All the Moments You Might Have Missed From Vogue World: Paris
On the evening of Sunday, June 23, Vogue World: Paris brought together 188 athletes, 151 models, 70 dancers, and a 40-piece orchestra for a performance that began in the Ritz and ended with 20 international breakdancers taking over Place VendĂŽme. The theme of the night? The evolution of style over the last century, with each decade of fashion paired with a different sport: the Roaring Twenties with cycling (in the Jazz Age, bicycles were seen as a symbol of the speed, freedom, and mobility that defined the period); the elegant midcentury gowns of the â50s with all things equine; the leotard- and lycra-obsessed â70s with gymnastics; the â90s, a.k.a. the WAG era, with soccerâŠ
As Carine Roitfeld, who styled the event with Ib Kamara, put it, âItâs something thatâs never been seen before,â with Vogue World marking the first time a fashion show has ever been staged at Place VendĂŽme. Watch the livestream in full, and read on for a recap of the highlights from the 40-minute show.
Les petites mains traded their ateliers for the front rowParis is, of course, the birthplace of couture, with Charles Frederick Worth opening the first atelier a stoneâs throw from the Place VendĂŽme, on Rue de la Paix, in 1858. It only seemed fitting, then, for Vogue World to begin with a tribute to all of the petites mains responsible for making creative directorsâ visions a reality each and every Couture Week, with dozens of artisans wending their way through the square in their traditional white coats before taking front-row seats for the performance. Among the houses they represented? Armani PriveÌ, Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, Giambattista Valli, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Maison Margiela, and Schiaparelli.
Jean Paul Gaultier put on the Ritz, at the RitzPhoto: Getty Images
Jean Paul Gaultier turned dresser for Vogue World: Paris, helping French-Malian musician Aya Nakamura into a custom-made gown backstage at the Ritz during the eveningâs ouverture. The look is a combination of two previous designs by the enfant terrible of French fashion. âAt my last show at the ThĂ©Ăątre du ChĂątelet in 2020, the final tableau featured outfits in different skin colors,â the designer told Vogue of the outfitâs conception. âI revisited that idea with this corset, which is taken from the Amy Winehouse-inspired spring/summer 2012 collection.â Her stays expertly laced by Gaultier himself, Ayaâwho, at 29, is the most widely streamed female artist in the French-speaking worldâwalked out into Place VendĂŽme to perform. Narrating her movements: emcee for the evening, Cara Delevingne, wearing a nautical look from Simone Rochaâs collaboration with Jean Paul Gaultier earlier this year.
Vogue saluted former Place VendĂŽme resident Coco ChanelCoco Chanel spent decades of her life at the Ritz, which was almost as much a home to her as her apartment on Rue Cambon. It was in her suite at the hotel, in fact, that she passed awayâthe rumor being that she came back from a stroll through the Jardin de Tuileries, lay down on a bed in her gilded rooms, and declared to her maid Celine, âYou see, this is how you die.â Naturally, the 1920s-themed act of Vogue World saluted Mme. Chanelâs influence on the decadeâs fashion (and, indeed, her influence on every decade since). Coco famously debuted the LBDâor, as Vogue put it at the time, âthe frock that all the world would wearââin 1924, with models wearing recreations of designs from that very collection for Vogue World: Paris, while cyclists from the French National Team whizzed around Place VendĂŽme.
Karlie Kloss dabbled in surrealismPhoto: Getty Images
The glamorous â30s-inspired segment of Vogue World began with a quintet of models in monochrome Balenciaga gowns. Famously, CristĂłbal Balenciaga only moved to France from his native Spain in 1937âbreathing new life into fashion in the processâand Demna recreated two dresses from his predecessorâs earliest Parisian collections for Sundayâs celebration. The act then gave way to a track-and-field tribute that included a reimagining of the Course des CafĂ©s and a flurry of models in clothes that nodded to the period entre deux guerres in various ways. Two standout looks chosen by stylist Carine Roitfeld? A Nina Ricci tuxedo inspired by Marlene Dietrich (whose penchant for pantalons got her in trouble with Parisian authorities in the â30s), worn by the fabulous drag performer Keiona, along with a âSchiapar-alienâ look for Karlie Kloss courtesy of Daniel Roseberry.
Sabrina Carpenter had a bombshell momentBrigitte Bardot brought the bikini international recognition during the 1953 instalment of the Cannes Film Festival, but the two-piece first debuted on the Riviera in 1946, with couturier Jacques Heim and engineer Louis RĂ©ard both taking credit for its creation. Itâs definitely the latter, however, who came up with the name bikini â a reference to the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the site of nuclear weapons tests conducted by the US government in the postwar period. Vogue World: Parisâs â40s act paired riffs on the eraâs Riviera-inspired designs with an aquatics theme, complete with several giant sun hats by Simon Porte Jacquemus and Sabrina Carpenter rising from âwavesâ of blue fabric in a look worthy of the Croisette.
Gigi and Kendall took the reinsThe grand finale of the â50s-inspired section of Vogue World saw the new-gen supers trotting through Place VendĂŽme on horsebackâspecifically, on stallions Napo and Django, whose manes were braided according to maestro Eugene Souleimanâs instructions for the occasion. While Gigi, Kendall, and their steeds were dressed head-to-hoof by HermeÌsârecall that the maison was originally founded as a saddle-making workshop in 1837âmodels appeared in a tricolore twist on Christian Diorâs Bar Suit, whose silhouette was fittingly inspired by Victorian-era riding habits.
Models and muses said en gardeParris Goebelâthe choreographer behind Rihannaâs Super Bowl Halftime Showâorchestrated the movement of hundreds of dancers, or muses, throughout Vogue World: Parisâs 40-minute run, including the stirring fencing sequence in the â60s-inspired chapter, which included cameos from foil master Miles Chamley-Watson and Ă©pĂ©e great Laura Flessel-Colovic. Complementing the athletesâ traditional lamĂ©s? Recreations of AndreÌ CourreÌges and Paco Rabanneâs silver Space-Age designs overseen by creative directors Nicolas Di Felice and Julien Dossena and modeled by the faces of todayâs answer to the â60s Youthquake.
The trailblazing Black models at the Battle of Versailles got their flowersHeld in the ThĂ©Ăątre Gabriel in 1973, the Battle of Versailles precipitated an irrevocable shift within the fashion world under the guise of a charity event to restore King Louis XIVâs palace. Five French couturiers (Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Marc Bohan, Emanuel Ungaro, and Yves Saint Laurent) invited five Americans (Halston, Bill Blass, Stephen Burrows, Anne Klein, and Oscar de la Renta) to pit their ready-to-wear designs against the creations of the Old World establishment. To everyoneâs surprise, the US contingent âcame, sewed, and conquered,â as WWD put it at the time. Meanwhile, 10 Black models (including Pat Cleveland and Bethann Hardison) who wore the American designersâ effortless creations brought the Black is Beautiful movement across the Atlantic, a watershed moment for diversity in the fashion industry. In Vogue Worldâs â70s-themed act, models including Debra Shaw honored that legacy in â70s-inspired Givenchy capes that recall the flower-colored chiffons Hubert sent down the runway at Versailles.
Power shoulders met power kicksIn the â80s segment of Vogue World, Ib Kamaraâs styling honored the Japanese designers who revolutionized Paris fashion during the decade of decadence, with models (and Katy Perry) making their way through Place VendĂŽme in sculptural creations by Comme des Garçons, Junya Watanabe, and Noir Kei Ninomiya. Simultaneously, drummers from the Paris Taiko Ensembleâall of whom were wearing Pleats Please by Issey Miyakeâprovided the soundtrack for a performance from 60 martial artists, including eight judokas from the French National Team.
Bad Bunny brought the Place downVogue Worldâs âVive La France!â sentiment reached its zenith in the â90s act. It was in 1998 that France won its first World Cup, with the teamâs midfielder Emmanuel Petit joining 42 other footballers from the IÌle-de-France Football League on Place VendĂŽme tonight. Adding to the patriotic atmosphere: model Anok Yai wearing a Pieter Mulier recreation of the 1989 tricolore AlaĂŻa gown worn by opera singer Jessye Norman to sing âLa Marseillaiseâ on Place de la Concorde to mark the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution. Speaking of timeless performances: the energy on the square reached a fever pitch when Met Gala co-host Bad Bunny stepped out to serenade the crowd.
Serena and Venus paid homage to Virgil and sustainability, respectivelyThe 2000s portion of Vogue World: Paris celebrated both tennis and 10 years of Nicolas GhesquieÌre at Louis Vuitton. Beyond a parade of looks from the creative directorâs decade at the helm of the storied maison, titans Serena and Venus Williams left an impression in two custom looks. The GOAT, of course, honored her long-standing relationship with Virgil Abloh by wearing a dress by Ib Kamara for Off-White (itâs Virgil who made Serenaâs custom sneakers for the 2019 Met Gala). Venus, on the other hand, wore a Marine Serre look made from recycled tennis bagsâa welcome nod to eco-friendly fashion. Itâs not the only time the French designer flew the flag for sustainability tonight: each and every one of the flags flown in the â50s-themed section were made by Marine Serre from upcycled scarves.
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Photo: Getty Images
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