End of Fashion Season
The fashion world just went through a revolutionary season this past October. Newly appointed creative designers switched places and took several leading seats at some of the most important maisons in the fashion industry, like Chanel, Dior, Gucci, and Balenciaga. They presented their first collections during New York, London, Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks. For the SMC fashion community, the spotlight was on women in charge.
Students and professors of the fashion department at Santa Monica College (SMC) are feeling hopeful about the season’s refreshed paths that the fashion business is taking. Jasala Brown, a third year student said, “my favorite shows were Gucci and Schiaparelli, because of the way Denma presented his first collection for Gucci with so many celebrities attending it, and Schiaparelli is always the peak of artistry during all fashion weeks”.
Demna Gvasalia, who stepped into the artistic director role at Gucci, has innovated by skipping the traditional runway show. Instead, he promoted the premiere of a short film called “The Tiger” starring Demi Moore and Edward Norton, where models wore the newest collection on the event’s red carpet as if they were famous actors arriving. The online engagement power that followed was already expected from Demna, who had captivated the public with his controversial creations at Balenciaga for the past decade. The actor Gwyneth Paltrow posted a video of her attending the event and said, “a glittering night in Milan celebrating The Tiger premiere starring Demi Moore and Demna’s breathtaking debut with Gucci”.
Speaking of Balenciaga, Pierpaolo Piccioli made his debut at the historic Spanish maison. Respecting symbols of the founder, Cristóbal Balenciaga, and incorporating key aspects of Demna’s version of the designs, Pierpaolo used the masked sunglasses in the opening look to softly transition from one era to another. Pierpaolo brought his signature identity — creating clothes for a delicate and chic woman, blending it with the maison’s style of deconstructing the traditional shape of womenswear.
Lori Ivas, fashion professor at SMC, highlighted the use of technological materials such as the fiberglass fringes that Louise Trotter brought to Bottega Veneta. Her highly anticipated debut as the creative director positively surprised Ivas, who said, “I was amazed by the use of fiberglass in the collection, the colors, movement and texture that the material provides is amazing.”
Another point raised by Ivas was the presence of fewer, but impressive, women are showing that they're capable of equaling out.”
female creative directors leading major maisons. Veronica Leoni, who also presented her latest collection for Calvin Klein at the New York Fashion Week, showed that “Women know what is wearable and comfortable, and still ingeniously presenting fabulous collections,” said Ivas.
The street style looks didn’t go unnoticed by Brown, who listed her favorite trends spotted during fashion week. “Checkered prints, elongated silhouettes, and the way people played with their body proportions were the most interesting aspects of street style this season,” she said. Brown also highlighted the importance of celebrities being present in the front rows of the shows, saying, “I loved Zendaya’s Louis Vuitton look, artists like her bring more visibility to the shows.”
Chanel and Dior also saw the debuts of their newest creative directors. Matthieu Blazy, who was announced as head of Chanel in December 2024, and Jonathan Anderson, who was appointed this past June, presented their versions for the two most traditional French maisons. They respected the houses’ symbols and the clients’ conservative taste, yet still managed to bring freshness to their first collections.