THE FRENCH SET

Nobody does fashion quite like the French. There’s an ease to it, but never a lack of intention. Paris has given us rule-breakers, tastemakers and some of the most influential fashion houses in history, each with their own take on what French style can be. Iconic, yes. Predictable, never.

As Paris Fashion Week takes over the capital once again, we’re looking at the brands that keep French fashion on the agenda. Saint Laurent brings the edge, Givenchy the elegance, Maison Margiela the disruption and Jacquemus a new perspective on modern French style. Together, they prove there’s more to French fashion than the clichés. These are the names defining it now.

Jacquemus knows how to make a moment. Simon Porte Jacquemus has built an entire world around his vision of French fashion, mixing sharp silhouettes, playful proportions and a sense of fun that goes well beyond the clothes.

This year saw the designer return to Paris’ Musée Picasso for Le Palmier, almost a decade after staging La Bomba there. Inspired by Paloma Picasso, the collection brought polka dots, sculpted tailoring and exaggerated silhouettes to the museum’s marble staircases. Add cult bags, headline-making campaigns and a celebrity circle that includes Jennie Kim and Dua Lipa, and Jacquemus continues to prove that French fashion doesn’t have to take itself too seriously.

Saint Laurent has never been interested in playing it safe. The house that put women in Le Smoking has spent decades making provocation look sophisticated, and Anthony Vaccarello has kept that spirit alive. His Saint Laurent is all strong shoulders, sharp tailoring, sheer finishes and silhouettes designed to be noticed.

SS27 marked ten years of Vaccarello at the house, and subtle celebrations were never really on the cards. Paris became the backdrop for a collection drenched in gold, with metallic trenches, brocade tailoring and eveningwear giving familiar Saint Laurent codes a suitably decadent update. Even the Eiffel Tower got involved.

A decade into his tenure, Vaccarello has made Saint Laurent one of the most recognisable propositions in fashion. Dark, decadent and always ready for after hours.

Givenchy has always understood the power of a silhouette. Audrey Hepburn’s little black dress made fashion history, while designers including John Galliano and Alexander McQueen later pushed the house somewhere altogether more provocative. Now, Sarah Burton is writing the next chapter.

For SS27, Burton continued to put women at the centre of Givenchy. Precise tailoring met sculptural dresses, oversized proportions, flashes of leather and bold colour, with clothes designed to move between strength and softness rather than choose one or the other. It’s an approach that’s quickly becoming her signature at the house: feminine without being delicate, powerful without feeling severe. Three seasons in, Burton’s Givenchy is finding its own rhythm.

Maison Margiela has made an art form out of doing things differently. Since 1988, deconstruction, anonymity and turning the familiar inside out have made the house one of fashion’s great rule-breakers. Now, Glenn Martens is putting his own stamp on those codes.

For SS27, Martens brought Margiela back to the Paris Fashion Week schedule with a study in contrasts. Hard met soft as tailoring was folded and reshaped, delicate florals appeared alongside rigid structures and everyday pieces were given unexpected proportions. There was still room for spectacle, including a dress constructed with crushed silverware, but this was Margiela made for real life too. Experimental, unexpected and never quite what it seems, the house is entering a new era without losing what made it Margiela in the first place.

AMI Paris does French style without the fuss. Founded by Alexandre Mattiussi in 2011, the label has built its name on the kind of clothes people actually want to wear: great tailoring, easy separates and wardrobe staples with just enough Parisian charm.

SS27 doubled down on that idea. Mattiussi looked to everyday life in Paris, loosening up classic tailoring and mixing masculine and feminine codes across relaxed suiting, familiar T-shirts and easy layers. The collection was less about dressing for fashion and more about simply getting dressed, with comfort, movement and personality at its centre. Proof that sometimes the best French style is the kind that looks like you haven’t tried too hard.