Fashion

The House of Dior turns over vast sums of money for luxury giant LVMH, but high-end fashion can never be just about the cash: it's also about world-leading artistry. In her spring-summer 2023 collection, Dior's artistic director Maria Grazia Chiuri pays homage to the elegant modernity of the Black Parisian jazz stars of the 1920s, in particular Joséphine Baker. Meanwhile, fashion historian and curator Olivier Saillard celebrates the humble wardrobe of his late mother by transforming it with haute couture techniques.

These days, almost all fashion collections presented in Paris have a name, such as "Enfants Terribles" for the Japanese label Kidill, which resurrects 1990s skate culture. For Yohji Yamamoto, it's "Don't Do That". At Walter Van Beirendonck, the collection is called "We Need New Eyes To See The Future", while Rick Owens has chosen "Luxor Men's" and Jeanne Friot "Red Warriors". These collections are by turns politically engaged, unisex and avant-garde, but all will make you want to revamp your wardrobe. FRANCE 24 takes a closer look.

It’s time to vogue! At the "Habibi, revolutions of love" exhibition at the Arab World Institute in Paris, a huge party celebrating LGBT culture across the Arab world brought joy to the French capital. What better way to pay homage to tolerance and love in the Arab world than an evening celebrating the revolutionary vogue dance (the origins of voguing can be found in the 1980s by the Black and Latinx queer communities) from NYC?  Are we really free to love wherever we are in the world? Too often, the answer is "no". It is frequently even more difficult when you live in an Arab or Muslim country. FRANCE 24 went along to celebrate, but we also found out that the issue is as political as ever.

For the past 20 years, thanks to an initiative launched by the late Karl Lagerfeld, Chanel has celebrated the unique expertise of its master feather workers, embroiders and milliners with an annual métiers d’art collection. This year, the show is taking place in Dakar, Senegal – the first luxury event of its kind to take place in sub-Saharan Africa. Rapper Abd Al Malik, writer Alain Mabanckou, model and producer Caroline de Maigret, actress Lyna Khoudri, musician Nix, director Moly Kane, actress Whitney Peak and musician Pharrell Williams talk us through their impressions of the show.

2022 was a difficult year in many ways, but that didn't stop the biggest luxury labels securing impressive profits or coming up with exciting new collaborations, such as one between Jean Paul Gaultier and Olivier Rousteing. This past year was marked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a lack of raw materials and increased awareness of just how polluting the fashion industry is. Throw in some big questions about the intersection between fashion and virtual reality, and we have to wonder: what exactly will fashion look like in 2023?

Can ready-to-wear collections help us answer key questions about who we are and how we should live? On exiting the latest Rick Owens show, the answer from Montreal-based fashion duo Matières Fécales was a resolute "yes". Fashion can imbue life with meaning, even if it’s merely an aesthetic project, as with American label Enfants Riches Déprimés. Meanwhile, after running his label Xuly Bët for 30 years, Lamine Kouyaté laments that more has not changed in the world since he set out to design.

If there was one word to describe the latest round of ready-to-wear offerings for summer 2023, it would be freedom, a desire to liberate bodies – and minds – from all forms of restraint. Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto rejects any fashion that treats women like dolls rather than people, while his compatriot Hidenori Kumakiri reimagines military uniforms and French designer Mossi Traoré finds inspiration in binmen’s uniforms. Meanwhile, French stalwart Isabelle Marant does what she’s always done, championing fashion that transcends space and time.

A seven-hour drive southwest of the Tunisian capital lies Chott el-Djerid, north Africa's largest salt lake and the setting for the thirteenth edition of Tunis Fashion Week. The youngest designer participating, 18-year-old Haroun Ghanmi, celebrates the Tunisian techno scene, while fellow designer Yousra Sen creates one-of-a-kind pieces. Everyone here knows the value of a beautiful backdrop – the communications potential was too good to miss even for Ukrainian label Kristina Laptso, whose team spent more than three days travelling to the festival's stunning location. However, the designer herself was unable to leave Lviv.

We all know the drill: the winners of prestigious fashion prizes are lauded by all, showered with flowers and thrust into the limelight. But what about the other finalists, who go home empty handed? At the 37th edition of the Hyères International Fashion Festival, 10 designers made it to the final round. Only three won prizes, so we decided to give the floor to the other seven, all of them fiercely creative and determined to make their mark on the fashion industry.

Things aren’t looking great for the future of the planet, but this year's Hyères International Fashion Festival has some innovative suggestions. Designers from across the world are coming up with increasingly daring ways to reduce fashion's ecological footprint. The big winners of the festival's 37th edition – Jenny Hytönen, Valentin Lessner and Sini Saavala – show us how it’s done.