Chiffon face masks and chainmail balaclavas: an eerie end to a peculiar Paris fashion week
It is the standout look from Paris fashion week so far. A willowy brunette stands under the red awning of one of the city’s famous pavement cafes, a coffee and a basket of buttery croissants at her side. Her clothes are in chic shades of grey, her sunglasses are Wintour-sized, her hand-on-hip hauteur is pure Richard Avedon. But Balenciaga’s vision of Parisian chic this season has a couple of crucial updates. She is wearing tracksuit bottoms under her elegantly oversized coat, and her sweater features a built-in mask so that it rises to the bridge of her nose, under her shades, and is embellished at each cheekbone with a cascade of diamante, like chandelier earrings.
The absence of anything to dress up for – and the mandatory wearing of face masks where a pout painted in Chanel Rouge Allure should have been – had most of the global fashion industry on the back foot for months. But that was before Paris fashion week, where dressing up does not stop for no pandemic. In a city where a return to lockdown is looming, designers realise that if the industry is to survive, they may not have the luxury of sitting another season out.
Fashion needs to opt in to reality if it is to stay relevant. Even with few proper catwalk shows, Balenciaga, Rick Owens, Marine Serre and Paco Rabanne all engaged with the idea of how clothes may bring a bit of joy, beauty or just newness into our current groundhog day existence.
