We know that fashion and music go hand in hand, after all, there would be no catwalks without a beat to walk to, and no music icons without signature fashion style.

So, in honour of this everlasting marriage between worlds, we’ve paired our top fall 2015 shows from Paris Fashion Week with our favourite summer jams. Together, the match will have you swagger into autumn, in tune and on trend.

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Paris Fashion Week is Chanel. The show typically comes at the end of the cycle, and like an aria at the close of an opera—it’s grand. And this season, we can confirm that once again, yes, Fashion Week saved the best for last, which makes the show our number one to infinity. Cue the Mariah Carey.

This season’s show—always under the high glass ceiling of the Grand Palais—was staged in an elaborate pop-up restaurant, complete with classic Parisian waiters dressed in black waistcoats and white shirts, plus a bar serving champagne and coffee.

Standout looks included black and white quilted puffer jackets, classic cap-toed shoes, throw-on knits in rich colors, classic pencil skirts and variations on the label’s beloved cuts and dresses. Accessories were also a favourite here, including over-the-top kitsch bags, which called out to us in unmistakably Chanel fashion.

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From the clothing to the mise-en-scène, the show was a seamless reflection of Paris chic. Creative Director Karl Lagerfeld showcased dresses and coats worn by models visiting the “Brasserie Gabrielle.” Here, “patrons” flaunted glamour as they ordered coffee and feigned people watching, whilst perusing newspapers.

As has come to be expected of Chanel’s well-honed themes and interactive sets, guests too were served by waiters, prior to the show’s start. Lagerfeld set out to capture the daily life of the French bourgeoisie, and given that after enjoying their company, guests left feeling a tad more chic, (and a lot more excited for fall fashion) we would say he achieved just that.

 

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We have big love for this season’s Alexander McQueen show. The doll-like hair, romantic fabrics and boudoir makeup, conjure up scenes from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006), and like the film’s soundtrack, the McQueen show inspires dancing. Kicking up some dust, romantic styles, is what ruffled necklines and shorter hems demand, hence our song choice, “Dance Like We’re Making Love.”

Timed with the opening of the Alexander McQueen exhibition, “Savage Beauty,” at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Creative Director Sarah Burton brought to the Paris runway, precisely what the exhibit celebrates: passion.

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With her the label’s fall 2015 collection, Burton delivers an ensemble of pieces inspired by “the spirit of the rose,” a flower that begins with a tight bud, and gradually opens into a lush bloom, that eventually twists and contorts back onto itself in heavenly decay. The designers inspiration for the collection was planted by a seed borrowed from photographer David Sims, whose portfolio includes a photo series dedicated to the rise and fall of the rose.

Like Sims before her, the mood spun by Burton was tinged with nature and its cycle of life and death—structure and decay. As announced by the label, the collection is rooted in “the frayed nature of reality and the beauty of imperfection.”

Makeup touted to be the living embodiment of an Egon Schiele (protégé of Gustav Klimt,) painting, found their perfect match in looks tailored from paper-thin leather and deconstructed silk gowns structured in the likeness of a glorious rose.

 

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Since Hedi Slimane took over the creative reign at Saint Laurent, we’ve set a countdown for the label’s annual Paris Fashion Week show.

This season, the makeup on the runway, specifically the dramatic cat eye, had us humming the electro dance melody of Róisín Murphy’s “Evil Eyes.” The metallic sequins made us do it.

A collection comprised of looks that guarantee one look the part of a modern femme fatale in the dark corner of a club somewhere in Europe, only Slimane could take elements of fashion typically deemed “trashy,” and make them look instantly sophisticated.

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The show started with a very ceremonial rising of the catwalk. Under the floor, the audience had a view of flashing fluorescent lights and metal scaffolding below—the scene was set.

And then in walked a parade of minis, cigarette pants with suspenders, and futuristic punk eye shadow reminiscent of Blade Runner. Like the designer’s men’s show in January, his new womenswear collection could be described as an homage to the young musicians of Paris. There were lots of bad girls on the catwalk, and suddenly we can’t help but want a mod pant suit and some “evil eyes” ourselves.

Published June 5, 2015

 

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