Cosplay, showgirls and wild prints: Paris street style trends for SS24

At the end of fashion month, Paris got really crazy on and off the catwalk. In the French capital, one street style look stole the show from the next. Some visitors experimented with very unusual looks that were likely to amaze any fashion enthusiast.

Wild Y2K

The fact that the looks of the 00s are back can no longer be denied. However, even with this trend it is still possible to go a step further and play with the boundaries of taste. Wild pattern mixes, where floral prints and animal prints meet tartan, come with a selection of jewellery and make-up that are anything but discreet. And all in all, there can be a little bit more of everything. It no longer seems to be about a specific style of the decade, but about picking out your favourite pieces, where gothic and rocky styles meet the ‘it girl’.

Cosplay

However, the looks below show that extremes can be taken even further, almost begging the question of whether this is still street style or if it is a costume.

In the western world, more and more cosplay fans are finding shelter under the cosplay umbrella. For the most part, it’s the very elaborate costumes inspired by anime, Japanese cartoons and video games that play an important role. For many of their fans, however, this kind of subculture goes beyond the look and becomes a full-blown attitude to life.

But even the look of previously known subcultures such as gothic might seem like a costume to outsiders. Especially undercurrents like ‘Victorian Gothic’, where opulent dresses, frills and lace of the Victorian era are rendered in black, stand out.

But in the end, isn’t that what fashion is all about? After all, it often offers an escape into other worlds and gives one’s personality the power to express itself, even or especially when it doesn’t conform to the norm.

Of course, there are certainly exceptions to the theme of “dressing up or being stylish”, where it’s really just about standing out from the street style crowd of the fashion weeks and having a ‘crazy look’ that attracts the camera’s flashlight. But that’s the way it is in this street style game: see and be seen.

Showgirls

Some reach into the carnival costume box for their show moment and ‘tap dance like a bear’ and other looks are perhaps closer to a Brazilian carnival or a burlesque look from the Moulin Rouge.

Here the focus is clearly on body-hugging looks that show lots of skin, and glitter. The styles range from shimmering show dresses to transparent bodysuits studded with rhinestones to metallic bustiers that almost resemble large-scale accessories. At the same time, a statement piece like this is also enough to create a special look, which is then combined with more understated pieces like a pair of plain jeans.

Marni fans: polka dots and stripes

At every fashion week and show, there will also be guests who show their affection for a particular brand. This season, the support for the Italian label Marni was particularly noticeable. The street styles around the show, held in a former Paris residence of the late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, relied on patterns such as the eye-catching polka dots from the past Autumn/Winter 23 collection as well as colourful – often fluffy – tops with horizontal stripes, which can also be found in Marni’s ready-to-wear collection.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.DE. Translation and edit from German into English by Veerle Versteeg.