By: Valentina Toro
Managing Editor
Paris Fashion Week is supposed to be about fashion, but lately I find myself wondering whether the clothes are still the main attraction.
The attention surrounding the Spring/Summer 2027 shows says as much about celebrity culture and social media as it does about design.
I love the creativity of a runway show. The lighting, music and setting can make a collection feel like an entire world. But I do not think an expensive production automatically makes a collection interesting.
Sometimes the presentation becomes so overwhelming that the clothes feel almost entirely completely secondary.
What concerns me most is how quickly the conversation shifts from design to entertainment.
Instead of discussing silhouettes, fabrics or craftsmanship, people focus on who sat in the front row, who arrived together and which moment will circulate online.
Celebrities have always been connected to fashion, and I understand their influence. Their presence brings attention to designers and introduces fashion to people who might not otherwise follow it.
Still, a famous guest should not become more important than the collection being presented.
Social media has made that distinction harder to maintain.
A dramatic entrance or elaborate runway set can reach millions of viewers within minutes. A beautifully constructed jacket may never receive the same attention because appreciating it requires more than a quick glance.
I think that changes what audiences expect from fashion week. Rather than waiting to discover a designer’s ideas, viewers anticipate the next viral moment.
The excitement becomes less about what is being created and more about how much attention it can attract, especially when every brand seems determined to outdo the last one.
There is also something frustrating about how this affects the designers themselves. Behind every collection are people who spend months developing garments, experimenting with materials and perfecting details.
Their work deserves to be discussed beyond a handful of photographs from a spectacular venue.
I am not suggesting that runway shows should become plain or predictable. Fashion is visual, expressive and sometimes deliberately excessive.
Some of the most memorable presentations use theatrical elements to communicate something meaningful about the clothing. Spectacle can be part of the art.
The difference is whether the production supports the designs or competes with them. When a setting helps explain a collection, it adds value.
When it exists primarily to generate attention, I question what it contributes beyond publicity.
I also think fashion journalism has a responsibility here. Coverage should do more than document celebrity appearances and impressive venues.
Readers deserve to know what designers are proposing, why certain pieces matter and whether a collection offers anything worth remembering.
As someone who follows fashion, I want to finish watching a show thinking about the clothes.
I want to remember an unusual cut, a striking combination of fabrics or a designer taking a genuine creative risk. I do not want the biggest takeaway to be who attended.
Paris Fashion Week still has the power to influence how people understand style, beauty and self-expression.
That influence should come from the ideas on the runway, not simply the attention surrounding it.
Fashion does not need to abandon spectacle. It needs to remember that spectacle should serve a purpose.
A runway can be unforgettable without allowing the production to overshadow the very thing it was created to celebrate: the clothes.
