Paris Fashion Week Keeps Calm and Carries On Amidst Anxiety About Covid-19

Will there be moon-print respiratory masks on every seat at the Marine Serre show tomorrow morning? Probably not, though attendees at Paris Fashion Week are likely to see more of Serre’s masks—and plenty of other respiratory masks—during the shows this season. Following an outbreak of Covid-19, as coronavirus has been renamed, just outside Milan, the fashion community is taking extra precautions to protect itself from the spread of the disease. As Milan Fashion Week came to a close in a frenzy of worry, many guests changed their flights out of Milan in fear of a potential travel ban—at least 10 nearby towns were already on quarantine—while others resorted to other modes of transportation to Paris, whether by train (a cool seven hours) or by car (a much longer 10). That level of concern was spurred in part by Giorgio Armani’s late-night Saturday decision to host his Sunday fall 2020 show for an empty auditorium on account of the virus.

But such extreme precautions have not reached Paris just yet. As 10 days of shows begin tonight with Mame Kurogouchi and Kenneth Ize, Paris’s Fédération de la Haute Couture de la Mode is operating business as usual. A representative for the FHCM told Vogue Runway, “We are always in contact with health authorities and ready to follow any order they may give,” but as of yet there is nothing to worry about in the City of Light. Representatives for the major PR houses in Paris have also reported that all shows are going along as planned.

Still, as attendees arrive in Paris from Milan, worry is spreading within the fashion community about the potential of asymptomatic spread of Covid-19. Condé Nast’s Milan office has been closed and its employees advised to work from home, while most of our editors traveling have mostly sworn off greetings of the Parisian (air kiss) and American (hand-shake) variations. (This will be a long week of distant nods and smiles, for sure.) For its part, the World Health Organization advises people to employ standard practices: frequent hand-washing, not touching one’s face, and not coming into close contact with people with respiratory infections or with wild animals.

Even with no reported cases of the virus in Paris as yet, the ramifications of Covid-19 will still be felt during the shows. Last evening the Chambre Syndicale announced that planned PFW shows from Shiatzy Chen, Masha Ma, Calvin Luo, and Jarel Chan would be canceled, with the organization helping to support those brands via social media. Uma Wang has transitioned its scheduled runway show into a presentation. The Chambre Syndicale will also be increasing social media live-streaming and posting on its channels, including Weibo and Douyin.

What the Saint Laurent Runway Just Taught Us About Beauty at Paris Fashion Week

Tonight at Saint Laurent, designer Anthony Vaccarello not only had his model girl gang walk on water—the pool-soaked runway inside the Trocadero was lined with white palm trees and glistened in the glow of the Eiffel Tower—but offered up an array of above-the-neck beauty statements as striking as his spring wares. Think: Model Marina Krtinic Cooper clad in a gleaming chainmail shawl with a heavily-fringed onyx mushroom cut; Anna Ewers in a 24-karat gold jacket and hot leather pants, her soft features punctuated with heavy winged eyeliner and a bright red mouth; and Sora Choi in a floaty, see-through black chiffon gown—her lids swathed in citrus yellow shadow.

Conveying a sense of individuality, while serving up distinct and directional hair and makeup, here, five beauty lessons straight from Saint Laurent’s spring show.

A there’s-no-turning-back-now hair transformation for a 15-minute-long Saint Laurent show? It was a no brainer for blonde-haired Anja Rubik and raven-maned Sarah Brannon, who boldly went two-toned, acid-bright red and white-hot platinum respectfully. But if a full-on dye job just isn’t in the cards, there’s always the ombré approach, as seen on newcomer Hanna Kamelina, whose dark blonde lengths were dipped in an iridescent ultraviolet hue for her exclusive debut on Vaccarello’s runway. In collaboration with hairstylist Duffy, colorist Lena Ott gave seven other girls the supernatural color treatment, riffing on everything from ‘90s-era Kate Moss pink to the kind of sun-bleached, Californian lengths you’d find in a non-fashion fashion photograph by Joseph Szabo.

A meager trim… a few layers… Not on hairstylist Duffy’s watch. No, if you’re in his pro-chair, or backstage at Saint Laurent for that matter, you’re committing to something a bit more radical. And this season, it was all about a curtain of full—as in eye-obscuring full—fringe and boyish, curvilineal bowl cuts that pair well with futuristic headbands in studded leather, twinkling tinsel, and heavy metals worn across the forehead to neo-hippie effect. “It was really about creating a strong, strong silhouette,” explained Duffy of the architectural styles, citing the mop tops of The Ramones among his sundry of retro references.

Beyond fresh complexions and groomed brows, uniformity was not a calling card for tonight’s catwalk. Makeup legend Tom Pecheux dreamed up a myriad of looks that ran the gamut from no makeup-makeup to punctuated pops of color. There were the ultra-saturated stamps of red lipstick that brightened up the porcelain complexions of girls like Cooper, while at eye-level, a tribe of women had vibrant, yellow pigment swept across the lids like urban war paint. And for a truly more-is-more moment, Ewers received graphic, heavy-handed flicks of kohl liner that catapulted her accompanied deep crimson pout.

There’s free, and then there’s nipples-on-the-Saint-Laurent runway free. Vaccarello did, after all, cause an Internet sensation when he sent Binx Walton out with that heart-shaped, rhinestone-encrusted pasty just two years ago. And from the sheer chiffon gowns to the diamanté netted tops, there were lots of nipples on display this evening. But the designer took areola adornment to a whole new level with up-and-comer Rossana Latallada donning a hip-hugging LBD that hit just below the chest to reveal sets adorned with swirls of breezy, delicate plume. Forget nail art, it’s nipple art that’s bringing the real show below the neck.

Sure, there was hosiery in the mix. But Vaccarello has proved season after season that lots—and lots—of sculpted bare limbs are to be expected. And the sumptuous, leopard print swimwear that appeared towards the end of the show only upped the ante. A non-negotiable prerequisite for exposed skin on the Saint Laurent runway? Exfoliation, and a veil of rich, high-shine moisturizer, as proven by the glossy physiques of Adut Akech and Manuela Sanchez. And not just for smooth, supple texture—but the kind of full-body strobe that can hold its own while out on the town in the City of Light.