FASHION FAMILY: French President Emmanuel Macron confessed that he was feeling “anxious” ahead of the fashion dinner he hosted at the Élysée Palace on Monday night.
He wasn’t worried about Naomi Campbell being late — though she was, making quite an entrance in a black pantsuit streaked with red threads fresh off Alexander McQueen’s spring runway. Nor was he nervous about being in a room full of fashion experts and critics.
It was because the last time he threw such an event was February 2020, just before the coronavirus ravaged the world, forcing him to lock down the country only a few weeks later.
“I hope after this dinner, something big will happen, but positive,” he said, to a round of nervous chuckles.
Before the buffet-style dinner, designers Nicolas Ghesquière, Pharrell Williams, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Rick Owens, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Olivier Rousteing, Glenn Martens and dozens more milled around the garden for cocktails, eventually assembling for a messy group shot on the lawn.
Olivier Theyskens said he was the first person to arrive, which he was thankful for as he managed to catch the golden light falling on the palace and its picturesque gardens.
The designer spent most of the last year making costumes for Mylène Farmer’s “Nevermore” tour, which might never end.
Theyskens explained that several dates at Stade de France were canceled last July amid unrest in Paris following the police killing of a teenager, and have been rescheduled for Sept. 28, 29 and Oct. 1 in 2024. He’s not sure yet if he’ll be conscripted to make new ones.
Martens was still on a high after his outdoor Diesel show and rave in Milan, not upset at all that the clouds opened up as soon as his runway show started, and the drops stopped after the finale. “It was perfect,” he assured.
Anthony Alvarez, the designer behind Bluemarble, had just attended one of Usher’s Paris concerts, delighted to see that the singer donned roller skates while wearing the sparkly animal-print jumpsuit he had designed. “It was my first time collaborating with Swarovski,” Alvarez said.
The dinner offered a rare chance for designers from competing luxury groups to hobnob, Chiuri rushing to hug Demna before leaving. Demna noted on his way out that Chiuri once sent him a vintage Balenciaga handbag, which touched him deeply.
The event fell on the eve of the last day of Paris Fashion Week, allowing Chanel’s Bruno Pavlovsky, president of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, to declare it a success, spanning 67 shows and 40 presentations, with the lion’s share of participants — about 60 percent — hailing from outside of France.
He thanked Macron “for honoring fashion by welcoming us here this evening at the Élysée.”
Macron told the crowd that France is a “welcoming country” for foreign talents, who not only add beauty, but help transform the country. “Paris is your place,” he said. “Long live fashion!”