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From Leonard Cohen to Final Fantasy, a rundown of the Paris FW25 soundtracks
Even though fashion shows are disseminated more than ever via live streams and Instagram stories, an aspect of these show that can sometimes be lost in reportage can be their soundtracks. A hugely important feature of any show, the soundtrack sets the mood for the collection, often bringing a cinematic atmosphere to the proceedings.
By this point, we’ve all seen the clothes from Paris Men’s FW25, but what were the sounds of these shows? Let’s run through our favourites.
Dior
Kim Jones always brings the drama when it comes to his show soundtracks. Remember his epic use of Prokofiev’s Dance of the Knights for FW24? This season he turned to the prolific British composer Michael Nyman and his soundtrack for Peter Greenaway’s film A Zed & Two Noughts. A new extended arrangement of the track Time Lapse was created by frequent Jones collaborator Simon Parris, which perfectly complemented the grandiose spectacle of the collection. With lush strings filling the show space, it was hard not to be moved.
Louis Vuitton
With a musician in charge of a brand it’s a given that the soundtrack will be great, but did anyone expect Pharrell to begin his latest Louis Vuitton show with a track from the Final Fantasy VII? The track, One Winged Angel a.k.a. Sephiroth’s theme, was played by a live orchestra in the showspace, because if you were the men’s creative director of Louis Vuitton, wouldn’t you also hire an orchestra to play music from your favourite game? Also on the LV soundtrack were songs by Seventeen and The Weeknd as well as a brand new track from Don Toliver and j-hope called, fittingly, LV Bag.
Willy Chavarria
Willy Chavarria took his brand to Paris this season with a suitably blockbuster show. The show began with the Californian singer Dorian Wood singing live in a flowing red gown. As the show went on, J Balvin took over and sang as the models wove around him along the aisle of the American Church in Paris. At the end, Chavarria played the recently viral speech made by Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde to Donald Trump asking for compassion as he comes to power for a new term.
Rick Owens
Rick Owens has always been a Bowie fan (remember FW20?), so it wasn’t a shock to hear Heroes soundtracking his FW25 collection. Playing in English, French and German, Rick wrote that the song is “the constant subliminal soundtrack to a lot of our lives. What you listen to on your earbuds in an empty village train station on a cold foggy night on your way somewhere to work on a weird and wonderful future.” A very Rick mood.
Kenzo
Taking place in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, this season’s Kenzo show had the famed American cellist Erik Friedlander perform a live soundtrack. Having worked with the likes of Laurie Anderson, Courtney Love and John Zorn, Friedlander played a series of classical pieces chosen by Nigo himself.
Saint Laurent
Anthony Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent show took place in a moodily-lit Bourse de Commerce with Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker being remixed over an electronic soundtrack. The models on the runway had a distinctly Cohen-esque sense of style, slick suiting with dark shades, and the inspiration for the collection came from Cohen’s fellow Chelsea Hotel inhabitant, Robert Mapplethorpe.