Social media dissonance between Parisian shows and the Flotilla heading to Gaza
Paris Fashion Week SS26 is unfolding in all its luxury — glossy runways, celebrities in the front row, designers unveiling their visions. An aura that fewer and fewer people are willing to buy into. Swipe, and the next image shows the Global Sumud Flotilla, boats loaded with food and medicine, blocked by Israel in international waters as people in Gaza face starvation.
This is the peak of social media dissonance: luxury gowns and aid ships, applause and desperation, beauty and famine — colliding on the same feed. Let’s be honest — it feels like the most dystopian world ever.
While watching the shows, we couldn’t shake the anxiety for the Flotilla, and the brave humans trying to restore a sense of humanity — something that seems increasingly lost.
And so, with this weight on our souls, here’s our perspective on some of the shows.
Paris Fashion Week SS26: The longest-serving designers
Saint Laurent
Vaccarello is strengthening the brand’s vision by pushing his ideas while always remaining faithful to the maison’s codes. “It’s not about making clothes that everyone can wear,” he said. In fact, legacy and grandiosity were fully celebrated.
Louis Vuitton
Ghesquière moved away from futurism towards something more intimate and approachable, though always filtered through his experimental lens. “The atmosphere I was wishing to share was the serenity you feel when you are in the comfort of your home.” A reflection on l’art de vivre — dressing for oneself, for privacy. After more than ten years at the helm, he remains deeply aware of his role.
Balmain
Rousteing presented a considered departure from his usual maximalism, opting for refined elegance with natural inspiration. Relaxed shapes and earthy textures evoked a beachy, bohemian spirit, offering a fresh perspective on the Balmain woman. “This time, it’s more about self-confidence. This is not armor, this is freedom,” he said. With 14 years at the helm, Rousteing remains one of the few designers capable of delivering a cohesive, well-developed collection.
The Paris Fashion Week SS26 debut: Can JW Anderson deliver for Dior?
Dior
Anderson’s debut was one of the most anticipated of the season. The show drew a parade of celebrities — the industry’s current barometer of brand power. With a nod to a younger clientele, miniskirts and accessories like the bunny shoes were easy sells. Yet the collection fell short of expectations, lacking a defining moment. As Diet Prada noted: “Not every look landed” — the lone critical voice in a sea of praise.
Some pieces, such as the maxi-bow balloon dress, seemed forced. But how will Dior’s traditional clientele react?
At the preview for Italian and Irish press, Anderson admitted candidly: “I’m not a couturier.” The truth is, he was appointed for hype and commercial success at Loewe, not technical skill. As we’ve often said, fashion is no longer a job for fashion designers — not even in couture. Conglomerates don’t want craftsmanship; they want viral impact. As Joelle Diedrich wrote in WWD: “In reality, it looked an awful lot like his previous work at Loewe.”
Final thoughts
As Paris Fashion Week SS26 unfolds, spectacle poses a question of relevance. Runway shows paraded across screens while boats carrying food and medicine to Gaza were being stopped in international waters.
Swipe after swipe, beauty and tragedy collided.
And in this scrolling, it’s impossible not to feel the weight of the world — a reminder that fashion, no matter how dazzling, exists in a context of real human suffering. In Milan or Paris, the question remains exactly the same: what is the point of fashion when the world outside the runway is in a deep epochal crisis?
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