Behind the smoke and mirrors at the AW19 Off-White, Louis Vuitton and Rick Owens shows.

The men’s fashion shows happen twice a year in cities across the world, but it’s in Paris that clothing’s heftiest heavyweights showcase their wares. From Mr Virgil Abloh’s much-anticipated AW19 collections for both Louis Vuitton and Off-White to the glut of celebrities that were squeezed together on the front rows, this was a week-long fashion event of epic proportions, and a fascinating place to be a fly on the wall. Here’s what we saw.

Green is the colour (and the scent)

There was something distinctive in the air at certain Paris shows, and it wasn’t just the long days and wintry weather making showgoers look red in the eyes. At Heron Preston’s show, the American rapper Gunna sat between Mr Virgil Abloh and Game Of Thrones’ Ms Maisie Williams, and, when the lights went up, appeared to brazenly, er, light up. Before long – and we should clarify that this may or may not be connected – the whole room in the Palais de Tokyo smelled like a hydroponic greenhouse, a scent which also took hold at Off-White and Yohji Yamamoto. Thus, second-hand highs from the real thing were in vogue, making CBD lattes officially last season, darling.

It’s a rapper’s world

Testament to Mr Virgil Abloh’s influence and connections (plus an unparalleled ability to create hype), the circus that surrounded Off-White was as much about the guests as it was the clothes. Playboi Carti and Skepta made an appearance as guests, as did Mr Abloh’s designer peers Mr John Elliott and Mr Jerry Lorenzo of Fear of God, both of whom make clothes that are often seen in the hip-hop world. The rapper Offset walked as a model in the show, wearing a floor-length lilac puffer coat. It wasn’t just at the contemporary brands that rappers showed up, either; at Yohji Yamamoto, a label known for its quiet and stoic approach to fashion, the aforementioned Gunna sat front row next to Mr Matt Ox, a thatch-mopped 14-year-old artist known for rapping about fidget spinners and VVS diamonds.

Paris is big in Japan (and vice versa)

If there’s one nationality that holds as much clout over Paris Fashion Week as much as the French, it’s the Japanese. Whole sections of runway shows in Paris are often devoted to Japanese press, buyers and influencers, and this season there was a particularly notable presence from Japan. The country’s most prolific artist Mr Takashi Murakami drew heads for his street-style chops and was seated next to Undercover’s Mr Jun Takahashi at the Raf Simons show, plus some of the most successful collections this season – from Sacai (Ms Chitose Abe) to TheSoloist (Mr Takahiro Miyashita) – were by Japanese designers.

Mr Rick Owens is an ABBA fan…kind of

An oft-overlooked element of fashion shows is the music that plays in them, and Mr Rick Owens delighted guests with a heavy metal cover of Abba’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme” by the Swedish gothic rock band Leather Nun (further remixed by Instagram fashion duo Fecal Matter). It was a far cry from a Eurovision bop, but it suited the sleazy glam-rock aesthetic of Mr Owens’ astute collection – complete with baggy leather trousers, expertly-cut shearling jackets, and ski-goggle sunglasses – perfectly. A man after midnight, indeed.

Messrs Frank Ocean and Timothée Chalamet dressed down

Musician Mr Frank Ocean and actor Mr Timothée Chalamet are perhaps the most sought-after men of the moment, and they sat side by side at the Louis Vuitton show to much fanfare. If it wasn’t for the screaming crowds that surrounded them, however, their understated outfits may have kept them incognito: Mr Ocean donned an orange puffer jacket, jeans and an Arc’teryx beanie hat, while Mr Chalamet – who last week at the Golden Globes made headlines with his Louis Vuitton sequinned harness – opted for a plain black hoodie.

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