15 Screenshots from Milan and Paris Fashion Week

The few looks I'd actually wear.

Yesterday, I was at lunch with a bunch of fashion industry people when the news broke that Balenciaga’s current designer is heading to Gucci. (He goes by his first name, Demna.) Phones came out. Gasps and no f*cking ways echoed across the table. Normally, I’d get an alert about something like this, thank g*d that I don’t work as a news blogger anymore, and move on with my day. But I was happy to be with this particular group of people at this particular moment because it reminded me that fashion is a sport and sports are fun.

Demna moving to Gucci is like the brand equivalent of Jalen Brunson being traded to the Lakers. [Ed. note: My boyfriend says I should have used Luka Dončić as a better example.] It’s BIG and UNEXPECTED and potentially exciting, depending on who you ask. “What will it look like??” asked Interview magazine editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg on Lauren Sherman’s Fashion People podcast when they got the news blast mid-recording (around the 23:30 mark, if you’re curious). It’s a question we so rarely ask ourselves during Fashion Week anymore, as brands have become more risk-averse and less avant-garde. I spent the last few days catching up on the Paris runway shows via my phone and found myself mostly bored. I didn’t even like Prada!!! (More on this below the paywall.) But I think this move underscores the fact that we are entering a much-needed new chapter in fashion.

Over the course of the next few seasons, new designers will debut at Chanel, Loewe, Bottega Veneta, Celine, Versace, Fendi, Gucci, Balenciaga, Jil Sander, and probably Dior. So, most of the major European houses. This season, we also saw the changing of the guard at Dries Van Noten, Givenchy, and Tom Ford. Plus, a continuation of Alessandro Michele’s new reign at Valentino. It’s been a very long, drawn-out, expensive game of “musical chairs,” and I’m glad the dust has mostly settled. Looking ahead, some of it will be good, and some of it will be bad. But at least we’ll have something to talk about over lunch.

Below are my favorite moments from Milan and Paris Fashion Week.

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1. Alaïa

A feast in a famine of beauty.

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2. Schiaparelli

This collection seemed designed specifically for Beyoncé’s upcoming Cowboy Carter tour, and that’s fine.

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3. Prada