Vogue World: Paris 2024 kicked off with an overture: a promenade of athletes from various disciplines, and couturiers from the houses of Armani Privé, Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, Giambattista Valli, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Maison Margiela, and Schiaparelli. It was a collision of fashion and sports—reflecting the overarching theme of the night, set around the Place Vendôme’s Colonne Vendôme.
The rest of the show unfurled like the world’s most fashionable carousel (Vogue World: Paris’s runway was circular, after all), with more surprises than guests could count. Was that Sabrina Carpenter? Bad Bunny performed!? Was that sprinter Marie-José Pérec closing the show in a dress that rippled like the French Flag? (Yes to all!)
To make sure Vogue World: Paris 2024 guests didn’t miss a beat, we put together a program outlining the show’s celebration of French fashion and sports history. Read the full thing below.
Introduction
Bienvenue! This third stop of Vogue World’s annual tour arrives in Paris on the eve of the Haute Couture and a summer like the city has never seen. Tonight is a celebration of everything that makes this glorious city what it is—from fashion to culture to the arts to the thrill of sport.
We’re gathered in a place of historical and fashionable significance—the heart of the Place Vendôme. Commissioned by Louis XIV and reclaimed by Napoleon I, who keeps watch at the top of the Colonne Vendôme, this is the very square over which Gabrielle Chanel’s Ritz Paris apartment looked and where Elsa Schiaparelli set up shop in 1935. It is hallowed ground for fashion—and tonight marks its first-ever runway show.
Vogue World: Paris will look back, decade by decade, at the last century of French fashion and how it relates to the history of sports—from cycling to swimming to fencing to breakdancing—always with an eye to our present and future.
À vos marques, prêts, partez!
Program
Overture — A Promenade of Athletic Youth and Couture Legends
Donning their white coats, couturiers from the ateliers of Armani Privé, Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, Giambattista Valli, Givenchy, Jean Paul Gaultier, Maison Margiela and Schiaparelli crisscross the Place Vendôme with aspiring athletes dressed in custom Lacoste suits, the flag of Secours Populaire Français in hand.
1920s — Cycling
Cyclists from the French National Team whizz by as a quintet of Chanel dresses debut—three pieces are recreations of Gabrielle Chanel’s seminal 1924 collection and two are more recent designs based on early Chanel. A selection of other 1920s-inspired fashion follows.
1930s — Track and Field
1937 is the year that Cristóbal Balenciaga arrived on Avenue George V, adding his sumptuously restrained approach to the Parisian Haute Couture scene. Two of his strikingly modern creations from the era are recreated by Balenciaga creative director Demna, who shows additional custom creations made for this occasion. A medley of track stars in race-worthy looks speed around while waiters pay homage to Paris’s iconic Course des cafés.
1940s — Aquatics
Models in Jacquemus’s poolside-ready pieces wink at the 1940s—the decade that gave us the bikini. In 1946, two designers, Louis Réard and Jacques Heim, released their takes on scant swimwear. Swimming legends, activists, artists, and more help close out the decade.
1950s — Equestrian
Dior’s New Look, which dominated the mid-century aesthetic, drew inspiration from Victorian riding habits. As such, this decade celebrates the equestrian. Five Dior Bar Suits, the icon of Christian Dior’s New Look Corolle collection, are presented, followed by a march of Marine Serre flags. Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner then take the Place Vendôme on horseback, with both models and stallions fully outfitted in Hermès.
1960s — Fencing
André Courrèges and Paco Rabanne ushered fashion into the Space Age. The former’s all-white looks and the latter’s spangled metallic chain mail call to mind the pristine uniform worn by fencers. Here, contemporary pieces by Courrèges’s Nicolas Di Felice and Rabanne’s Julien Dossena honor their houses’ origins with six dresses modeled by a group that represents the Youthquake of today.
1970 — Gymnastics
Back in 1973, five French and five American designers put on a show at the Palace of Versailles—an historic night since dubbed the Battle of Versailles. Givenchy, who was among the Parisian maisons who participated, gives us five flowing ’70s-inspired capes layered over gymnastics-esque leotards worn by both supermodels and superstars.
1980s — Martial Arts
When power dressing prevailed, Saint Laurent was building out shoulders impossible to ignore, and meanwhile a group of Japanese designers took Paris by storm. Here, a showcase of Anthony Vaccarello’s ’80s-esque pieces alongside conceptual creations from Junya Watanabe, Comme des Garçons, and Noir Kei Ninomiya. Masters of the martial arts join them.
1990s — Football
France’s historic first World Cup win came in 1998. We honor the moment with footballers from that very match, along with members of the Paris Île-de-France Football League. These victors of the pitch are met with legends of the runway, including Pieter Mulier’s reinterpretation of Azzedine Alaïa’s iconic tricolor dress, created for the French bicentennial.
2000s — Tennis
We begin with an ode to Louis Vuitton and Nicolas Ghesquière’s decade in his post as creative director, with a look from each of those ten years. Two more long-running champions, Serena Williams and Venus Williams, then grace the show, wearing Off-White and Marine Serre looks, respectively.
2010s — Breakdancing
The 2010s unfurl in a breakdance flashmob of performers from the French National Team and other top dancers in Louis Vuitton Mens looks by Pharrell Williams, Loewe, Off-White, and Nike. All this momentum builds to a grand celebration.
Show Credits
Creative director: Juan Costa Paz