Paris Fashion Week

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Paris Fashion Week (French: Semaine de la mode de Paris) is

Paris Fashion Week
a series of designer presentations held semiannually in Paris,
France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held
each year. Dates are determined by the French Fashion
Federation. Paris Fashion Week is held at venues throughout
the city.[2]

In addition to ready-to-wear shows, there are men's and haute

couture shows, which are held semiannually for the
spring/summer and autumn/winter seasons.[3] Also, every year,
famous brands like Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Kenzo,
Givenchy, and Céline host their shows in historical places such
as the Carrousel du Louvre and the Grand Palais.[4][5]

Paris Fashion Week Criteria

In order to participate in, the houses must fulfill the criteria that
is set in place by the Chamber of Haute Couture. One criteria
involves a requirement of 35 looks per year that need to include
day and evening wear. Only a few houses are able to fulfill this
requirement; therefore, leaving a little over a few to participate
in Haute Couture fashion shows.[6] Magdalena Frackowiak in Elie Saab at
Paris Fashion Week F/W 2011

The Big 4 Genre Clothing and fashion

exhibitions
Paris Fashion Week is part of the global "Big 4" fashion Date(s) February 27 – March 7,
weeks, the others being London Fashion Week, Milan Fashion 2023[1]
Week and New York Fashion Week.[7][8] The schedule begins Frequency semi-annually
with New York, followed by London, and then Milan and ends
in Paris. Location(s) Paris, France
Inaugurated October 1–9, 1973
Origins Organised French Fashion
by Federation
Although the first fashion week was held in New York, the Website Official website (https://f
event itself derives from "salon shows" ("défilés de mode" in hcm.paris/en/)
French, literally "fashion parades") in Paris couture salons.[9]

A fashion week consists of a week of organized events of multiple designer's collections. Before this
organized event was recognized in New York City, fashion showings were being held in Paris as early as
the 1700s. Some earlier showings were presented on mannequins which made it difficult for clients to see
fashion pieces fully since they lacked the mobility of a model. These early showings were only to clients
purchasing items and were shown on mannequins.[10] In the 1800s, showings began to change. Charles
Frederick Worth, noted for haute couture, began showing multiple pieces together and of a higher design.
These designs were showcased to get the customer's attention in buying the pieces. Jeanne Paquin is the
first designer to make her showings public and Paul Poiret is the first to host parties after his events.[11]

In the mid 1800s Mme Pauline von Metternich,[12] an Austrian Princess and wife to the Ambassador of
Paris, saw one of Worth's sketches and employed him to make her a gown. He gained much recognition
through his powerful clients and opened his own haute couture house in Paris in 1858, which sold luxury
fashion to upper-class women.

Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture

In 1868 the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture was created to set the specifications to determine what
constituted a ‘couture house’.[13] The group decided that to be defined a piece of haute couture the clothing
must have been; custom-made to fit the wearer, hand-sewn by multiple skilled artisans in the separate fields
of embroidery, stitching, and beading, and only the most high quality of materials may be used.[13]

L’Association de Protection des Industries Artistiques

Saisonnières
Fifty-three years after the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture was created, in 1921 the French press
created L’Association de Protection des Industries Artistiques Saisonnieres,[14] or PAIS to protect couture
designs from being copied.[13] To ensure the copyright of the designers, their creations were photographed
on a model or mannequin from the front, back, and sides to catalog the design.

The first Paris Fashion Week

In 1945 the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture established another set of rules to regulate and
determine Haute Couture houses.[15] In order to meet the criteria, the house had to ensure they followed the
updated rules with one of them being that in each season, a couture house must present a collection of at
least 35 runs with both daytime and evening wear to the Paris press.[15] Others included having at least 20
members on staff, and that every design must include fittings and be made-to-order for the clientele.[15] The
following biannual events of Haute Couture houses in accordance with the new guidelines set by the
Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture have been seen as the first pair of fashion weeks in Paris.

First fashion week under the Fédération Française de la Couture

The first recognized Paris Fashion Week was held in October 1973 and organized Haute Couture, Ready-
to-Wear, and Men's Fashion into one grouped showing by the Fédération Française de la Couture.[16]

The event was a fundraiser held at the Palace of Versailles to restore the palace. The amount aimed to reach
to repair the palace was estimated at US$60 million which converts to 53,026,956 Euros.[17] The
fundraiser was started because the French government had stated they could not handle the cost of the
renovations. It was overseen by the founder of New York Press Week, now known as New York Fashion
Week, Eleanor Lambert, in accordance with, the at the time Versailles curator, Gérald Van der Kemp.[11]
The restorations and renovations included Marie Antoinette’s dressing room, Louis XV’s children’s play
room, and a staircase which began construction in 1722 but was never finished.[17]
Both American and Parisian designers attended the event including; Anne Klein, Bill Blass, Stephen
Burrows, Oscar de la Renta, Hubert de Givenchy, and Yves Saint Laurent.[17] The French designer’s each
held their own showing set to various themes whose pieces included; a rocket ship, pumpkin coach and a
rhinoceros pulling a gypsy caravan.

The American designers, due to errors in measurement conversion, collectively held one showing under the
common theme of Paris using both Caucasian and African-American models.[17] The American designers’
use of diversity in models marked the event as the first time African-American models had walked a French
runway.[17]

The event gained much publicity because of the designers involved and is given the nickname "The Battle
of Versailles" because of its location and the tension between the American and Parisian designers during
the run of the show.[17]

Rules of Paris Fashion Show

Size-zero ban

According to the French law, Fashion Week does not allow models of a body mass index size zero to
attend.[18][19] Most seeking to get into the fashion world confuse the size 0 law, as a law that does not
allow models in a size 0 to walk in shows.

Age limits

Paris Fashion Week prohibits models under 18 years of age. After steps taken by luxury brands like LVMH
and Kering, it is stated that "No model under 16 years will be recruited to take part in fashion shows or
photographic sessions representing adults."[20]

See also
Fashion week
List of fashion events

References
1. "Paris Fashion Week" (http://fashionweekdates.com/paris-fashion-week-dates-schedule.htm
l). Retrieved 2023-02-08.
2. "A Brief History Of Paris Fashion Week" (https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/article/histo
ry-of-paris-fashion-week). British Vogue. 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
3. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20161113182639/http://www.modeaparis.com/
en/fashion-shows/Schedules). Archived from the original (http://www.modeaparis.com/en/fas
hion-shows/Schedules/) on 2016-11-13. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
4. Exposito, Adrian Gomis (2022-01-24). "Kenzo FW22 Front Row Vanity Teen 虚荣青年
Lifestyle & New Faces Magazine" (https://www.vanityteen.com/kenzo-fw22-front-row-fw22/).
www.vanityteen.com. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
5. "Paris Fashion Week" (https://rove.me/to/paris/paris-fashion-week).
6. "Paris Fashion Week" (https://fashionunited.com/landing/paris-fashion-week).
FashionUnited. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
 7. Bradford, Julie (2014). Fashion Journalism (https://books.google.com/books?id=H2xeBAAA
QBAJ&pg=PA129). Routledge. p. 129. ISBN 9781136475368.
8. Dillon, Susan (2011). The Fundamentals of Fashion Management (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=3XFMAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA115). A&C Black. p. 115. ISBN 9782940411580.
9. "Celebrating Style: The History of Fashion Week" (http://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/a102
74/history-of-fashion-week/). 15 August 2014.
10. Di Boscio, Chere. "Timeline: The History of Haute Couture." Eluxe Magazine. N.p., 31
January 2015. Web. 5 February 2016.
11. McConnell, Molli. "Paris Fashion Week: A Guide To The Iconic Event." The Culture Trip.
N.p., n.d. Web. 29 January 2016.
12. "PRINCESS PAULINE VON METTERNICH" (https://www.acuriousinvitation.com/pauline.ht
ml). www.acuriousinvitation.com. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
13. Di Boscio, Chere. "Timeline: The History of Haute Couture." The federation is organized of
three chambres. The Chambre Syndicale de la Mode Feminine, the Chambre Syndicale de
la Mode Masculine, and the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. These chambers aid
in the organization of the Federation which in turn, aids in the Paris Fashion Week. Eluxe
Magazine. 31 January 2015. Web. 5 February 2016.
14. "Haute Couture | Encyclopedia.com" (https://www.encyclopedia.com/fashion/encyclopedias-
almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/haute-couture). www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved
2020-09-10.
15. Bazaar UK, Harper’s BAZAAR. "The History of Haute Couture." Harper’s BAZAAR. N.p., 10
July 2014. Web. 1 February 2016.
16. "History of Fashion Week." Fashion Week Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 February 2016.
17. Banks, Alec. "Paris Fashion Week History." Highsnobiety. N.p., 2 July 2015. Web. 29
January 2016.
18. "Size 0 Models Were Just Banned from Paris Fashion Week: Details" (https://www.usmagaz
ine.com/stylish/news/size-zero-models-banned-at-paris-fashion-week-w501466/). Us
Weekly. 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
19. "Size-zero ban hits Paris catwalks, campaigners hopeful" (https://www.reuters.com/article/us
-fashion-paris-models-idUSKCN1C720G). Reuters. 2017-10-03. Retrieved 2019-04-24.
20. Willsher, Kim (2017-09-06). "French fashion firms pledge to stop using underage and size
zero models" (https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2017/sep/06/french-fashion-giants-pled
ge-to-stop-using-underage-and-size-zero-models). The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077 (https://
www.worldcat.org/issn/0261-3077). Retrieved 2019-04-24.

External links
Paris Fashion Week Official Site (https://fhcm.paris/en/)

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