Street style in Paris brings the magic of fashion week alive

While attention is on the shows, the rest of the French capital retains that je ne sais quoi

A polka dot dress worn over jeans spotted during Paris Fashion Week. All photos: Sarah Maisey / The National

Mixing a cropped bomber jacket with a voluminous dress in Paris.

Kate Moss attends the Saint Laurent spring/summer 2023 show at Paris Fashion Week. Getty Images

PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 27: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY - For Non-Editorial use please seek approval from Fashion House) Kate Moss attends the Saint Laurent Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on September 27, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)

Two 'off-duty' models spotted heading to their next show.

High-end jewellery house Terzihan unveiled its latest creation during fashion week, a one-of-a-kind reticulated necklace in rose gold, diamonds, lapis and matt onyx.

An embroidered coat seen ahead of the Cecilie Bahnsen show.

Gold boots and pigtails, seen at the Cecilie Bahnsen spring/summer 2023 show.

A man wearing a corset and leather trousers during Paris Fashion Week.

A ruffled dress worn under a tailored jacket on the streets of Paris.

Dresses worn over trousers is having a serious moment in Paris this September.

A man clowning for the camera near Quai de Conti, Paris.

It's not only the women wearing skirts over trousers.

A portrait of Carolina Herrera by Andy Warhol.

A babydoll dress with a tulle hem at Carolina Herrera for spring/summer 2023.

Carolina Herrera embraces the 1980s drop waist for spring/summer 2023.

Metallic blue leather shoes at By Far for spring/summer 2023.

Metallic mules with a chunky heel, for spring/summer 2023, at By Far.

New clear elements for spring/summer 2023, at By Far.

By Far is also launching sunglasses for spring/summer 2023.

The Valentino store on Rue Saint-Honore in Paris has been wrapped in pink to celebrate the Pink PP collection.

The entrance to the Dior spring/summer 2023 fashion show.

Twin fashionistas spotted ahead of the Dior show.

The set created for the Dior spring/summer 2023 show. Made from thousands of layers of cardboard, all painstakingly etched to create a grotto.

Paris is fairly jaded by fashion week, which is no surprise given the whole wondrous circus descends a minimum of six times a year — twice for women's ready-to-wear, twice for the men's and then two rounds of haute couture.

As a city used to statuesque models striding its streets and roads clogged with cars ferrying fashion editors, buyers and influencers from show to show, Paris has mastered how to retain its identity while playing host to the biggest style personalities. This means the magic can be felt throughout the city, on the metro and in the cafes as it embraces the craziness that is fashion week.

At the Dior show on Tuesday, for example, held at the Jardin des Tuileries, hundreds of people turned out to catch a glimpse of Natalie Portman, Jisoo and Alexandra Daddario, roaring their approval when they finally arrived. With Parisians normally so reserved, this felt like a seismic shift.

Scroll through the gallery below to see photos from the Dior and Saint Laurent shows

A few streets away, meanwhile, on Rue Saint-Honore, the Italian house of Valentino celebrated the arrival of its autumn/winter 2022-2023 collection, called Pink PP, by wrapping its offices in shocking pink fabric, giving the normally elegant building the look of a giant bouncy castle.

The streets feel pleasantly crowded, suggesting things have returned to a pre-pandemic normal, and the queues are back outside the Chanel and Louis Vuitton stores, despite the frequent rain.

Men stroll past in purple suits and coats worn hanging off shoulders just-so, and every third woman seems to be wearing a trench coat, neatly belted or left trailing in the wind. There are plenty of little dogs being carried, and a surprising number of people are wearing fur — a material said to be relegated to the back of the wardrobe long ago.

As it rains, people mill about without coats, a sure sign you're in the presence of one of the fashion pack, who, travelling in cars, don't have to worry about sensible layers and footwear.

One look that seems to be having a real moment is dresses over trousers, last seen in the 1990s. Now updated, trend followers are wearing loose, roomier dresses, a la Cecilie Bahnsen — at whose show it was spotted several times — finished with trainers for a carefree attitude.

At Bahnsen's show held in the historic quadrant of the Monnaie de Paris, once the French mint, the looks unfolded in the pouring rain, which felt strangely apt considering the show was called "we are water". As the rain fell, the press sat with coats on their heads until umbrellas were handed out.

Nearby on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, Wes Gordon, the creative director of Carolina Herrera, was in town to show off the spring/summer 2023 collection he recently debuted in New York. In bright summery colours such as primrose yellow, cherry pink and cornflower blue, and a riot of tweeds, florals and beautiful draping, it felt like a blast of summer against the grey skies outside.

Around the show locations, which are scattered throughout the city, legions of supermodels can be spotted, towering over the rest of us, clad in all manner of boots, long socks, mini skirts and combat trousers. Clearly used to the spectacle, most Parisians barely seem to notice.

It's difficult not to notice the countless jewellery stores, however, offering every bauble imaginable in both new and antique. One highlight of the week is that jewellery house Terzihan is revealing its latest creation — a one-of-a-kind necklace in rose gold, diamonds, lapis and matt onyx. Reticulated to flow around the neck, and having taken a team of six more than two months to create, it seems a perfect metaphor for the city: beautiful, unique and deeply complicated.

Welcome to Paris Fashion Week.

Scroll through the gallery below to see celebrities at the Saint Laurent show