At Paris Fashion Week, accessories were more personal than anything else

A fewer weeks ago, I was bound to crutches aft fracturing the cervix of my femur portion moving a half-marathon with Image’s manner manager astatine large, Keyla Marquez. This happened close earlier Paris Fashion Week for the men’s spring/summer 2026 season, which we some had plans to attend, and I was near with 2 options: resign myself to a Frida Kahlo summer, wherever I would work, marque creation and instrumentality visitors portion injured from bed, oregon spell to Paris connected the crutches and anticipation for the best. I picked the latter, due to the fact that I americium insane.

The thought of crutches connected cobblestone streets was comical, ridiculous and perchance dangerous. The thought of crutches during manner week was criminal. As I hobbled astir the metropolis chasing the manner week shuttle to the adjacent show, oregon glacially made my mode up 2 flights of marble stairs successful an opera location to spot the charming Bode presumption without causing further damage, the hollow metallic crutches rubbed against the studs connected my leather belt, oregon made it intolerable to transportation my belongings successful thing but a vintage Prada fanny pack. Keyla dubbed this mentation of maine “extreme sports Juju.”

The crutches were beforehand and halfway successful each acquisition this past week — the archetypal happening I thought of, the archetypal happening radical noticed. They were a nuisance and an obstacle, yes, but besides a punchline and an crystal breaker. Both the French and the manner radical looked astatine maine like, “Girl, you good?” No, guys, I was not good. But the crutches were, for amended oregon worse, my accessory this season, which made maine hyper-aware of the accessories connected the runway too. A seemingly tiny point contempt being considered other tin wholly alteration however — and successful my case if — you determination done the world. I was obsessed, Baader-Meinhof-ed out, and successful Paris past week everyplace I looked I saw accessories archetypal and everything other second. There was the practical, the purely aesthetic, the absurdist operation of them all.

424

(Alexander Gaudin)

At 424’s runway show, the audience’s accessories defied weather. Despite it being adjacent 90 degrees astatine the Monnaie De Paris, attendees showed up successful fur stoles and leather chaps implicit jeans. L.A. stylist Marquise Miller wore intrecciato Bottega Veneta sunglasses to shield himself from the beating sun. An immaculately accessorized fashion boi from Toronto who wore gauzy scarves and rings connected each digit accused maine of faking my injury. The cult L.A. brand’s originative manager Guillermo Andrade framed the postulation astir the top accessory of all: the car. More specifically, each procreation of the Porsche 911.

The amusement kicked disconnected with a enactment of Porsches throttling into the museum’s courtyard, with a gaggle of models including histrion Will Poulter and Solange’s lad Julez Smith pouring retired of the cars (Julez’s grandmother, Ms. Tina Knowles, was successful the assemblage supporting her grandson). For Andrade, the car is much than an accessory though — it’s a mode of life. “When I’m astatine location I walk a clump of clip successful my car,” Andrade told maine aft the show. “The car is my archetypal acquisition of independence, of being free.” The past look, 1 of my favorites, showed an older exemplary with bedazzled Porsche keys connected a carabiner clip attached to slim leather pants.

Louis Vuitton

The archetypal time of PFW was besides Louis Vuitton Men’s time — the accessories last boss. The amusement was a glittering spectacle, arsenic has go expected of Pharrell Williams’ tenure astatine the house. A chorus of screaming fans became a soundtrack to the pre-show moments, announcing the accomplishment of each personage sitting beforehand row, including Beyoncé and Jay-Z. This season’s postulation was inspired by modern Indian sartorialism, says Louis Vuitton. Held astatine the Centre Pompidou, the show’s acceptable was created successful collaboration with Studio Mumbai, an Indian architectural firm, and imagined arsenic a life-size crippled of Snakes and Ladders. The amusement had stadium-style seating, and sitting connected the 3rd measurement up, I questioned if this was going to beryllium it: the clip I fell connected my ass successful beforehand of Bradley Cooper and Pusha T. But luckily, I survived agelong capable to spot caller versions of the Speedy P9 container successful painted stripes and golden embroidery, and a crocodile steamer workwear container successful a patent, heavy bluish indigo.

(Louis Vuitton)

There were the Louis Vuitton trunks, of course, being rolled by models successful workwear-inspired cogwheel down the runway. Some versions were encrusted with jewels successful paisley patterns, taking connected an antique feel, others were wide and blistery pink. The happening I can’t halt reasoning about, though, is the slouchy Louis Vuitton yoga container successful a violet hue, styled with a yoga mat of the aforesaid color. Seen connected a exemplary wearing greenish cargos, puffy flip-flops (another accessory of enactment this season) and a babe bluish bomber, the container was shown successful checkerboard canvas with leather trim.

Issey Miyake

(Olivier Baco)

(Frederique Dumoulin-Bonnet)

Paris was hot. And astir of what I wore was successful speech with the vigor and my crutches: level shoes, unfussy bags — thing that went with aluminum and rubber. I physically and spiritually could not deterioration thing that felt intrusive oregon unnatural. Issey Miyake Men’s understands functionality, but it besides gets tribal. Dressing for that deep, interior portion of yourself that yearns to link to your ain past and body. This season’s Issey Miyake amusement felt similar the club. It started and ended with a full-bodied creation performance, and the accessories felt some integrated and freaky capable for a creation level — from a cleanable leather loop container to sunglasses that fanned retired with aggregate colored lenses to biker caps successful brushed knit.

Dries Van Noten

Next up was Julian Klausner’s debut for Dries Van Noten Men. The whimsical, affectional accessories successful this amusement rewired my neural pathways. There were satin boxing boots successful blistery pinkish and periwinkle. Patchwork floral sarongs styled implicit suit pants. Long sustainably-sourced seashell necklaces that looked similar talismans. Oversized bowler bags successful improbable colour combinations similar salmon and charcoal, brownish and black, dusty roseate and camel, taupe and olive. Cumberbunds, even. The accessories successful this postulation lived determination connected the spectrum betwixt blase and spirited — inspired by a greeting connected the formation aft staying up each nighttime astatine a party.

Rick Owens

(OWENSCORP)

A miss ne'er forgets her archetypal Rick Owens runway. The SS26 men’s show, called “Temple,” was successful speech with Owens’ retrospective astatine the Palais Galleria, “Temple of Love,” which references his aboriginal years successful L.A. arsenic the genesis of his work. “The accumulation tracks the pursuit of glamour and sleaze that I was looking for connected Hollywood Boulevard, and eventually, improbably, ending up successful a Paris museum,” Owens writes successful the amusement notes. For the runway show, models descended from a temple built retired of scaffolding earlier dipping into the fountain astatine Palais de Tokyo.

Such a portion of the Rick acquisition is the crowd, a set of manner weirdos clad successful Kiss boots, and lasting among them successful crutches felt earthy successful this context. Maybe adjacent thing idiosyncratic would bash purposefully astatine a Rick amusement for the vibes alone. His footwear designs person been inspired by aesculapian enactment devices for years, continuing this play with splint-inspired sandals, truthful I mean, wherefore not? It was present that I spotted different manner unfortunate successful crutches. We walked by each different and half-laughed, touching crutches similar a fist bump earlier helium claimed maine arsenic his “sister.”

(OWENSCORP)

Other stand-out accessories were shield wrap-around sunglasses, and the extra-large carabiner clips connected harnesses that helped hoist models onto the Temple for the show’s spectacle of a finale.

Dior

(Adrien Dirand)

The adjacent day, Keyla and I watched Jonathan Anderson’s Dior debut via livestream from our Airbnb portion I elevated my leg, and adjacent done the screen, the accessories screamed astatine us. It was the details astatine Dior that spoke volumes — subtle pop-culture references, the fig of pleats connected a brace of elephantine cargo shorts, the messy styling of a necktie. The look fell determination betwixt 18th-century French noble and mid-aughts California skater boy. The high-top wrestling-style sneakers worn with the greenish cargos and the yellowish “Dracula” transverse assemblage messenger bag. Voluptuous bow ties and cravats worn scrunchily with fisherman sandals and socks. At immoderate constituent I conscionable yelled crossed the room: “Keyla, the backpacks!”

(Dior)

Kiko Kostadinov

The Kiko Kostadinov amusement was our past halt of the play earlier flying backmost to L.A. Almost six days into manner week, my crutches started to consciousness similar an hold of self. Still, making it to the 2nd level of a parking store venue for the amusement was a precarious mission. The postulation though — which spanned enactment wear, loungewear and evening wear, inspired by day-to-night successful a fictional land municipality — was worthy it. For the brand, the collection’s centerpiece was the materials: twill, mesh, kasuri cotton, leather, jacquard, wool. My absorption was connected the smaller things. Toe socks with sandals. Tabi Asics. An ultra-thin loop with metallic grommets that was besides a waist bag. A sky-blue scrunched cloth loop chain. Idiosyncratic charms connected loop loops and suit overgarment pockets. The postulation spoke to the futuristic-hippie sensibilities that unrecorded unshakably wrong of me, leftover from a past life. And that’s what accessories person the accidental to bash — pass wherever precisely you are close now, oregon punctual you of wherever you were. They person the imaginable to beryllium much idiosyncratic than thing else.

As I gathered my crutches and called 1 past Uber to the airport, I knew what my accessory said astir me. It was the aforesaid crushed wherefore I astir apt ended up connected them successful the archetypal place, the aforesaid crushed I was successful France for manner week with a breached femur: I don’t cognize erstwhile to springiness up.

Lead creation photos: “Plate with waved pattern,” 1970, Iwate Museum of Art; Frederique Dumoulin-Bonnet; Ulrich Knoblauch; Courtesy of Kiko Kostadinov; OWENSCORP; Getty Images.