Golden age

In the late 1940s and early ’50s, designers like Christian Dior, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel, and Hubert de Givenchy ushered in what’s now referred to as the ‘Golden Age’ of French fashion, and there was no doubt of Paris’s supremacy in womenswear. Things got a bit more complicated in the mid-’60s, however, with London’s ‘youthquake’, led by the likes of Mary Quant, while the 1970s and ’80s saw the rise of Milan and Tokyo as major fashion centres. And if the ‘defection’ of many Japanese designers to France à la Takada quelled the threat from the East, Paris – despite enjoying a renaissance of sorts with designers like Christian Lacroix and Jean-Paul Gaultier – faced increasing pressure from London and New York, rivals old and new, in the late ’ 80s and ’90s. “But they kept pushing back,” says Steele of the French.

Through soft power and cultural branding, the emergence of haute couture, and the assiduous promotion of French fashion on behalf of the French, as well as vested tastemakers abroad, Paris came to enjoy a reputation of seemingly irrefutable chicness. But today, considering the status of cities like London, Milan, and New York, and the increasing globalisation of the fashion industry – “[Fashion] is pretty much all over the world,” as Kenzo Takada puts it – can Paris still be talked about as the fashion capital of the world?

According to Steele, Paris still reigns internationally as a fashion metropolis for a variety of reasons. For one, it’s home to some of the world’s most prominent fashion conglomerates. “Fashion is no longer a question so much of small independent businesses,” she states, “but of giant conglomerates. Almost all the luxury groups – LVMH, Kering, etc – are based in Paris, [despite having] bought up Italian companies [and] invested in English [and] American ones.” Steele also believes Parisian fashion shows to be superior to those held in other cities. “It’s not as thrilling to go to Milan. [And] I mean, New York is a wonderful place, but the New York fashion shows don’t have the glamour and excitement that the ones in Paris do, for the most part.”

Her opinion is echoed by Paris-based designer Agnès b: “They’ve tried with Milan and London, [and] with New York – there are shows everywhere,” she tells BBC Designed, “but inspiration comes from Paris, for sure”. Similarly, designer Isabel Marant, also based in Paris, points to the grandeur of the city’s fashion shows, too, in commenting on its status as the world’s fashion capital. “Paris,” says Marant, “is quite unique for the way that fashion is expressed [there], for the quality and level of the shows of its fashion week.”

The presence of major conglomerates in Paris and the quality of its contemporary fashion shows are certainly important to consider. History, though, is perhaps the crucial element in the continued perception of Paris as the epicentre of fashion – regardless of whether the historical associations being made are rational or the result of clever marketing done by the French and others with a stake in French fashion. “France has always been … [introducing] new ways of wearing clothes,” says Agnès b. “It has always been [this way] in France. We’ve had this for a long time.” Marant agrees: “France has a great cultural heritage,” she tells BBC Designed, mentioning the likes of Paul Poiret, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Chanel, who “created new trends [and were] admired all over the world”. And as Agnès b points out: “Now [there’s] a new generation [of designers], but Paris has still this aura, I think.”

It may seem strange to place so much emphasis on Paris’s sartorial past, no matter how dazzling it may be. As Gilbert writes, however, “The status of fashion capital in the 21st Century is as much about reputation, expectations, heritage, and tradition as the design and production of actual garments… Deep and long-running symbolic associations also have real economic and cultural consequences.” Steele puts it slightly more casually. “The law of precedents is really important. If you’ve been the fashion capital longest and have this amazing reputation, then you can ding it around the corners an awful lot and it still comes out looking like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s still the best!’”

In light of such arguments, one is hard pressed to deny the primacy of Paris as a fashion capital. But what about the future? Do those who feel Paris to be the world’s fashion capital think the title could potentially be seized by another? “Of course anything can change,” says Steele, who suggests Shanghai as a possible contender, on account of China’s growing economic clout. And, though they don’t single out any particular cities, Takada and Marant also raise the issue of increasing international competition and the proliferation of fashion shows around the world. “There are many cities [also] showing… very interesting [styles and] emerging talents,” Marant admits. Considering, however, the immense role played by heritage and history in forming perceptions of cities as fashion capitals, it seems unlikely that Paris, the fabled ‘Queen of the World’, will budge from her throne anytime soon, if at all.