Fashion

Across the discipline, designers are breathing fresh perspectives into Haute Couture. Kevin Germanier repurposes Berluti outfits worn by the French Olympic team. Stéphane Rolland encourages model Farnoush Hamidian to talk out about her native Iran. Julien Fournié extols the virtues of diversity. Yuima Nakazato battles AI with dresses made of ceramics. Charlie le Mindu makes masterpieces from hair. Finally, Imane Ayissi expresses his African identity through an unveiling of the creative process. 

For some designers, fashion is less about clothes themselves, and more about what those clothes can convey. They see fashion as primarily a political endeavour, a means of challenging a status quo that too often seeks to erase the individual for the alleged benefit of the social order. They champion diversity, gender fluidity and disruption. Jeanne Friot, Walter van Beirendonck, Ahmed Hassan, Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, Yohji Yamamoto and Willy Chavarria are among the group's most outspoken voices. FRANCE 24 checks out their latest collections.

This special report zooms in on the smaller fashion houses that sparkled during Paris Fashion Week. Vincent Pressiat, like Victor Weinsanto, looked to the past, when the king's favourites ruled the roost. Alain Paul recalled his first auditions as a young dancer. Ukrainian Lilia Litkovska is still designing, despite the war. Last but not least, Afro-Caribbean designers were celebrated at the Paris edition of Togo's International Fashion Festival.

Raising awareness about the fragility of our oceans, our land and our Indigenous heritage is the challenge facing a new generation of couturiers. For autumn-winter 2025/26, Iris van Herpen has created a living dress, Imane Ayissi wants the Earth to regenerate naturally, Grace Lillian Lee is celebrating her Australian ancestors and Stéphane Rolland has opened up a dialogue with music. As for Clara Daguin, her motto is: if you want to save others, first save yourself.

Whether it involves making space for the trans community, raising awareness about conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine, expressing their distrust of conventional conservative attitudes or funding scientific research that has nothing to do with the fashion industry, Jeanne Friot, Rick Owens, Issey Miyake, Walter van Beirendonck and Agnès b. are all deeply committed to their causes. FRANCE 24 takes a closer look.