Paris Fashion Week 2020
The Fashion Week is a week dedicated to fashion shows taking place in a lot of cities in the world, the most important ones being Paris, New York, London and Milan. Nicknamed the Big Four, the importance of their shows comes from the fact that these cities are the four fashion capitals of the world, with Paris being predominant.
These fashion shows take place every six months in the same city, around september and february. Traditionally, couture houses organize their show in their own country (Dior in Paris, Versace in Milan, etc.). These shows are ready-to-wear shows, meaning that the clothes shown are massively produced, available in stores and therefore not custom made. These fashions shows is a way to show the materials, colours, forms and patterns that will be trendy during the season.
These shows take place way before the clothes shown are ready to be sold in the market. For example, the spring summer collection will not be available until the following spring, meaning almost one year after the initial fashion show!
Paris is special in a sense that it possesses its own “Couture Week” where only high-end fashion (in French, haute-couture) will be shown during a week. High-end fashion, created in Paris, is extremely regulated by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Only thirty fashion houses prepare a show during this week. The pieces are custom made and unavailable in stores, each piece being completely unique. It is a way for brands to show their know-how (each piece being totally handmade) and innovation.
This year, Paris Couture Week takes place from the 20th of January to the 23rd of January. The fashion houses which will be present are Chanel, Schiaparelli, Dior, Givenchy, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Valentino, etc. The shows will be presented in famous places of the French capital… and will certainly be full of stars, models and famous fashion journalists, such as the editor in chief of Vogue US, Anna Wintour…
So, fashion amateurs are all very welcomed this month in Paris to discover the trends that will define the year.