Spring/Summer 2024 Debuts from Acne Studios, Saint Laurent, Cecilie Bahnsen, and More
This week in Paris, maisons are introducing their new designs for the Spring/Summer 2024 season. Join us in discovering the latest collections from Acne Studios, Saint Laurent, Cecilie Bahnsen, Courreges, and Marni.
Courtesy of Acne Studios.
Paris Fashion Week Brings After-Hours Liberation from Acne Studios
Under the glittering light of a deconstructed disco ball, Acne Studios’s Paris Fashion Week debuts introduced a Spring/Summer 2024 collection by Jonny Johansson, imbuing magical anticipation and the liberating feeling that settles in the air after hours. Featuring seating by the artist Lukas Gschwandtner and a soundtrack of electronic music by Giant Swan, the show at L’Observatoire de Paris introduced garments that juxtaposed the everyday and a feeling of the industrial with an artful avant-garde elevation. Washed-out denim, distressed finishes, and commonplace silhouettes—hoodies, polos, suiting, tank tops, and jeans—were reinvigorated with design elements that lent to a discerning kind of cool, including feathered tufts, folded-under waistbands, studded details, and remixed shapes. The color palette was neutral and minimal, sparing the occasional pop of red and prints that pulled from Katerina Jebb’s scan-ography series, Physical Evidence of a Woman.The collection featured looks like a suite of fitted shirts with low-slung mini-skirts, long dresses with cut-outs or understated structural details, and matching pants-and-top ensembles that applied tailoring concepts to daytime shapes.
Courtesy of Courrèges.
Courrèges’s Latest Highlights Technical Mastery
Entitled “The Miseducation of Courrèges,” Nicolas Di Felice’s designs for the Spring/Summer 2024 season were the second installation in a coming-of-age tale that takes charge of a history dominated by men. Powerful yet youthful interpretations of campus classics translated into looks expanding on several motifs and shapes, including the collared shirt, the biker jacket, a belled shape (on sleeves, skirts, and pants hems), and a series of geometric cuts and cut-outs. A certain technical mastery was featured in revised silhouettes like shirt dresses with asymmetric elements, jackets-turned-dresses with multi-layered zippers, jersey sweatshirts with plunging necklines, simple mock-neck shapes, and fitted pants with buckles down the sides or open sections at the thighs. The crisp, clean nature of the garments further underscored the finely executed craftsmanship, with solid-hued materials like cotton canvas, leather, jersey, and cotton piqué allowing the silhouette to remain the main event.
Courtesy of Cecilie Bahnsen.
Cecilie Bahnsen’s Romantic Designs Are Meant to be Seen Up Close
Noting the faraway, untouchable nature of fine garments that glided down the runway with perfection, designer Cecilie Bahnsen’s Paris Fashion Week debuts aimed to showcase her creations with a new level of intimacy that honored their intricacy and the work behind them. Introduced to a small audience who were seated close enough to see each detail, Bahnsen’s latest iterations of everyday couture were accompanied by the sounds of singer Suki crooning compositions by August Rosenbaum, further enhancing the house’s usual feelings of modern romance. For the Spring/Summer 2024 season, the signature puff sleeves, ruffles, and dresses came in black and white, gingham prints (a first for the house), and shades of blush and poppy red. The overarching ethereal airiness achieved through dresses both long and short—like a piece in white ruching with a long, sheer underlay, or a more fitted silhouette in crinkled pink with bands of ruffles—were balanced with a touch of maturity, exemplified elements like matching pants sets, cropped denim jackets, and upcycled black ASICS.
Courtesy of Marni.
Marni Shows at Paris Fashion Week for the First Time
Marni’s bold interpretation of a classic wardrobe unfolded during Paris Fashion Week atop herringbone floors, surrounded by gold gilding and crystal chandeliers synonymous with Parisian excellence. New for the Spring/Summer 2024 season by Creative Director Francesco Risso, we saw plaids and stripes, billowing hemlines, vibrant colors, blossoming florals, and archetypes reimagined, ranging from bold and loud to sensual and sophisticated—sometimes all at once, sometimes not at all. Each look to be revealed was a treat for the eye, something new to discover, ranging from mini trapeze dresses and suiting separates to large, sculptural gowns and caricature-like, capacious takes on wardrobe staples like button-up shirts and denim. Standout looks included a yellow and green plaid suit featuring a skirt with a ballooning hem, paired with blue knee-high boots, a collared shirt, and an orange striped sweater; a suite of gowns and dresses covered in flower “stickers” that appeared to be pasted one on top of another; and a more understated ensemble featuring a long leather pencil skirt, a sweater and blouse combination, an overcoat, and a white leather handbag.
Courtesy of Saint Laurent.
Saint Laurent’s Paris Fashion Week Debuts Applied Comfort to Couture Codes
Set against a kaleidoscopic mineral background with views of the twinkling Eiffel Tower in the distance, Saint Laurent’s Spring/Summer 2024 collection by Anthony Vaccarello looked to female pioneers in fields once considered exclusive to men, like Amelia Earhart and Adrienne Bolland. While rooted in a concept of couture codes applied to daytime silhouettes, the garments moved away from the skintight, bombshell shapes of recent collections, instead opting for a looser, more utilitarian fit. Warm, earthen colors and pieces like work suits and safari jackets were the starting point for looks that were comfortable and moveable, yet still ultimately feminine. There were satiny slip dresses, jumpsuits with wide legs in lightweight summer fabrications, belted shapes with large buttoned pockets, trousers with button-ups, and the occasional all-sheer top and cargo pants. Styling choices like pointed-toe heels, smoky makeup with red lips, belted waistlines, pilot’s gloves, and silken balaclavas completed each look.
