Catwalk tour: the top women’s fashion week venues from S/S 2015

The Chanel indoor street scene runway inside the Grand Palais
Chanel: The Grand Palais' ever-changing Chanel interior revealed itself as an emblematic Parisian avenue for Karl Lagerfeld's spring parade. The indoor street scene came complete with seven-storey buildings, paved sidewalks, puddles and even pot holes, offering up the perfect marching ground for Chanel's latest tweed revolution
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ChanelThe Grand Palais' ever-changing Chanel interior revealed itself as an emblematic Parisian avenue for Karl Lagerfeld's spring parade. The indoor street scene came complete with seven-storey buildings, paved sidewalks, puddles and even pot holes, offering up the perfect marching ground for Chanel's latest tweed revolution

Prada’ s brown carpeted runway featured purple sand dunes at the Via Fogazzaro location

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PradaRem Koolhaas' AMO created an other-worldy landscape inside Prada’s preferred Via Fogazzaro show location. Airy purple sand dunes took centre stage, while Miuccia Prada's models walked around the abandoned desert scene on a spot lit, brown carpeted runway

The catwalk for the Dries Van Noten runway made of green moss-hued shag pile rug inside the the Grand Palais

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Dries Van NotenThe Belgian designer's midsummer night's setting saw bohemian nymphs walking a moss-hued, shag pile rug that was crafted by Buenos Aires-based artist Alexandra Kehayoglou. Stretching out for more than 100 metres down the centre of the Grand Palais, the magic carpet provided a sprightly mise-en-scène for the show's finale as Van Noten's models lay down on the handmade green

the catwalk at the Louis Vuitton Foundation houses designed by Frank Gehry included spotlights and holograms of faces

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Louis Vuitton: Nicolas Ghesquière's second Louis Vuitton collection was shown on home turf at the house's recently completed Louis Vuitton Foundation designed by Frank Gehry. The new cultural meeting point was given a futuristic makeover inside as spotlights structured the catwalk and holograms of faces were projected from all different angles

Thomas Tait spring show space location, an a office block in London had the word ‘Déchiré’ was emblazoned across the walls and columns in red paint

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Thomas Tait: In the industrial surrounds of a near condemned office block on London's Strand, Thomas Tait collaborated with master of perspective art, Frenchman Georges Rousse, on his spring show space. The installation saw Rousse bring the rough and raw setting to life with his piece ‘Déchiré’ emblazoned across the walls and columns in red paint, the whole word being only readable from a certain viewpoint

Musée du Louvre mirrored exterior

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Dior: Creative director Raf Simons relocated Dior's spring show to Louis Vuitton's former Musée du Louvre home

Exterior photo of the mirrored reflection of the courtly Cour Carrée building

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Dior: Simons enlisted Bureau Betak to take the venue's traditional façade and respectfully twist it into something entirely new - namely this mirrored reflection of the courtly Cour Carrée

black and white interior photo of the Dior show space with chairs lined up in curved lines


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Dior: Inside, the salon's interiors were kept boldy monochromatic with chairs lined up in sweeping swirls and spotlights pointed on the couture-weight collection

Peter Pilotto colour-coded s runway created with tinted Perspex screens on the windows in London's Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre


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Peter Pilotto: The design duo continued their colour-coded show theme within London's Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre for spring. Like Dior they called in production designers Bureau Betak, who used tinted Perspex screens in pop hues to manipulate the venue's natural sunlight. The effect enhanced the designer's similarly saturated collection that referenced the geometric planes of Russian abstract artist Kazimir Malevich's work as well as Henri Matisse's cut-outs

A triangular, neon installation on the Marc by Marc Jacobs runway

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Marc by Marc Jacobs: A triangular, neon installation lit up Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley's Marc by Marc Jacobs New York presentation, illuminating the setting's darkened interior

‘Italian Private Green’ for Tod's fashion show

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Tod's: Gone were the contemporary interior furnishings as guests were welcomed into an ‘Italian Private Green’ for this season

hedgerows, white-gated screens, white pebbles and tropical palms decorated the Tod's show space


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Tod's: Sculptured hedgerows protected by white-gated screens and tropical palms set the scene for Alessandra Facchinetti’s spring outing...

hedgerows, white-gated screens, white pebbles and tropical palms decorated the Tod's show space

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Tod's: With sandy pebbles underfoot and pillars shaped from buxus hedging, even the benches in this mise-en-scène were designed to resemble wrought iron garden furniture

Mary Katrantzou’s show space featured a lava-filled, arrow-shaped catwalk.

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Mary Katrantzou: Drawing inspiration from Pangaea and Panthalassa - the super continent that broke up around a 100 million years ago to create the globe as we know it today - Mary Katrantzou’s show space was dominated by a lava-filled, arrow-shaped catwalk. Set in an abandoned fire brigade warehouse, models marched over the black chips as a veritable eruption of colour and texture flowed

Pringle catwalk in the the private ball room at Claridge's, white bench seating and silk draped windows

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Pringle of Scotland: This season, the British brand headed to the plush environs of Claridge's for its catwalk show. The private ball room's windows retained their traditional silk drapes, while neat bench rows provided non-intrusive seating

Erdem runway of grey-planked flooring and a tropical greenhouse within London's Old Selfridges Hotel

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Erdem: Inspired by the work of Victorian biologist and explorer Marianne North, we joined Erdem Moralioglu in a tranquil tropical greenhouse within London's Old Selfridges Hotel for spring. Weaving around purple-tinged plant life, Moralioglu's models fought back against the set's mature foliage, walking on a runway of grey-planked flooring

Philipp Plein runway with 3D projections of the deep-sea, coral reef and tropical fish holograms

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Philipp Plein: Following on from Philipp Plein’s S/S 2015 menswear pool party, the designer decided to travel further underwater for his womenswear presentation. With the help of Villa Eugenie, 3D projections plunged us into a deep-sea abyss, illuminated with a dazzling ecosystem of coral reef and tropical fish holograms

white wall to ceiling French doors at the Jil Sander Via Beltrami showroom

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Jil Sander: Natural light flowed through a wall peppered with French doors at the brand's Via Beltrami showroom for Rodolfo Paglialunga’s debut collection for Jil Sander. The effect was practical, clean and bright

Dsquared2's show space in Milan a fully-furnished modern apartment with white Barcelona chairs

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Dsquared2: The Caten brothers returned to the scene of their menswear show for spring, but this time, transformed the Milan location into a fully-furnished, modern apartment. Decked out with white Barcelona chairs, the Stefano Grossi-designed space played host to the boy's 'business woman' who marched about the residence dressed in their colour-blocked workwear

cushioned, wooden benches & hard wood floors at the Salvatore Ferragamo show space located at the Piazza Affari

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Salvatore Ferragamo: The Italian house chose Piazza Affari (nicknamed 'Business Square') for its spring showing. Guests sat on cushioned, wooden benches that matched the showspace's hard wood floor, while the surrounding walls remained a blank canvas on which to spotlight Massimiliano Giornetti’s latest Ferragamo offering

a reflective catwalk, which covered a former swimming pool in the middle of London's Seymour Leisure Centre

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Hunter Original: Creative director Alasdhair Willis sent this season's Hunter Original collection down a reflective catwalk, which covered a former swimming pool in the middle of London's Seymour Leisure Centre. The 1930s venue was then updated with a new digital 'overground pool' that hosted a backdrop of psychedelic, underwater projections conceived by visual artist Mat Maitland. Photography: Dan Medhurst

The white runway at the t Marni's Rotonda della Besana show location

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Marni: A celebratory flower market was installed at Marni's Rotonda della Besana show location this season to mark the brand's 20th birthday. The interior, however, was kept simple, to allow Marni's signature prints to take centre stage

The Victoria Beckham catwalk inside of the Cunard Building New York

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Victoria Beckham: Mrs Beckham's S/S 2015 show took place at a New York architectural landmark - the Cunard Building. Lighting aficionado Thierry Dreyfus dimly lit the dramatic setting highlighting the embellished, high ceilings

one of the curvilinear bench seats at the Chloe runway show at Paris' Grand Palais venue

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Chloé: Within Paris' Grand Palais, curvilinear seating benches were wound throughout the vast venue to define Chloé's spring runway, almost allowing guests to become apart of the brand's folkloric fashion showcase

Burberry Prorsum catwalk featured a kaleidoscopic tent with an illustrated ceiling at the Kensington Gore location

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Burberry Prorsum: Returning to its Kensington Gore location, an acoustic set from James Bay headlined Christopher Bailey's latest Burberry Prorsum outing, while his models walked under the kaleidoscopic tent's illustrated ceiling

Phillip Lim catwalk created with transparent white frames

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3.1 Phillip Lim: A sensual twist was built into the American designer's spring show space. Phillip Lim invited us to peer through transparent white frames, straight into poet and novelist Leonard Cohen’s interpretation of a bedroom

Paul Smith Catwalk at Central Saint Martins' London HQ, the venue included plywood plinths as seating surrounded by bare brick walls and exposed steel beams

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Paul Smith: Located back within the fashion genesis that is Central Saint Martins' London HQ, all of Sir Paul Smith’s guests watched his show from boxy plywood plinths surrounded by bare brick walls and exposed steel beams

Lacoste runway's backdrop featured an installation of back lit white yacht sails

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Lacoste: Set designers Bureau Betak channelled the brand's maritime heritage for spring by producing an installation that evoked the sails of a yacht. Accentuated by a lighting scheme by designer Philippe Cerceau, the runway's backdrop celebrated the brand's revamped return to seafaring wears

film footage of natural woodlands projected onto columns with white seating created the Boss runway show which was held at 54th floor of the World Trade Center

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Boss: Jason Wu presented his second collection for Boss high up on the 54th floor of the World Trade Center - an empowering spot for the clean cut collection

film footage of natural woodlands projected onto columns with white seating created the Boss runway show

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Boss: Among the vertigo-inducing views, film footage of natural woodlands was projected onto columns, providing a little respite from the urban setting

Tiled catwalk with wall of flashing lights for the Diesel Black Gold's catwalk

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Diesel Black Gold: Eyesight productions created a wall of flashing chequerboard lights for the backdrop of Diesel Black Gold's star-studded spring collection, as sidelined spotlights illuminated the tiled runway

Palais Garnier opera house for Stella McCartney's presentation Heavy, crystal chandeliers and plush painted ceilings together with veined marble walls and stone pillars provided a theatrical elements

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Stella McCartney: The lavish Palais Garnier opera house set the scene for Stella McCartney's latest Paris presentation. Heavy, crystal chandeliers and plush painted ceilings together with veined marble walls and stone pillars provided a theatrical contrast to McCartney's organic, cut-out collection

over-sized white flower structures, black floors and ceilings at the Alexander McQueen spring show which was held at Le Quartier des Célestins de la Garde Républicaine's


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Alexander McQueen: British artist Marc Quinn composed huge luminous white flower structures for the stark Japanese floral fantasy that was Sarah Burton's spring collection for Alexander McQueen. These shone bright against the Le Quartier des Célestins de la Garde Républicaine's glossy black floors and sooty ceilings

The Richard Nicholl runaway at Victoria House which features exposed concrete pillars & white-washed bricks

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Richard Nicoll: In the historical setting of Victoria House, exposed concrete pillars and decaying, white-washed bricks provided a raw backdrop to Richard Nicoll’s sporty spring collection

wooden arches created the Prada catwalk at The Palais d'Iena

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Miu Miu: Back in the Palais d'Iena, Miuccia Prada enlisted AMO to create wooden arches installed throughout the grand Parisian building to unite the original architecture with her new catwalk parameters...

Wooden arches created the Prada catwalk at The Palais d'Iena, Miuccia

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Miu Miu: This transformation gave the building a 'house of worship' feel, as we sat within the shadowed wings to watch the ceremony commence

Loewe outdoor sandstone catwalk shown in front of the UNESCO

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Loewe: The Spanish fashion house took new creative director JW Anderson's debut outdoors for its S/S outing. Shown in front of the UNESCO's Paris headquarters, Anderson's first sandy-hued patchwork leather look beautifully mirrored the building's raw, sandstone surroundings

The Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild interior setup for the Martin Margiela show white seating, French doors & grand chandeliers hung under a classically painted ceiling

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Maison Martin Margiela: There was nothing dark or brooding about this season's Margiela presentation held at the elegant Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild. Natural light flooded through the open French doors into the heritage building's 19th century salon, complete with a grand chandeliers, hung under a classically painted ceiling

black and white Interior photo of The Palais de Tokyo venue's which has low grated ceilings and black scaffolding

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Acne Studios: The Palais de Tokyo was chosen for Acne Studio's 1970s-inspired spring salute. The venue's low grated ceilings and black scaffolding created an edgy atmosphere for the Swedish fashion house's vibrant collection

The Givenchy runway at Paris' Lycée Carnot included green and purple seating

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Givenchy: Riccardo Tisci invited us back to high school assembly for his smouldering spring presentation. Paris' Lycée Carnot school was re-configured for the designer's decidedly more grown-up audience with alternative forms of green and purple seating and draped curtains used to section-off parts of the vast hall. The sports hall's court lines were left untouched however, for Tisci's vixens to stride over

catwalk inside a Paris skate park for Kenzo's runway show featured oversized digital screens


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Kenzo: Set designer Etienne Russo of Villa Eugenie scored again with his installation inside a Paris skate park for Carol Lim and Humberto Leon's latest Kenzo collection. The show snaked between virtual avatar's faces speaking from oversized digital screens and industrial, concrete mounds

TOPICS

Sujata Burman is a writer and editor based in London, specialising in design and culture. She was Digital Design Editor at Wallpaper* before moving to her current role of Head of Content at London Design Festival and London Design Biennale where she is expanding the content offering of the showcases. Over the past decade, Sujata has written for global design and culture publications, and has been a speaker, moderator and judge for institutions and brands including RIBA, D&AD, Design Museum and Design Miami/. In 2019, she co-authored her first book, An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture, published by Hoxton Mini Press, which was driven by her aim to make the fields of design and architecture accessible to wider audiences.