To an outsider, it can often look like the fashion world exists inside its own apolitical bubble. The image of lots of beautiful people parading down a runway in an opulent show space can feel disconnected from the world around us. But, ultimately, the sign of a great fashion designer is how they use clothing to reflect our times back at us. Think of the anarchic runways of Vivienne Westwood and how she undercut and subverted Britishness during a deeply conservative era, or more recently how Benjamin Huseby and Serhat Işik of the Berlin-based brand GmbH closed their FW24 Paris show (which incorporated keffiyeh patterns throughout) with a personal plea to end the war in Gaza.

At this season’s Paris Men’s FW25, obvious sartorial trends took a backseat. There’s been far too much upheaval amongst creative directors over the past year for brands to focus on taste-making. Instead, we’re in a distinctly liminal place with fashion. A new guard is beginning to crop up (such as Michael Rider at Celine, Julian Klausner at Dries Van Noten, Veronica Leoni at Calvin Klein Collection) whilst many of the biggest names are currently between jobs (Glenn Martens at Maison Margiela, Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Sarah Burton at Givenchy). Who has the time to decide that we’re bringing back bumsters and kitten heels when many creative directors are still learning the names of their new design teams?

Instead, politics came to the fore, leading to one of the most obviously politically charged seasons we’ve seen in recent years. Between the recent ceasefire in Gaza, the reelection of Donald Trump and the political turmoil in the States, and the general move towards right-wing politics across many nations, numerous brands made political statements, both overt and subtle.

At Comme Des Garçons Homme Plus, Rei Kawakubo took the language of the military uniform and turned it inside out. Surreal black army boots stomped along the runway while the models wore bulbous war zone helmets either wrapped in soft silk or covered with flowers. The title of the show? To Hell with War.

Similarly shaped headwear made an appearance at Walter Van Beirendonck’s show, though his runway this season was distinctly extraterrestrial. Perhaps Walter wants aliens to just beam us up and take us away from this planet.

At Dior, Kim Jones brought a beautiful and dramatic collection that featured distinctive blindfolds, instantly reminiscent of those statues of Lady Justice that adorn courthouses. Originally meant to symbolise the impartiality of justice, could the blindfold also be interpreted as a way of purposefully turning a blind eye to the world?

Willy Chavarria has always been an incredibly politically-motivated designer and he lost none of that with his debut Paris runway. A celebration of Cholo identity, the collection saw wide-lapelled suits accessorised with rosary beads and distinctive takes on Americana with cowboy hats and basketball shorts. The show began with the non-binary artist Dorian Wood singing in a flowing red gown, and pieces from the show immediately went on sale to help raise funds for both the California Community Foundation Wildfire Recovery Fund and the Human Rights Campaign for LGBTQ+ rights. At the very end of the show, a recording of the recently viral speech made by Rev. Mariann Budde from the pulpit to Donald Trump begging him for compassion as he enters his new term.

With several designers showing their debut collections during FW25 Womenswear, it’ll be interesting to see if this political theme continues. Stay tuned.