After the Gold Rush: PFW's Verdict Is Wearability

Saint Laurent closed its show under the glow of the Eiffel Tower with an almost entirely gold collection — liquid lamé, brocade and gold leather revisiting a decade of Anthony Vaccarello codes: the sahariennes, the trenches, the sharp shoulders. Charlotte Gainsbourg performed the finale, and the room gave him a standing ovation.

The show notes read like a farewell — 'a light shines all the more brightly because we know it cannot be held' — and the industry spent the week asking whether ten years marks the end of the Vaccarello era. Nothing is confirmed, but the gold felt like a monument either way.

The wearable read: gold is leaving evening-only territory. Gold leather, lamé skirts and gilded hardware, worn against black, denim or chocolate brown, read as a neutral with voltage.

If one color won the season, it is purple. Miu Miu ran a sleek violet runway — silky purple pieces with flouncy pussy bows and glossy leather blazers, worn by Gigi Hadid, Emma Corrin and Olivia Colman. Alaïa, Kiko Kostadinov and Issey Miyake all went royal; Louise Trotter's Bottega Veneta sent structured purple blazers with sculptural violet hats; Demna's Gucci did a sheer one-shoulder violet maxi.

It crossed over everywhere else too. The Princess of Wales wore a royal purple Jenny Packham gown to the 'Digger' premiere in London; Cynthia Erivo layered a purple blazer over knits at the Chloé show; street-style photographers called purple the most-spotted color on the Paris pavements.

Retail is already betting on it — COS is running a purple knit story, and the nearly sold-out Zara x John Galliano 'Re{form}' collaboration includes a deep violet nappa leather biker jacket. Style it color-blocked with red or brown, not just black.

See-through had another victory lap and still is not tired. At Loewe, slip dresses were knit with rows of glass beads for a translucent, almost armored texture; Louis Vuitton opened with a stone-grey shift under a feather-light cape; Matthieu Blazy opened his Chanel debut with a sheer negligée-inspired dress and full-bottom panty.

Hermès went the pin-up route — high-waisted panty bottoms with multiband bra tops under fine-netted tank dresses and skirts. The message from every house is the same: underwear is outerwear, and it is no longer a provocation, just a wardrobe category.

On the street, the soft version won: sheer lace layered over substantial pieces, kept deliberately unfussy. A lace skirt over opaque layers plus one rich-colored accessory is the whole formula.

Pinstripes had a proper moment — on the runways and, more tellingly, already on the street. At Dior, pinstripes and Prince of Wales checks were cut featherweight as part of Jonathan Anderson's 'with lightness comes movement' thesis; outside the shows, pinstriped tailoring was one of the most repeated uniforms of the week.

The new cut is softer: oversized blazers with fluid drape, wide-leg trousers that elongate without overwhelming. It reads power without stiffness — the boardroom suit, relaxed for people who never sit in boardrooms.

Wear it as a full suit or break it up: pinstripe trousers with a simple knit, an oversized pinstripe blazer thrown over a tee and jeans.