Post by Emily McGovern

March 6th couldn’t have been a better day for fashion in Paris. Waking up to Chanel in the morning and ending the evening with Alexander McQueen – can it really get any better than that?

Despite the rain and the cold, lucky guests made their way in style to some of the most fabulous shows that this year’s designers had to display. A crowd had formed outside of the Grand Palais around the time that the Chanel show took
place, people swarming to snap photos of Katy Perry and other guests as they entered and exited the building. Comparatively, the Jean-Charles de Castlebajac show was a breath of fresh air. Taking place in L’Oratoire du Louvre, there was a smaller gathering on the street and a short line in which the guests waited to be seated.

Attendees were generally young, and wore colorful, easy clothes accented by somewhat eccentric pieces. This crowd had a plainly different aura, blending chic simplicity and youthful fancy to create a calm look with a splash of boldness. Most admirable was the integration of Catslebajac’s design and aesthetic into the guest’s ensembles. One guest arrived in a striking black dress with the open-mouthed bird shoulder that had been prominent in Castlebajac’s Fall / Winter collection. Another sported some cheeky Mickey Mouse heels that corresponded with his Spring / Summer collection, which utilized the icon in several pieces. Overall, it was a relaxed and cool atmosphere, but as is always the case with designers such as these, the excitement preceding the show couldn’t be denied.
Later on came one of the front-runners of Fashion Week (and the one I was most desperate to see); the Alexander McQueen show. Located at Salle Wagram, a multitude of spectators were forced to part down the middle to make way for some of the most famous and talented people in the fashion world today. Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief of the American Vogue, walked briskly through the crowd, ushered by security guards who obstructed the view of her magenta python skin coat trimmed with orange fur, paired with black boots. Her right hand at Vogue, Grace Coddington, was also spotted upon entrance, in black as usual, her dark red hair falling naturally about her. She was the first I’ve noticed carrying a notebook and a pen, presumably to take notes while the show is fresh in her mind. Another intimidatingly fabulous woman, Nina Garcia, passed by, casually talking on the phone as those on the sidelines captured photos of her in an all black outfit, including a stylized fur coat. Clearly, with such outstanding guests, this show had some high expectations. Luckily, Sarah Burton has never failed to deliver a less than incredible collection so far as the new artistic director of the late Alexander McQueen’s brand.

Through a fantastic unforeseen miracle, I was able to witness the presentation of Burton’s collection. Standing out in the cold in the hopes of seeing more celebrities, a man approached my friend who had tagged along with me and asked if she had a ticket. She told him she didn’t, and all he said was, “Wait ten minutes,” and left. We anxiously waited for him to return, wondering if this really meant what we thought it did. Finally, he came back, and we followed him down a suspicious-looking path ending at an elevator, which brought us to a space behind the wall facing the runway. The show had already begun, and I was simply in awe that I had made it. I always dreamed of attending a show at fashion week (though I imagined being seated with the other “real” guests), and there I was at Alexander McQueen, watching the newest trends emerge. In this one day of Fashion Week, guests and gawking fashion lovers alike came together for the sole purpose of absorbing and appreciating the beauty that these designers produce. All kinds of people from around the world made March 6th a day to remember – and this is just one of seven!

Emily McGovern is a student from Massachusetts, USA studying in Paris for a semester.