Feast Your Eyes on the Best Looks From Paris Fashion Week

These French fashion houses delivered.

There’s nothing quite as decadent or inspiring as Paris Fashion Week. Twice a year, designers set the sartorial tone for the season to come, delivering luxe looks we dream of replicating in the months to come. 2024’s Fall/Winter Ready-to-Wear collections are no exception.

French fashion houses, including Dries Van Noten, Loewe, and Rabanne, have outdone themselves with bold silhouettes and luxe layered looks that felt fresh and wearable. and subvert the trends and color palettes already defining the year.

The debut collections from designers Chemena Kamali at Chloé and Seán Mcgirr at Alexander McQueen had fashion insiders and social media netizens buzzing with excitement, while Nicolas Ghesquière kept the stylish momentum going at Louis Vuitton with his 10th-anniversary collection for the storied luxury brand.

Ahead, we’ve rounded up the brightest and best looks from Paris Fashion Week's most exciting collection.

Akris

Creative Director, Albert Kriemler made the Akris show a study in textures fuzzy knits met sleek silks, and as hard lines in the form of metal bodices were married with fluid sequin sheaths. The combinations of craft filled the collection with visual interest but everything still felt completely wearable. A win-win scenario if you ask us.

Alexander McQueen

The highly anticipated debut of Seán McGirr at the house of Alexander McQueen sent social media into a frenzy. McGirr embraced McQueen's past to inform the brand's present and future and from the wild array of ideas presented in the collection, the designer certainly has plenty to show off as the seasons progress. This debut featured a rough yet opulent aesthetic perfectly showcased in a look meant to mimic McGirr's broken phone—a little black dress covered in what appeared to be a layer of smashed screen, held together by metallic thread and embroidery.

Balenciaga

The possibilities proved endless at the Balenciaga show where models walked out in garments that were thrown together in unexpected and unconventional ways to create new and daring looks. Imagine evening gowns comprised of countless bras fastened together (our standout favorite), shirts and skirts melded by duct taped, or backpacks made to become a full ensemble. The results left us imagining endless ways to reimagine our wardrobes.

Balmain

Balmain's Creative Director, Olivier Rousteing, frequently plays with proportions, side-stepping traditional silhouettes in favor of elegant exaggeration. This season, we were most enamored by a look that combined expert tailoring with the Maison's signature over-the-top aesthetic. The defined pleats in the velvet strapless fan-like top above melded seamlessly into the lines of the wide-leg cropped leather pants it was worn with, creating both contrast and cohesion in equal measure.

Chanel

Seasonless dressing took precedence at the Chanel show where models walked down a boardwalk in fall-appropriate tweed sets, the brand's reigning moniker, worn with wide-brimmed straw hats perfect for summer soirées. The pops of berry-hued tweeds brought much-needed warmth to an otherwise grey and rainy fashion week. Slouchy suede boots and statement costume jewelry added a bohemian quality to the styling.

Chloé

While Givenchy and Rabanne elevated sheer dressing with contrast, Chloé created sophistication through cohesion. Chemena Kamali brought a distinct point of view to her debut collection as Chloé's creative director that feels both a part of the brand's existing DNA and an evolution. Diaphanous sheer dresses and trailing tops called to mind the height of boho, that effortless and languid style so revered in the early aughts and popularized in large part by Chloé's own aesthetic.

Dior

For the fall/winter Dior show, Maria Grazia Chiuri turned to the swinging 60s era for inspiration. Chiuri gave "Miss Dior" a wardrobe meant to see the world with safari jackets and trench coats, smart suits, and cardigan sets. Our favorites were the mod evening silhouettes were given a flirty, fun makeover with high hemlines, fringed beading, and rich textures. These feminine looks were topped off with black fedora hats gave them a masculine touch.

Giambattista Valli

Decadent faux fur and fuzzy, shearling-evoking knits dominated the NYFW runways, but we were delighted by how Giambattista Valli incorporated this trending texture into its signature romantic aesthetic. This sheer, cream-colored ensemble caught our eye, even amid the mod mini-dresses and airy embroidered gowns that defined this season's collection.

Givenchy

Excepting a few vivid crimson and royal blue monochromatic ensembles, the ready-to-wear looks in Givenchy's FW24 collection of subtly subverted business separates favored slate gray as its primary color, accented with softly muted blues and sage green. We found ourselves most taken in by the striking contrast in this evening gown that continues and builds upon the gauzy and ethereal approach to sheer dressing the fashion house established in its SS24 collection.

Hermés

The runway at the Hermes show was black and shiny, meant to evoke city streets at night. It was a setting that helped attendees envision all the different places they could wear designer Nadège Vanhee's beautifully constructed leather coats and dresses, shimmering separates, and body-hugging knit dresses. The show ended with rain descending from the ceiling making one realize that these clothes really are meant to be worn in all types of scenarios.

Lacoste

The brand known for tennis clothing was in winning form this season, showcasing an athletic-inspired collection that could be chic and worn on or off the court. Classic offerings of crisp white polo shirts and pleated mini skirts were given new life by way of smart layering and unexpected tailoring. This new spin on well-known pieces felt like the right approach to move Lacoste into a more stylish ranking in the athletics world.

Loewe

The pastoral and utilitarian collided in Loewe's FW24 collection and nowhere was the contrast more provocatively pronounced than in the floral look above. Even in a collection with much to say, it was in this ensemble that the friction between form and function was not only asserted but further undone. By including a belt as an adornment, both impractical and incomplete, Loewe's Albert York deconstructs the hard while celebrating feminine romance.

Louis Vuitton

Heritage luxury brands have a unique opportunity to delve into their rich archives when creating new looks. Nicolas Ghesquière certainly had plenty to work with for his 10th-anniversary collection. Our favorite looks from Louis Vuitton’s latest offerings were the ones that reimagined the past through the lens of present trends with delightful duality. This look cleverly winked at the brand's heritage as a luggage and trunk maker with the skirt set’s structured, boxy silhouette that was youthful and fresh, while its instantly recognizable print imbued it with an elevated sense of sophistication.

Miu Miu

For her latest collection, Miuccia Prada approached the grandpacore trend with a more modern, girlish touch. The Miu Miu show was a visual display of how clothes can be transformed from childhood to adulthood, with models wearing layered button-down shirting tucked under cozy cardigans and yummy knits in rich colors paired with voluminous skirts that featured graphic floral prints. The overall effect was successful as it evoked the playful styling of school uniforms mixed with the luxe fabrication of more mature clothing, which made the collection approachable for all ages.

Mugler

Shoes can’t make or break a runway look, but they can elevate one from a style sensation to a work of air, as was the case with this beautifully cohesive ensemble that went down the Mugler runway like a breath of fresh air. The contrast between the chartreuse dress and navy heels felt striking rather than discordant, thanks to the symmetry and synchronicity of the heels’ dramatic ankle ties and the dress’s surreal movement.

Nina Ricci

It’s always exciting to see an innovative approach to a classic piece of clothing on the runway, a fact that Harris Reed, Nina Ricci’s Creative Director, may have had in mind when designing and styling this look. In contrast to the oversized blazers that have dominated runways in recent years, Reed opted for a sharply cropped silhouette, the better to accentuate the softness of the ensemble’s silky separates.

Off-White

Opera gloves have been a runway staple during Fashion Month, but we've not seen a single pair feel so entirely necessary as the ones accompanying our favorite look from Off-White's Fall/Winter Ready-to-Wear collection. Combining beaded trim, floral patterns, and matching accessories can easily get out of hand, but Ib Kamara sets a sleekly sophisticated tone with this ensemble.

Rabanne

Layered looks make a frequent appearance in Fall/Winter collections, but the intricate, luminous layers featured in this Rabanne ensemble are a fresh and impactful take on a stalwart seasonal trend. While the Maison's ready-to-wear collection this season brimmed with lively prints and patterns, all layered in contrast and set at unexpected angles, we found ourselves drawn into the whimsical texture and proportions in this lavender look.

Saint Laurent

Anthony Vaccarello's fall collection for Saint Laurent leaned into the sheer trend with a parade of form-fitting silk dresses—resembling sheer undergarments—which simultaneously revealed and shrouded the models like a smokescreen. Although there was much on display the collection felt elegant and elevated, sultry yet refined.

Schiaparelli

Schiaparelli is known for injecting fantasy into the accessories it shows at both Paris Ready-to-Wear and Couture Fashion Week, with an emphasis on luminous gold statement pieces. This season, we found ourselves returning again and again to a relatively understated look due in large part to the synchronicity at play between the garments and jewelry. Not only do the large knot earrings echo the buttons lining the sleek corset, but every line in the white top and billowing pants reflects the soft swirls of the ensemble's gold elements.

Stella McCartney

Knits have gotten bigger and bolder as of late and, in Stella McCartney's latest collection, this over-the-top trend appears to have reached its zenith. The looping knitwork in our favorite look also appears in vivid red and rich cream colors, but the depth of the texture feels most multidimensional in this striking sky blue. This piece's heavyweight impact co-exists with a buoyant airiness echoed in the sleek white pumps worn by the model. All in all, it has us ready to abandon our go-to cable knit sweaters in favor of this wooly fashion feat.

Valentino

Valentino's 2024 Fall/Winter collection was decadently dark and proof positive that black not only comes in a wide array of shades, but that black-on-black looks can serve as much contrast as a less subtle color-blocked ensemble. Our favorite look beautifully illustrates the rich variety a single, somber shade can take on when innovative textures come into play. The wide pleats in this look's satin skirt melt seamlessly into the metallic fringe of the structured top, yet the two pieces create a crackling frisson that doesn't detract from the ensemble's overall cohesiveness.

Victoria Beckham

The effortlessly cool aesthetic that Victoria Beckham herself is known for is the beating heart of her brand, known for its bold proportions and menswear-inspired silhouettes. As with its predecessors, this collection's effortless vibe belies the intricacy and thoughtfulness of its design. Case in point: this stunning duffle coat. Chic and oversized at a glance, the outer layer becomes a feat of craftsmanship upon closer inspection. Its relaxed silhouette sharpens at the hood, which feels both futuristic and plucked from centuries past in a brilliant act of sartorial anachronism.

Vivienne Westwood

We've seen bows aplenty during Fashion Month, but the trend is made new in this look from the Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood Fall/Winter collection. While the structurally stunning overcoat incorporates weaving and pleating to create textural echoes of ribbons, its overt femininity is tempered by a vivid color palette and carapace-like silhouette, and grounded with utilitarian accessories.

For more InStyle news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on InStyle.