PARIS (AP) -- Paris has spoken, and fashion's final authority has laid down the law: This coming fall, it's all about power shoulders, enveloping outerwear, and a color palette that runs from somber to surreal.
If Milan softened up with romance and New York leaned into Y2K grunge, Paris countered with sartorial surety -- a wardrobe built for the sharp, the serious, and the spectacular. Coats are enormous, tailoring is back, and drama is dialed up on every front.
While trends may start in luxury, they quickly trickle down, as fast fashion companies like Zara, H&M, and Shein race to transform runway spectacle into mass-market hits.
Here's what ruled the runways:
If you thought last season's outerwear was oversized, Paris just laughed in your face.
This season, coats aren't just big -- they're monstrous. At Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Ghesquière sent out blanket coats with pannier-like hips, reminiscent of 19th-century railway travelers layering for the journey ahead.
Meanwhile, Balenciaga's Demna reined in the theatrics to focus on pure, sculptural volume: wool coats, puffer-gown hybrids, and structured trenches that redefined silhouette without gimmicks. Marine Serre, ever the sustainable innovator, crafted oversized outerwear from upcycled materials, proving excess and ethics can coexist.
Power shoulders are back, and they mean business.
At Givenchy, Sarah Burton's debut delivered tailored coats with razor-sharp shoulders, softened only by impeccable drape. Victoria Beckham exaggerated the shoulder line on evening silhouettes, creating a statuesque effect. Loewe's Jonathan Anderson played with distorted proportions, adding surrealist twists to a commanding frame.
The message? Whether you're in a power suit or a party dress, take up space.
Color took a turn for the cinematic this season.
Valentino's Alessandro Michele bathed his collection in deep, bloody red, reinforcing its intensity with a show set in a Lynchian restroom. Meanwhile, Akris explored blue -- midnight, cobalt, and cerulean dominated a collection that felt like a meditative study on fabric and light.
Balenciaga presented black as a statement rather than a default, stripping away excess and letting the depth of the shade do the talking.
The takeaway? Monochrome dressing is in, but it's not minimal.
A quiet revolution in high fashion: the return of discreet, considered luxury. No screaming logos, no gimmicky hype -- just clothes so well-made they speak for themselves.
At Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri reworked historical silhouettes into supremely wearable tailoring, proving craftsmanship is the ultimate flex.
An uncharacteristically restrained collection at Rick Owens focused on impeccable construction: bomber jackets lined with leather, laser-cut leather shorts mimicking chainmail, and hoodies made of natural rubber that moved like liquid. This is luxury for those who know.
Tech-infused fashion isn't new, but Coperni took it further with a runway staged as a '90s LAN party, complete with gaming influencers live-streaming the show.
The collection borrowed from cyberculture, with Tamagotchi-shaped bags, futuristic fabrics and anime-inspired styling.
Louis Vuitton collaborated with Kraftwerk on a limited-edition capsule inspired by Trans-Europe Express, blending heritage travel motifs with futuristic detailing. Even Balenciaga got in on the game, crafting couture-worthy sportswear in collaboration with Puma.
The message? The future is interactive.
This season, femininity wasn't soft -- it was bold, aggressive and unapologetically exposed.
Designers stripped it back to its rawest form, literally in some cases. Rick Owens put models in structured outerwear, but left their chests bare, reinforcing a vision of sensual strength.
At Givenchy, sheer knit catsuits left little to the imagination, countered by razor-sharp tailoring. Valentino's fever dream pushed sensuality further, with plunging necklines, sheer lace and corseted waists that oozed eroticism.
The theme mirrored the naked dress takeover at the Oscars days earlier, where sheer, body-revealing gowns dominated the red carpet.
But where Hollywood leaned ethereal, Paris went tougher -- sheer fabrics paired with armor-like corsetry, exposed skin framed by rigid tailoring. At Chloé, aristocratic silhouettes became sensual with transparency, suggesting that power and vulnerability can -- and should -- coexist.
The message? Femininity, stripped of fragility, dressed for battle.
The last of the fashion capitals to show, Paris always has the final, snooty say on what's hot and what's not.
And this season, the message was clear: go big, be bold, and invest in pieces that actually matter.
Whether it's the presence of a power coat, the strength of a structured shoulder, or the quiet confidence of truly luxurious fabric, the best collections weren't about trends -- they were about statements. And in a world that feels increasingly uncertain, that kind of sartorial confidence is exactly what we need.
