Anne Sofie Madsen’s Open-Air Show at Paris Fashion Week

As fashion writers, editors, buyers, and influencers filtered into the bleacher-like seating just off the Bourse metro at Palais Brongniart for Anne Sofie Madsen’s Spring/Summer 2018 collection, one thing was clear: there was a definitive buzz of excitement. Bleachers quickly filled up as the show attendees crowded in and spoke to each other softly in various languages from all around the globe. Anne Sofie Madsen, like another talented designer who started their own label, Alexis Mabille, also worked for the infamous John Galliano in Paris before starting her namesake label in 2012. Madsen is a Dutch designer, originally from Copenhagen. She is a graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. After training in Paris with Galliano, she pursued fashion in England, where she worked for Alexander McQueen in London. One of the terrific things about Paris Fashion Week is the way in which space is used around the city; shows are held in museums (Louis Vuitton staged its Spring/Summer 2018 show in the Louvre), tents, salles, and even parks, like the Balenciaga show at Bois de Boulogne in July. Madsen’s outdoor show took over the entryway of the grand Palais Brongniart in the 2nd arrondissement. The venue used to be one of the locations of the Paris stock exchange in the 1800s, and is now used for conferences as well as grand events, like fashion shows. Music thumped and rent the night air as onlookers at Brongniart peered at the show from behind the pillars on the streetside of the palais. White, tan, and black – the chicness color trifecta – were the mainstay colors in Madsen’s new line. Semi-sheer, long white dresses, white jumpsuits (reminiscent of Ghostbusters-style jumpsuits) with science lab-esque goggles, white halter top dresses with patterns, sleek black dresses, diamond chokers as thick as models’ necks, billowy black floor-length sun dresses, glittery sequined tops and flowing pants, tan dresses with white flowers, and more took over the runway in Madsen’s latest collection. Hairstyles were mostly all slicked back, diverting the attention to the models’ face and clothes, instead of long, styled manes. The models had an otherworldly look, and for some, a gender ambiguous look as well. As the models marched out together at the end of the show, the music crescendoed and the show attendees clapped wildly. It was another successful showing at fashion week  from one of the many international designers that make Paris Fashion Week the top in its class.