Paris FW1011 Recap

Paris Fashion Week F/W 10.11 - 14 Shows Total
2 Opening Slots
5 Closing Slots

Balenciaga - 1 Look
Balmain - 2 Looks
Celine (C) - 2 Looks
Chanel (O) (C) - 3 Looks
Chloe - 2 Looks
Dries Van Noten - 2 Looks
Hermes - 1 Look
Isabel Marant (O) (C) - 3 Looks
Karl Lagerfeld (C) - 2 Looks
Lanvin - 2 Looks
Miu Miu - 1 Look
Stella McCartney (C) - 2 Looks
Valentino - 2 Looks
Yves Saint Laurent - 1 Looks

Freja capped off a wonderful FW season with a solid performance in Paris, a city that can be notorious for throwing all casting assumptions for a loop (i.e. Caroline Brasch Nielsen coming out of nowhere to walk tons of top shows and probably secure a top 10 newcomer spot. Go Danes!) The week started off beautifully on Wednesday when Freja walked for Dries Van Noten. It was my favorite show of the season and I still fawn over the collection pictures on style.com. Needless to say, Freja's presence was icing on the cake and I think she's the perfect Dries woman.

Thursday brought with it appearances at Balenciaga and Balmain. The former was very interesting and I'm still trying to digest and analyze the collection; the later was staid and overdone. A pity since I always used to look forward to Balmain. The model cast is still top notch though.

Freja's continued her amazing list of openings and closings by doing both for Isabel Marant on Friday. This is a show that she only walked for the first time in FW0910, so it's great to see her taking the honors this time around. (Campaign maybe?) Freja also walked for Lanvin on Friday.

She was entirely absent on Saturday, but it's not too surprising considering the shows that day. None of them were her usual (except maybe for Loewe, and even though I was hoping for an unexpected appearance somewhere to go along with the theme of the season, I feel like Freja did slow down in Paris a little bit. She had a great showing, but I guess I was just expecting her to shock me like she did in NY (with Anna Sui and ODLR) and Milan (with Gianfranco Ferre and Jil Sander). Anyway, on Sunday Freja closed for Karl Lagerfeld and Celine, making up for her Saturday absence. I love that she closed Celine because her clean, modern, and sleek face match perfectly with the aesthetic of the label under Phoebe Philo.

On Monday, Freja continued her closing streak by doing so for Stella McCartney. Stella also showed a wonderfully modern, pared down collection, so I guess the "Phoebe Philo" effect does exist. The most unexpected thing about Paris happened when Freja walked for Yves Saint Laurent. It was just nice to see her back after having last walked in FW0809.

I don't really know what to say about Chanel. It's always a spectacle and Karl always manages to outdo himself amazingly enough. I didn't think anything would be able to top the barn and the roll in the hay from last season, but an iceberg flown in from Sweden and hand carved by 35 sculptors from around the world over a 6 week day period? Yeah...that takes the cake. Freja opened the show along with Abbey (both are reportedly in the next campaign), Baptiste and Brad (the old Baptiste....or is Baptiste the new Brad?) She also walked for Chloe and rounded out the day with Valentino.

On the last day of Paris, Freja didn't show up at Louis Vuitton, but like Miuccia did for Prada, Marc went with a different silhouette and image that Freja simply didn't fit. She did walk for Hermes and Miu Miu though. I'm very happy she ended the week and the season with Miu Miu because I was a little worried about her absence at Prada, even though I knew why she didn't walk. I guess having Freja walk Miu Miu just confirmed my thoughts, and it's reassuring to know that everything is fine between her, Miuccia and Marsh.

It's been quite the ride, hasn't it. Freja turned out her best season since FW0708 and I know we're all thrilled for her and about what this could mean in terms of her future work. A complete FW wrap up post is coming soon...along with other posts associated with the shows. I just need some time and a little break. Keeping up with all the shows seems to get more exhausting every season....or maybe it's just that I'm getting older. Ha.

Anyway, I'd also like to say that my thoughts are with all those affected by the agency changes currently taking shape in NY. I hope that fired bookers find new jobs, that re-shuffled bookers adapt to their new surroundings and that all the young models remain relatively unaffected. I know this is nearly impossible, but I just hope they'll be ok and bounce back on their feet. I'll be honest, I'm distraught at the possibility of all my favorite Supreme girls losing their NY representation, but I'm just hoping for the best. While Freja's had her best season in a while, it's important to remember that not all models and not all fan groups are as lucky as Freja and we are.

Image Credits: style.it