The 12 best shows of the international runway season

The past four weeks were definitely not a vintage season of shows in fashion. Too much concern about the bottom-line and too much fear for the future and too many designers playing safe.
 
Fashion moments were few and far between. That said, it had its explosions of glory; most particularly Willy Chavarria’s hymn to BIPOC culture; Erdem’s visual poem on Radclyffe Hall; Francesco Risso’s historic mashup at Marni and Demna’s hyper experimental show on his granny’s table. Here is our pick of the best of the best: Deeny’s Dozen for Spring/Summer 2025.
 

Willy Chavarria

Easily the most happening designer in New York today is Willy Chavarria. His excellent collection and mega show on Wall Street entitled ‘América’, with its theme of the emergence and recognition of BIPOC culture was a key fashion and political statement. Clothes that are becoming even more influential every day.

Alaïa

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Full marks for this hyper clear vision from Pieter Mulier at Alaïa. He fully justified being permitted to stage the first fashion show in the Guggenheim Museum, with tough yet poetic clothes, of which Azzedine would have been proud.

JW Anderson

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The hottest designer in London, and in Paris. Anderson’s trompe l’oeil and tranche show used only four fabrics – leather, cashmere, silk and sequins – for “non-compromisable” looks –  bouffant dresses, hyper modernist tutus and revamped Tudor courtiers. Easily the most original show in the UK.
 

Erdem

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Erdem Moralioglu’s latest entre deux guerres inspiration was Radclyffe Hall, the brilliant but melancholic gay icon and writer. The push and pull of masculine and feminine: recovered 1920s dresses, split open and then turned the results into screen prints, then used as re-embroidery on flat pieces of linen. Drop-waist 30s shapes, for a straight, slouchy silhouette, referencing Hall’s very femininely attired partner Una. Semi-sheer silk negligee dresses, embroidered with chains and crystals, through which black bras were apparent. Utterly charming.
 

Marni

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Easily the one truly path-breaking collection in Milan, where Renaissance dames and Venetian courtesans met modern clubbers in clothes almost entirely made of cotton. Models walking in every direction, before a Dev Hynes serial sonata – almost hallucinatory. Grazie Francesco Risso.
 

Prada

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A visual fashion debate about the possible influences of AI, and a tweaked greatest hits show from Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons. No single overall tendance, but what a great wardrobe.
 

Dior

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Most people in the audience clearly were not overly enamored by this Diane Chasseresse active sport – gym to pool, judo to bar jacket – collection. But in an era where fitness has never been more important to women, it felt very prescient, influential and now – even if it might be Maria Grazia’s last for the house.
 

Loewe

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In terms of silhouette, nothing rivalled Loewe; from the wobbling modern crinolines held up by thinnest of wires, to the ruched at one hip trousers. While the remarkable feathered tops – sourced from Maison Févier – and finished with prints of great composers were pretty sensational. A designer at the height of his game.
 

Balenciaga

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A proper epic display, the cast striding along a 70-meter-long table, invoking Demna’s memories of his first “shows” as a pre-teen on his granny’s mahogany dining table. Subversive chic; truncated cocoon jackets; jeans with anatomical darting;  and superhero coats finished with corset Medici-worthy collars. ‘Gimme More’ belted out Britney Spears on the soundtrack, and we couldn’t agree more.
 

Celine

Technically, this was only a video of a “show.” But it was 10 times as good a collection as scores of others in an international season of over 300 shows. Shot in the Château de Compiègne, and featuring Hedi’s slinky silhouette, jaunty boleros in glazed lambskin; neat riding jackets in suede; or divine beaded tank tops. Plus, an absolutely perfect houndstooth tweed suit that Mademoiselle Gabrielle Chanel loved. Most probably the next stop on his brilliant career, now he has left Celine.
 

McQueen

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Last season, new boy Sean McGirr didn’t hit a home run at his debut for McQueen. This season, his Banshee-inspired collection most definitely did. His boldly magnificent tailoring, 15-inch collars; pique collar tuxedos and belted necklines won him the biggest cheer of the Paris season. While his tulle frocks; silver mesh gowns and dazzling crystal-encased Banshee final look showed that this Irishman has the design chops to be a worthy successor to his fellow Celt, Alexander McQueen.
 

Valentino

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The Golden Age of Valentino in the Sala Bianca of Florence, married to the maximalist madness of Alessandro Michele, in the biggest hit of Paris. Allied together ruffled tuxedo dress; frilly ruched frocks, bold jacquard jackets – eccentric dandyism worn by a cast in snow white or sinful red tights – satin bows round their ankles, and heads topped by skullcaps, turbans or huge lip rings. Less than two years from his summary dismissal at Gucci, Michele is back with a bang.