Paris Fashion Week, Sept. 25 -Oct. 3, 2023, is a premier event on the fashion calendar and showcases the latest trends and designs from top designers. Held in the iconic City of Light (Paris), this event sets the global fashion tone and reflects the current societal shifts and influences. 

Alexis Gerlach, Assistant Head of Accommodation at San Domenico School, praised the Balmain fashion show, saying that she agreed with Balmain’s theme for the show – liberating women’s power – and drew a lot of inspiration.

“I believe Balmain was more of a spring. I was looking at how I could grab Time Capsule Wardrobe pieces for the 

upcoming seasons,” Gerlach said.

“ I think right now everyone has already focused on fall and winter wear. So now [I’m ]looking ahead, and how those pieces for this upcoming season can be brought into the spring.”

According to San Domenico School Dean of Students, Stacy Cohen, fashion is very relevant to the community we live in. She explained how fashion reflects the world.

“It’s a personal expression of one’s taste, style, and personality,” Cohen said. For her, fashion is a matter of personal taste.

“It’s part of…a box of magic markers. What colors do you know? [What] do you like to use? What colors are in? [What] things are you drawn to?

In addition, Micheal White, a veteran model who has modeled at Paris, Milan, and Tokyo Fashion Weeks and walked for Yves Saint-Laurent, Comme des Garçons, and Romeo Gigli made some important points about Paris Fashion Week and the community in which we live.

“I’m fairly ambivalent about fashion,” White said. 

“The aesthetic creativity appeals to me.  The economic importance of it to France is undeniable, as is fashion’s importance to French self-identity.”

However, Micheal White pointed out, he has concerns about the fashion world.

“I have neither the means to participate in haute couture nor the inclination, really,“ White said.

“My sartorial tendency is more conservative and fairly unchanging; it is simpler and more comforting. I also worry about the ecological effects of high fashion and how it may affect climate change.”

The community is full of people with their own opinions, each with their own take on fashion, and whether or not fashion means something to you, the world and fashion will always be inextricably linked.