Bret Schnitker, Emily Lane
November 4, 2025
Emily Lane 00:08
Here we are again. We're using that metaphor of sun, sunlight as a guiding North Star, if you will. Like let's look to the sun. Let's look towards joy and happiness.
Emily Lane 00:35
Welcome to Clothing Coulture, a fashion industry podcast at the intersection of technology and innovation. I'm Emily Lane and
Bret Schnitker 00:42
I'm Bret Schnitker. We speak with experts and disruptors who are moving the industry forward and discuss solutions to real industry challenges.
Emily Lane 00:51
Clothing Coulture is produced by stars Design Group, a global design and production house with more than 30 years of experience.
Emily Lane 01:01
Welcome back to another episode of Clothing Coulture, where fashion meets culture, history and human experience. I'm Emily Lane
Bret Schnitker 01:11
and I'm Bret Schnitker, and this week, we're going to do a deeper dive into Paris Fashion Week, a week that seemed more or less like a spectacle and really more like a cultural reckoning.
Emily Lane 01:22
Totally agree in our weekly drop of clothing brief, we recently covered highlights from Paris Fashion Week for spring, summer, 2026 we were absolutely blown away by what we saw during those shows, and we felt that the depth and richness of what was happening in these shows deserved a much deeper conversation. Therefore, we're here today. You know, at a time of global uncertainty, rising authoritarianism, climate anxiety, social unrest, fashion showed up and not just as a form of escape, but really as a form of resistance, hope and emotional clarity. Yeah,
Bret Schnitker 02:02
I think for so long, fashion hasn't been in that same category as other art genres that you know can speak to what's happening. It's viewed as materialistic kind of surface, not really regarded for its ability to talk about global conditions. And I think in this particular moment, designers didn't shy away from that. I think they really leaned in. They leaned in with romanticism, Futurism, and a surprising amount of tenderness with what's going on today. Let's unpack what Paris kind of told us this season and the theme for this week was change.
Emily Lane 02:40
Change. That's right, yeah, so let's talk about fashion as a cultural response. We'll start here the emotional tone of the shows. It wasn't really about trends only. It really was storytelling. We saw kind of in continuity across a lot of brands, thinking through Valentino's fireflies, for example, this was remarkable storytelling. The show opened up with a dialog that had this incredible soundtrack, this deep soundtrack that felt quite heavy. And the dialog spoke to the concern of the cusp of World War Two coming, and the comfort in friendship and the joy and mystery found in the space of little light, the light of fireflies. This, to me, felt like such a poetic way to balance concerns about what is happening around the world right now, this kind of shadow and fear of fascism, but like trying to stay grounded through a spark of hope, a little bit of light.
Bret Schnitker 03:49
yeah, absolutely. You know, in this case, Alessandro Michel, you know, coming off his, his, what is tour at Gucci, if you will. He, you know, he was always known for maximalism, and I think he offered this more quiet 70s palette, beaux, ruching and velvet. It was nostalgic, but not naive. It kind of felt like a recalibration.
Emily Lane 04:14
Yeah, I'm so glad you mentioned that 70s nod. We saw that in a lot of collections, that kind of appreciation of 70s fashion, we saw other eras too that were moments of expression when fashion was about peace and love, and I think that that was very intentional to be looking at fashion in times where we had more unity in our world. And so this is kind of a hope to say, hey, let's bring that peace and love back in our forefront. You know, we've had several collections that excellently bridge that gap between past and present and present.
Bret Schnitker 04:56
Yeah, I agree. You know, I think fashion here became. Um, I don't know, some type of an emotional armor. We all need it right now. Right now. You know, designers are asking, maybe, how do we dress for hope, for resistance, even, and for love. You know, Paris is a city that's known all of that, right?
Emily Lane 05:19
The city of life, city of love,
Bret Schnitker 05:22
yeah, and city of revolution. At times, your favorite show Les Mis yeah, there's all these things,
Emily Lane 05:30
yeah, you know, thinking about those thematic threads, like we were just talking about with the 70s, you know, another thread that we saw quite a bit of was romanticism. You know, Dior leaned into the volume, pleating and lace and accentuating various curves of the body. You know, bringing back some of those vintage silhouettes that kind of speaks to that rebellion you're talking about.
Bret Schnitker 05:55
Yeah, I think you know that that whole nostalgic and vintage everyone kind of looks back when things are tough, and you're seeing that happen in fashion quite a bit, and even that retro fashions looking to the future, that was what was so wild. And you know, what a departure, a change and a challenge for Sarah Burton Givenchy, you know, it was another standout, I think her architectural clarity, those oversized angles, you know, these balanced volumes of fabric, I think it brought drama, but also emotional finesse. You know, when we think about her challenges, moving from Givenchy, or moving from Alexander McQueen to Givenchy. You know, Givenchy is Parisian restraint refinement, and McQueen is this dark romanticism and intellectual provocation. You know, they both worship the craft, but one whispers and the other stages in office. And it's an interesting note that even Alexander McQueen, he was a designer at Givenchy at one point, yeah, and so, you know, Sarah Burton kind of following this kind of, you know, path here.
Emily Lane 06:56
It's really fascinating, you know, for me, when I saw her collection, it really made me understand how much of her voice was in McQueen from for ever. I just thought how brilliantly she carried that legacy of Alexander McQueen, and that vision was so, it's like, it's like, he never left. She carried it on so, so convincingly
Bret Schnitker 07:30
your favorite brand.
Emily Lane 07:33
And so, of course, I was very sad to see her leave. But wow, I'm it's amazing what she's she's bringing that to Givenchy, she and it's nice to see that this is truly her DNA, that those, those you know, wonderful angles and the finesse of structure, that it can be daring but also elegant at the same time and and showcase the body in the right way, and be daring and dramatic, but also show that restraint, like in her color choice, that red is just absolutely the perfect.
Bret Schnitker 08:07
Are you shifting? Are you shifting loyalties, following-
Bret Schnitker 08:10
I might be shopping soon.
Emily Lane 08:15
Another standout for me was the Chanel show. You know,
Bret Schnitker 08:20
they're always bigger than life, you know,
Emily Lane 08:22
they are. They always pick these amazing venues and so forth. And they're, they're big. And this was big, you know, you had the whole thing about the universe, or at least the near you totally. You had this planetary Skyline above and and it's this kind of you're walking through outer space. It was, it was incredibly powerful. And I felt that Matthew Blaze did a really good take on let's honor the legacy of Chanel, but let's modernize some things. And I felt like it's time to be honest. You know, I think in years recent past, I've been maybe like, Oh, we're gonna see another Chanel show, you know, and it just felt like it was going to be the same thing. And to me, this felt far more exciting and fresh than it had in a little while.
Bret Schnitker 09:13
still staying true to some of the original fabrications that's made Chanel pretty popular, like the boucles and stuff. It was, you know, was Chanel. It was lineage and laboratory a little bit, right, the experiment. I think it was intellectual luxury with kind of a wink. It was nicely done,
Emily Lane 09:31
yeah, I think, I think Chanel, you know, if she were here, would be extremely proud about what is showing on the on the runway this last this last round Courreges. They were so brilliant, I think they had courage. Their theme was blinded by the sun, and here we are again. We're using that metaphor of sun. Sunlight is a guiding north star, if you will, like, let's look to the sun. Let's look towards joy and happiness. And they even had some cheeky fun. As their invitation, they sent out sunglasses like, get ready to be blinded by what we're going to show you. It was, you know, futuristic and minimalism at best. There was gender ambiguity, which is resonating more deeply with a lot of audiences. And again,
Bret Schnitker 10:22
some not, right?
Emily Lane 10:23
Well, they're talking about the quiet revolution, right? And so fashion is really stepping in to just say, hey, look, we are moving this way. There might be people that are trying to prevent some of this, but it's not going to happen, so let's celebrate it.
Bret Schnitker 10:38
Yeah, the, you know, the circular runway, the shifting colors, kind of that club ready silhouette. It really felt like this wild space age dream. And then, you know, I guess bringing it a little bit down to earth, if you will, with some relevance there,
Emily Lane 10:54
that's so perfect. Yeah, so since we're talking about the Earth, let's talk about the materiality side of things and the message behind that. You know, I've long admired Stella McCartney. She's been a pioneer on really focusing her collections around sustainability, ethical manufacturing. She is continuing to pave that way. She introduced feathers instead of feathers, a plant based alternative and, you know, and that celebrated it all over. I mean, we had, we had lots of feathers in that collection. And I just think that is so bold.
Bret Schnitker 11:33
Yeah, I think, you know, it was moral theater. I think, you know, Stella McCartney has been struggling a little bit with volume, but she remains really committed to the sustainable approach. 98% of our brand is is sustainable, you know. And I think everything that she did, light, tailor, quiet, power, fashion can be beautiful and conscientious, I think is what she constantly kind of reaffirms, you know, we've got to give her credit in a world where, well, at least on this side of the hemisphere, that is kind of walking away from real world challenges, like, you know, climate issues, and kind of taking a blind eye to that. Congratulations to Stella McCartney, the brand, to really, really continue that. And we know that, you know around the world, that's a big conversation, and so I think supporting Stella and everything that she's doing it is definitely a challenge, right? Less than what 8% of the fabrics available in the world are anything sustainable. Here you're doing this high end brand, and you have this very, very limited focus of fabrics you don't, you know, she doesn't have the luxury of breadth of fabric that others do, and what she what the teams do with that is really pretty remarkable.
Emily Lane 12:51
Yeah, I agree. You know, you speak to the challenge of volume. And as we have tried to help other brands step through exploration of bringing sustainability into their collection. It's become more it's not the easiest conversation. It's becoming easier. But the challenge is always volume, like, how much impact can you make a lot of these resources, there's such limited supply of I'm glad that that's shifting. And things are turning around in that space, you know, I think Stella, you know, even in this space where she might be limited in volume a little bit, she is an incredible educator in this. And education is half the battle, you know, letting people know that there are alternatives and and I think as more people band together and to prioritize this, not only from a designer community side, but from a consumer side, the more people are going to step up and say, Okay, we've got to commit to supporting these initiatives. Yeah, for sure, you know it was, I think it all points to the industry as a whole, really maturing and taking on this responsibility of of managing a social response, but also staying true to their individual DNAs. It's such an incredible difficult balance. They it was successful, I think, pretty much across the board. And it makes me wonder how many of them got together and said, Hey, let's have a little meeting. Like, what can we do? The band together and and fight with fabric?
Bret Schnitker 14:28
Yeah, I think, I mean, when you talk about the theme was change, right? That was an understatement. We've talked in our kind of little weekly drops about how much change has occurred through all the major Parisian houses, and, you know, preparing for collections and quickly understanding and learning the DNA. I mean, there's a lot of talent on the ground. I mean, Balenciaga, Margiela, Gaultier, all introduced new creative leads. You know, Pierre Palo Piccoli, Picioli, Balenciaga, lean into craft and reverence. Duran Lantink revived Galtier with sculpture provocation, blurring kind of body, expectations, pushing boundaries. It was, it was they were. They were moving really quickly. I think discovering, you know where they are. And I think they were doing some incredible things.
Emily Lane 15:23
Yeah, you with change often comes skepticism. You know, we've on our clothing brief that we have weekly where we're talking about, kind of the latest news in the industry. It feels like, for the last six months, like every week, we're like, Oh, there's another house that's seeing great change. And new creative directors coming in, our new CEOs coming in, what's going to happen. And I think so many people are afraid that they're going to lose something that was identified as so connected and special to that brand. But this kind of provided me some hope that, you know, change can be good too. You know, I don't know if you ever read that book Who Moved My Cheese, but that's all about like, hey, you know, change can be a really good thing. And I feel like we saw a lot of great evolution. You know, even kind of like your your king of prep Tom Browne, right? He, he, I think, evolved in a fresh, new way. You know, we know him for his prep looks, but he played with proportion in a new, daring way. A lot of pattern play, the colors that he embraced were, you know, it felt like he even he was like, I'm still going to be prep, but I'm going to be a little bit wilder. So, you know, I think it's showcasing that the shifts that are happening. It's not just about a new voice. It's not about a fresh perspective, and that's going to be the focus of things. It really was about values. You know, let's take that emotional resonance over irony. Let's take clarity over chaos. So we're really kind of confronting these, these social challenges that we're dealing with with light,
Bret Schnitker 17:06
yeah, you know, even Tom Ford under Mr. Ackerman, I think he, you know, he kind of moved toward this central minimalism. I think it was raw. It was kind of, in a positive way, sort of stripped down. And and I think it was deeply felt.
Emily Lane 17:22
I agree. Let's shine a little light on those emerging voices and provocations that had a chance to shine over Paris fashion Week.
Bret Schnitker 17:32
yeah, Duran Lantink,that we talked about. And then, you know, the shit, if you will. Maphere Fiscal, isn't that funny? Yeah, they've been around since 2014 that I always chuckle when I hear fecal matter as being a brand,
Emily Lane 17:47
but it does sound prettier in French, like so many things.
Bret Schnitker 17:49
it's almost somebody's name. You think, you know, you know that duo has been pretty powerful for a long time. You looked at the collection. Now it's, you know, I think it offered counterpoints to polish. It's, you know, they played with proportion. Those beautiful satin fabric,
Emily Lane 18:10
gorgeous. And those, those beautiful, soft pinks, those kind of like Marilyn rose, yeah, you know, very, which is
Bret Schnitker 18:16
very material, fical.
Emily Lane 18:18
It was, it was, it was pretty fascinating. Sexuality was present wasn't performative, you know, Courrage, Miu Miu. Chanel again, you know, they all explored these themes of sensuality with a little bit of nuance. It truly was like sexuality with modesty, but still very feminine.
Bret Schnitker 18:41
Yeah, it was. It was interesting, because fashion, for so long, has had this kind of sexual connotation, right and and I think fashion kind of reclaimed more of the word intimacy this time. And intimacy isn't related for connection, not like sexual intimacy, shock. It was, it was really, I don't know, the shows were moving to me. They they were masterful storytelling. And I think here kind of art represented current cultural challenges. And I think they did it very, very well.
Emily Lane 19:20
Yeah, I'm so glad that you brought that up that this was intimacy in conversation. I mean, because, let's face it, if a lot of the world is united in concern right now, the way that positive change can happen is through conversation and having, you know, safe formats, like a fashion show. You know, is certainly a wonderful way to open that that door and show how many people have the same threads of thought. Yeah, agreed. So let's look at some reflections and takeaways from this amazing season. What did Paris tell us Bret?
Bret Schnitker 19:58
Fashion's a mirror. Like art is a mirror in many cases. I think it reflects our fears, it reflects our hope, our longing for beauty, and specifically, kind of meaning, you know, trying to decipher that.
Emily Lane 20:12
Yeah, I think also we, we heard, you know, fashion isn't just for fashion sake. It's not about more clothes. It's not about fast clothes. It's about being smarter with our decisions, having intention. It's about having a cultural dialog and showcasing the social illustration that our fashion brings to to the people. It was quite I would say it was quite inspirational overall.
Bret Schnitker 20:42
And I think, you know, after reading so much every day and just feeling really shrugged down, yeah, you know, in times of this kind of, I don't know, global darkness, if you will, there just seems to be this heaviness that's going on, that fashion can still provide light. And that's an emotion we all need. We need to take a break. We need to enjoy beauty and splendor and artisanal creativity. Creativity, I think, a reminder that in creative, in creativity, love and joy still matter. Yeah, I think those things are really community. It all matters. Yeah, it's able to take a breath, sort of like, interesting. Wow. That's beautiful. That's compelling.
Emily Lane 21:27
It makes me feel like, you know, it has a new purpose to me, and I, I really a Bravo to Paris Fashion Week. Bravo to all that showed their collections and the brilliant execution of storytelling, and of course, the gorgeous collections that we saw walk. Thank you for joining us through this journey this week. I hope it sparked a little something new in you, whether it's a fresh perspective or a deeper appreciation for the power of design. Bret, do you have any final thoughts to share before you wrap this up?
Bret Schnitker 22:05
Follow us on socials. We might have a few behind the scenes moments. My God, I hope not all those things are being edited out. Any upcoming episodes. We're always appreciative that we continue to grow our audience. Always keep asking, What does fashion say about us? I know it says it's time to wear another black shirt.
Emily Lane 22:29
That's right. Well, until next time, stay curious. stay couture, and don't forget to subscribe to stay aprised of upcoming conversations.
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