwallader artfully molded nature’s most extravagant creation into ultra-feminine pieces that were at once sharp, soft, and soaring. Conjuring gardens across Paris, haute couture mastery, and the Creative Director’s own country home, elements of corsetry and deftly layered fabrics held the body up to its full magnificence as an ever-thriving rose—thorns and all. Garments were fused with a digital edge for a contemporary aura, with crystals by Baccarat weaved into threads and in the form of colossal droplets that appeared to fall like invigorating rain.
Valentino Creative Director Alessandro Michele’s Inaugural, Dreamlike Catwalk
Courtesy of Valentino.
Courtesy of Valentino.
Beauty as a fragile and decadent force connecting all of Mother Nature’s bounty billowed through the Valentino Spring/Summer 2025 catwalk. Alessandro Michele’s inaugural show as the preeminent house’s Creative Director unfolded within a dreamlike stage of saintly veils and a mirrored floor embellished with shimmering cracks. Magic and mystery-colored garments at every turn with pleasing paisley prints, washes of organza ruffles, climbing floral embroideries, and lingering lace. A wealth of spectacular accessories including wide-brimmed hats with dashing plumes, beanies dripping with jewels, day-to-night chain handbags, and dual-toned pumps with sparkling detail had us hovering above it all in a revelatory Valentino state of being.
Ann Demeulemeester’s “Lost and Found” Warm Weather Fantasy
Photo by Valerio Mezzanotti, courtesy of Ann Demeulemeester.
Photo by Valerio Mezzanotti, courtesy of Ann Demeulemeester.
The soulful Stefano Gallici, Creative Director of Ann Demeulemeester, meditated on the “lost and found” for Spring/Summer 2025. Steeped in a warm weather fantasy of lustrous skin, cool blue denims, and delicate melodies of lace, the latest looks soothed us into the maison’s ever-evolving savoir-fare. Coats were curvaceous and malleable, fit with meticulous attention to tailoring, and meant to be collaged with garments in easy-as-pie style. The glory of the neckerchief, a deliberate point of preservation and provocation, flirted beneath the visage in ebony and ivory lace. Enhancing the divine self as one pleases, whether cloaked within leather or letting the skin sing in gossamer slips, commences the perfectly imperfect Ann Demeulemeester day.
Creative Director Guram Gvasalia Calls for Renewal on the Vetements Catwalk
Courtesy of Vetements.
Courtesy of Vetements.
An urgent need for repurpose, renewal, and reassembly reigned supreme on the Vetements Spring/Summer 2025 runway. Creative Director Guram Gvasalia’s profound collection took into consideration the unbalanced state of our world, activating a semi-abandoned mall with forward-thinking garments of a slick DIY aesthetic. Dresses made from a patchwork of love-worn fabrics, suiting with structured shoulders of yore, and unfinished edges in shirts and jackets were inclusive of past, present, and future. A head-turning gown of vintage newspaper headlines was simply clipped across the breast, knowingly agile and optimistic for tomorrow’s rising of the sun.
Isabel Marant’s Amazon-Inspired Spring/Summer 2025 Collection
Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com, courtesy of Isabel Marant.
Photo: Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com, courtesy of Isabel Marant.
A sunset-hued dive into the Amazon brought the Isabel Marant Spring/Summer 2025 collection to vivacious life. Fringe swung freely from jackets, skirts, and boots, meant to evoke the lofty feathers of the most exotic birds on earth. With a timeless, artisanal know-how, organic embroidery in ascending, earthy hues fired up thigh-grazing tunics and bohemian tops. A ritualistic dance between matte and shiny leather evoked the yin and yang of existence for all living things, as did the addition of polished and minimalist looks. A marvelous attention to drapery in long and short dresses crossed the body in expressive intervals, and accessories like sculptural metal chokers spoke of universal, feminine transcendence.
