THE JOURNAL

Sir Paul Smith on the runway of his 50th anniversary show, January 2020. Photograph by Mr Jonas Gustavsson/PA Images
Though not technically a tournament, fashion shows might sometimes be seen as one. What each designer does to stand out against the competition sets the tone for the coming season, and the things that unfold at fashion week, planned or not, are often more exciting than the clothes. With that in mind, here are six things that happened in Paris that will stick in our minds for months to come.
01.
Will The Real Fake Moss Please Stand Up

Vetements runway, January 2020. Photograph by Mr Salvatore Dragone/IMAXTREE.COM
What with Mr Guram Gvasalia now solely heading up Vetements without the help of his brother Mr Denma Gvasalia (who is concentrating on the creative director role at Balenciaga), the fashion crowd was excited to see what the brand would do next, and if this show would continue Vetements’ reputation for absurdity (last season they made headlines for showing their collection in a local McDonald’s). Mr Guram Gvasalia certainly didn’t disappoint in terms of showmanship – models that looked suspiciously similar to Mses Kate Moss, Angelina Jolie and Naomi Campbell and even Snoop Dogg appeared on the catwalk. This was done by what we assume was either black magic or very impressive prosthetics, and we were left wondering what was fake and what was real. Doppelgängers are in, it seems. Elsewhere in lookalike news, the Japanese artist Mr Takashi Murakami attended the Off-White show, which resulted in Getty Images mistakenly naming him as Mr Ai Weiwei. Which was Ai Weiwkward.
02.
Captain Underpants

Jacquemus runway, January 2020. Photograph by Mr Salvatore Dragone/IMAXTREE.COM

Mr Bill Nighy and Ms Anna Wintour at the Paul Smith 50th anniversary show, January 2020. Photograph by Mr David M Bennett/Getty Images for Paul Smith
Not Sir Paul Smith the man, that is, but his homegrown brand, which celebrates its 50th birthday this year. The eponymous company was founded way back in 1970 – an impressive run indeed – and the designer threw a suitably celebratory show to ring in the next chapter. And the wonderful clothes aside, the event drew out perhaps the most brilliantly star-studded front row of the season. Down from Ms Susan Sarandon, Mr Jon Hamm and Sir Ian McKellen, Ms Anna Wintour sat next to Mr Bill Nighy, opposite Mr Edward Enninful, down from Messrs Joe Dempsie, Raleigh Ritchie, Stanley Tucci and Mark Strong and Ms Vicky McClure. The man himself ran out at the end to roaring applause. It was well deserved – congratulations, Sir Paul!
04.
Designers Supporting Designers

Mr Craig Green during the finale, January 2020. Photograh by Mr Peter White/Getty Images
Mr Craig Green made the departure from London to show his collection in Paris this season, which many saw as a levelling up of a label that is bound for big things. In attendance were a glittering cohort of Mr Green’s fellow designers, including Mr Pierpaolo Piccioli from Valentino, Ms Clare Waight Keller from Givenchy, Mr Charles Jeffrey, Mr Walter Van Beirendonck, and Mr Rick Owens’ wife Ms Michèle Lamy. It’s always good to see designers turning out to cheer each other on, and when the clothes are as good as Mr Green’s, there’s no wonder he’s won friends in all corners of the industry.
05.
The Androids Take Acne Studios

Acne Studios runway, January 2020. Photograph by Mr Salvatore Dragone/IMAXTREE.COM
Acne Studios’ collection had an interesting USP this season: it was designed with the help of Mr Robbie Barrat, a 20-year-old artist who works with artificial intelligence. Mr Barat has previously been noted for creating a bot that generated fake Mr Kanye West lyrics, and this season he worked with the Swedish brand, feeding thousands of old Acne Studios’ looks into a generator with intentional mistakes, resulting in looks that didn’t actually exist, which the brand then used as inspiration to create the current collection. All hail our new robotic fashion overlords.
06.
The Theatre Of Takahashi

Undercover runway performance, January 2020. Photograph by Mr Dominique Charriau/Getty Images
Suspiria. A Clockwork Orange. Nosferatu. 2001: A Space Odyssey. Each season, Undercover designer Mr Jun Takahashi takes a film or three, and uses it as a base as inspiration for his collection. This time, it was Throne Of Blood, Mr Akira Kurosawa’s 1957 masterpiece, which transposes the tragedy of Macbeth from 11th-century Scotland to samurai-soaked feudal Japan. It was suitably theatrical as you might expect from the label, with arrows falling from the sky and three yōkai-style witches taking centre of the stage. The clothes, when they came out, were equally cinematic, consisting of tasselled cargo trousers tucked into stompy boots and panelled leather jackets that looked like samurai armour.