From Saint Laurent’s head-to-toe gold and Stella McCartney’s marine-inspired collection to Vivienne Westwood’s theatrical silhouettes and Miu Miu’s combination of office, sportswear and party dressing, Paris Fashion Week SS27 brought together glamour, nostalgia and unexpected combinations.
Across the week, designers revisited familiar fashion codes while giving them a new context, from Saint Laurent’s gold-covered take on its archive to Stella McCartney’s exploration of marine life and the fashion industry’s relationship with animals.
Retro references also continued to shape the season, with 1970s, 1990s and 2000s influences appearing alongside sheer layers, low-slung silhouettes and exaggerated proportions.
Here are some of the standout collections and moments from Paris Fashion Week SS27.
Saint Laurent goes for gold
Anthony Vaccarello covered some of Saint Laurent’s most recognisable designs in gold for SS27, with metallic biker jackets, safari jackets, trenches, pencil skirts and dresses dominating the runway.
The show took place beneath an enormous chandelier opposite the Eiffel Tower, with the set inspired by the ballroom of the Hotel InterContinental, where Yves Saint Laurent used to stage his couture shows.
The collection opened with a liquid-gold utility jacket and matching pencil skirt, followed by a succession of metallic looks ranging from pale champagne and burnished bronze to richer antique shades.
Gold was applied across lamé, organza, lace, brocade, jacquard and metallic cotton, while latex coated in gold leaf gave some looks an almost sculptural finish.
The collection also revisited the house’s archive. Safari jackets, trenches, blouses and wrap skirts associated with Yves Saint Laurent were reworked alongside strong-shouldered coats and sharply tailored suits.
The safari jacket was particularly prominent, retaining its utilitarian pockets, belted waist and military proportions but replacing its traditional khaki with gold.
There were also echoes of Le Smoking, the tuxedo introduced by Yves Saint Laurent in 1966, alongside ultra-cropped tops, cigarette trousers and pencil skirts.
As the collection progressed, gold gave way to black, with the final looks becoming increasingly dramatic. Layers of black tulle and organza eventually engulfed the body, creating a stark contrast with the metallic looks that had come before.
Charlotte Gainsbourg performed a song written for the show during the finale, before Vaccarello took his bow.
Stella McCartney explores marine life
Stella McCartney took her SS27 collection outdoors, with the show exploring marine life and the fashion industry’s relationship with animals.
The “under the sea” theme appeared through rippling fabrics, wave motifs and transparent accessories, while the designer avoided literal interpretations of the concept.
Her familiar tailoring remained at the centre, with heavily structured blazers, oversized shirts and peplums given a softer, more fluid quality.
Drawstrings appeared throughout, bringing technical details to otherwise formal pieces. A white trouser suit, for example, featured a drawstring pulled through the waist of an oversized blazer.
The collection also continued the season’s interest in underwear as outerwear. Bandeau tops were worn beneath oversized suits, while tiny shorts, bodysuits and low-rise jeans appeared alongside tailoring.
Peplums returned in softer proportions, inflated around the hips of dresses and tops or created through drawstring details.
Wave motifs appeared across dresses and separates, while sculptural fabric was used to suggest sea foam. The Appaloosa bag returned in an imitation snakeskin finish, while transparent versions of the Ryder bag echoed the appearance of water.
Eveningwear became softer, with draped gowns gathered and twisted around the body before falling into long columns.
The collection marked 25 years since McCartney presented her first eponymous ready-to-wear collection in Paris. Rather than looking back through a straightforward retrospective, she brought together many of her established signatures – tailoring, lingerie, sporty details, peplums and fluid eveningwear – through the season’s marine theme.
Vivienne Westwood turns up the volume
Andreas Kronthaler’s SS27 collection for Vivienne Westwood was as theatrical as expected, with exaggerated proportions, clashing prints and historical references running throughout.
The show opened to recordings of the late Dame Vivienne Westwood’s voice, setting the tone for a collection that drew heavily on the house’s archive while continuing to distort its familiar codes.
Leopard print, gingham, florals, distressed knits, lace and feathers appeared together, while silhouettes moved between oversized tailoring, corsetry, miniskirts and enormous balloon trousers.
Westwood’s history was visible throughout. British fabrics such as tartan and traditional tailoring have long been central to the house, while historical dress became increasingly important to the designer from the 1980s onwards.
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For SS27, those references appeared alongside sheer mesh, visible underwear, corsets and exaggerated accessories.
Ballet flats, which have remained a key footwear trend across recent seasons, were reworked with lacing around the ankle and worn with everything from cropped trousers to dresses.
The finale brought the collection’s historical influences together, with Yasmin Wijnaldum wearing a butter-yellow satin gown featuring a sculpted corseted bodice, exaggerated shoulders and an asymmetric full skirt and train.
Kronthaler appeared alongside her for the finale, continuing his role of carrying Westwood’s visual language forward while putting his own interpretation on it.
Miu Miu mixes the office, the gym and the party
Miu Miu continued its habit of putting unexpected pieces together for SS27, combining tailoring, sportswear, school-uniform references and eveningwear.
Olivia Colman joined Emma Corrin, Gigi Hadid and Jamie Bell on the runway, while the front row included Emma Mackey, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Nara Smith and Alexa Chung.
The collection brought together checked blazers, tartan skirts, technical sports tops and running trainers, creating combinations that moved between the office, the gym and the party.
The knee-length skirt was one of the season’s most noticeable silhouettes, appearing in pleated, leather and checked versions. Some were worn low on the hips with drawstrings visible at the waist, while others were paired with cropped sports tops and trainers.
The collection also tapped into the wider return of business-casual dressing. Skirt suits appeared alongside tiny tops, open pussy-bow blouses and silk scarves tied around bare stomachs.
There were strong references to the 1970s through geometric prints, narrow scarves, tinted sunglasses and patent leather, while track jackets, sports tops and running shoes brought in references to the 1990s and 2000s.
Low-rise jeans and micro shorts continued the latter decade’s influence, while bright lime, orange, cobalt blue and acidic green punctuated a palette of brown, burgundy, navy and grey.
Miu Miu’s approach to styling has become one of its defining characteristics, with Prada repeatedly bringing together pieces that would traditionally sit in different parts of a wardrobe. For SS27, that meant blazers with sports tops, glittering skirts with trainers and silk scarves worn as belts.
Together, the Paris collections continued the season’s move away from minimalism, with designers embracing stronger silhouettes, visible underwear, retro references and more theatrical approaches to dressing. SS27 suggests that next spring’s fashion will be less about choosing one aesthetic and more about putting unexpected pieces together.