Vogue’s best looks from the Balenciaga and Valentino spring/summer 2024 shows

Balenciaga SS24

10-word show review: Demna‘s best hits with his friends and family in the spotlight.
Designer: Demna Gvasalia
Location: Cour du Dôme des Invalides

The vision: When it came to the curtain call of the Balenciaga spring/summer 2024 collection, creative director Demna Gvasalia gave a flashy performance. After having a sombre and quieter approach in his last ready-to-wear show, Demna returned in full force, reiterating his subversive perspective on high fashion and staying true to his own design ethos.

The vibe: The entire space, decorated with bellowing red curtains and velvet red floors, prefaced a grand showing to come. As always, diversity remained to be a focus for Demna as models of varied ages, statures, sizes and races (including surprise appearances from Cathy Horyn, Diane Pernet and BFRND) walked Balenciaga’s spring/summer 2024 runway. With Demna’s own mother opening the show, it seemed that this particular collection was closer to the creative director’s heart than ever.

Signature silhouettes: The theme in question appeared to be airport fashion, which varied from office and formal wear to loungewear, with some models carrying passports as a prop. In classic Demna fashion, shoulder pads appeared in droves in blazers, field jackets, dresses and coats, while in contrast to that were some constrictive and shrunken garments that reminded us of his debut Balenciaga collection. Most pieces were clad in black with the exceptional pop of colour or printed in florals and camouflage. And amidst the sea of black, heavily adorned bags with random trinkets came into full focus. The occasional body-hugging tribal tattoo tops also emerged; potentially a reference to the techno scene’s infatuation with the art form. Veering towards the end of the show were less casual and more dramatic pieces, with bridal and partywear influences seen throughout the dishevelled pieces that followed. A standout had to be a shredded gown with balls of leftover tulle and exposed seams; a masterclass in deconstruction.

Valentino SS24

10-word show review: A celebration of femininity through a focus on symbolism and the body.
Designer: Pierpaolo Piccoli
Location: École des Beaux-Arts

The vision: Beyond the walls of Paris’s École des Beaux-Arts laid the celebration of femininity, through Valentino‘s spring/summer 2024 collection. The message and directive were clearly felt through the collection—a celebration of the feminine body; not through the lens of provocativeness and eroticism, but that of goodness and naturalism.

The vibe: A nourishing and meditative soundscape of pebbles, sand and soil echoed and reverberated throughout the historical school as four women on white pedestals moved in sync, tenderly in both strength and gentleness. Breaking the otherwise calm tempo of the opening act was FKA Twigs, who performed her raw hyper-pop-influenced musical number, as models strode into the space.

Signature silhouettes: While most of Paris Fashion Week was dictated by blacks, Pierpaolo Piccoli chose an eye-blinding white as a showing of light and purity. Renaissance cutouts (cues to the architectural quality of the setting) were done in the most pristine of whites; with a linen embossing and bonding technique that’s unique to the maison. Dresses with thigh-high splits reflected sensuality from a modern and confident woman. A coat with cutouts in the form of doves sought to draw its parallels to the feminine psyche through the bird’s symbolism as a herald of peace and love.