24th June, 2019
The curtain came down on Paris men’s fashion Sunday with two high-concept shows that had walk-on roles for Solange and K-pop sensation Lisa.
Kenzo’s design duo Carol Lim and Humberto Leon said goodbye to the French label with Solange as the surprise performer in the same Paris stadium which Elton John had packed to the rafters a few nights previously.
The Californians’ ended their eight-year reign with a bang as the American star appeared on a platform to sing “I’m a Witness” in between the men’s and womenswear lines.
The brilliantly choreographed event had started with a similar wow moment when a huge curtain was pulled away in front of 600 or so fashionistas to reveal several thousand more people on the other side.
Having conducted her 11-piece black-clad brass band, Beyonce’s younger sister then walked arm-in-arm with the designers to acknowledge the ovation at the end, with the feminist English rapper M.I.A in the front row.
Balmain’s Olivier Rousteing got the weekend rocking late on Friday night by making the hot French DJ Kiddy Smile the centre of his show-cum-concert.
The young French creator — who often dresses big music stars for their tours — also threw open the doors by giving away 2,000 tickets.
“Everyone is talking about inclusivity from behind their screens but no one is actually doing something,” he told reporters.