Top brand creatives play musical chairs as Paris Fashion Week starts: who will take the reigns at Chanel

PARIS, Sept 23 — Paris Fashion Week starts today in a swirl of rumours of musical chairs at some of the sector's most fabled brands.

Falling profits at the two luxury giants LVMH and Kering have sent a shudder through the industry, fuelling talk of a Game of Thrones among top designers.

Celine's Hedi Slimane and Simon Porte Jacquemus — the young French designer who made tiny handbags and tiny everything else a thing — are being talked of to fill Karl Lagerfeld's empty chair at Chanel after Virginie Viard, who took the reins after the Kaiser's death in 2019, bowed out in June.

Tongues are also likely to wag at the spring-summer shows over where John Galliano might go, with his contract at Maison Margiela nearing its end.

Rising young French star Victor Weinsanto — dubbed “The Jacquemus of the East” because he comes from the eastern region of Alsace — kicks off the nine-day marathon of 66 shows, not to mention the myriad of off-calendar shows and presentations.

The starriest affair Monday, however, is likely to be sponsor L'Oreal's show in front of the Paris Opera, with the cosmetic giant's ambassadors Jane Fonda, Kendall Jenner and Eva Longoria likely to be among the guests.

The first of the big-hitters follow Tuesday with Dior and Saint Laurent, the packed calendar reflecting Paris's crushing dominance over rivals Milan, New York and London.

And there is no let-up at the end: Chanel opens the final day on October 1 by returning to the vast Grand Palais, the scene of some of Lagerfeld's most jaw-dropping shows, after an absence of four years.

The brand is shelling out 30 million euros ($33.5 million) for the right to stage its shows at the iconic Belle Epoque edifice, which reopened after a major facelift to host fencing and taekwondo at the Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games.

With Viard — long Lagerfeld's right-hand woman — gone, observers expect a collection drawn from Chanel classics.

In contrast, there could well be fireworks from Alessandro Michele, the mercurial Italian designer who transformed Gucci, who may be keen to make his mark with his debut show for Valentino.

Party at Disneyland

Equally hotly anticipated is French duo Coperni, who are staging their show at Disneyland Paris on the final night, with an after-party in the theme park that promises to go on into the wee hours.

Designers Arnaud Vaillant and Sebastien Meyer pulled off a coup with their outfit for Belgian singer Angele for the Olympics closing ceremony, and are clearly in a mood to celebrate.

“It all began with a dream,” they wrote on Instagram. “Disneyland Paris is all about entertainment and emotion. We are working closely with the Disney teams to create a magical moment to share with all of you.”

Another hot duo, the Olsen twins, the Los Angeles child actors turned designers, have kept their place for their luxury line The Row in fashion week proper thanks to a cash injection from the owners of Chanel and L'Oreal.

Missing, however, will be Victoria/Tomas, which went out of business in June after eight years on the Paris podium.

Despite winning the Pierre Berge and the ANDAM prizes last year, Avellano will also be absent along with longtime fixture Y/Project, who have lost their star designer Glenn Martens to Diesel.

Paris will also be without Givenchy this time, with its new British designer Sarah Burton, a stalwart at Alexander McQueen for a quarter of a century, just made creative director.

Paris hipsters Acne Studio are back on the catwalk, however, after flirting with canape and champagne presentations. — AFP