Can clothing speak louder than words?

Money is all anyone in the fashion industry wants to talk about right now: the brands that have too much, the labels that have too little, and fashion’s egregious price inflation problem.

Vaquera opened Paris Fashion Week with a note about money, too, and the financial headwinds faced by independent designers. Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee have been at this thing for almost ten years now and while they’re successful, it’s always a challenge for an independent brand to scale. They articulated this struggle in ways both subversive and literal, most strikingly with a money-print bodycon dress and a rosette bodice top that, if you looked closely, featured the word “FAKE” over the White House.

Their collection was as clever and skillfully crafted as always, designed with an intentionally humorous bent—a top with holes cut out at the breasts, a silver sequined pannier skirt—but also full of very wearable (read: sellable) things. DiCaprio and Taubensee showed a trio of denim looks that stood out, as well as baggy suiting and crazy cool outerwear that one might see on a Vaquera fan kid or on the floor at a big-name retailer like Nordstrom.

Another great indie name to open the week in Paris is Ester Manas, helmed by the husband and wife duo Balthazar Delpierre and Ester Manas, who returned to the calendar after a year-long hiatus to recalibrate their business. And thank god for their return: Ester Manas is one of very, very few brands in the Paris fashion landscape that casts their shows with diverse bodies.

This season, Manas, who designs the collections while her husband takes care of marketing and business, showed a joyful, unbridled confidence in her vision. Her ruched and ruffled skintight dresses and separates once again struck a high note, as did her new outerwear and bag offerings. Deleoierre and Manas’s fall collection is titled “Missed You,” and it is meant to be an affectionate love letter to their supporters—those who have given them space to perfect their approach to size inclusivity and cheered them on through their evolution. It will be exciting to see where they go next; no doubt more women will start to discover how great these clothes can make them feel.

At Christian Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri looked to the house's Miss Dior era, a term coined by Marc Bohan, who was creative director for nearly 30 years through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. Bohan created a secondary line under the name Miss Dior to reach young clients who sought more freedom in their dress, and who did not want to be bound by the strict constraints of haute couture.

Chiuri splashed the words “Miss Dior” in black paint across simple skirts and trenches, but also played homage to this idea of ease with beautiful, loosely-cut suits in white and black. There were lovely open-work long knit dresses and go-with-everything denim jackets at varying crops. Overall, Chiuri hit the mark with a collection that felt simple but elevated, well-merchandised but not overtly product-y.

At Saint Laurent Anthony Vacarello stripped way way back, showing a lineup of in-your-face sexy dresses made with sheer hosiery. There were a few beautiful coats and some small accessories, but mainly, Vacarello proposed a singular (and very see-through) vision.

It was refreshing to see a designer de-merch a luxury house and focus on an idea. And in a season of so much practical outerwear and wearable, movable, trousers and blazers, the parade of sheer looks felt—if a little jarring—provocative.

Feature Image Credits: LAUNCHMETRICS SPOTLIGHT

Body Image Credits: LAUNCHMETRICS SPOTLIGHT

This article originally appeared in harpersbazaar.com/uk February 2024.

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