Gabriela Hearst brought American spirit to Paris’ Left Bank Monday afternoon, showing her spring 2025 collection at Karl Lagerfeld’s former home to an audience that included Lily Gladstone, with live music from Wesley Schultz of Colorado-based folk rock band The Lumineers.
Always hospitable, the Uruguayan American designer had canapés and Champagne on offer in the verdant back lawn, which had been fitted with a curving wooden plank runway in the shape of the triple goddess symbol, hinting at her mystical theme.
The rain held off, possibly because Hearst had summoned the goddesses, 40 of them to be exact, as inspiration for her collection — and some much-needed good fortune for the future.
A self-professed “nerd,” Hearst is forever researching female power, and has been fixated of late on the fact that ancient matrilineal societies used to “pray female,” as she said during a preview, before launching into stories about a whole cast of global female divinities with her trademark infectious excitement, including Niamh, Athena, Aphrodite and the ever-timely-to-the-U.S. Kamala, Hindu goddess of prosperity.
Flipping through a book of her sketches and paintings, she pointed to Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, who inspired the subtle sunrise colors in the speckled white sheer georgette pintucked dress that opened the show, as well as this season’s caviar glass-beaded cashmere knits, which can run into the $7,000 range. “We’re selling them because people want special things,” she said of her strategy to elevate her sustainable luxury business.
A year after Hearst showed her last Chloé collection in Paris, she brought her namesake label from New York Fashion Week to the Paris runway to further position it on the world fashion stage. And indeed, the collection demonstrated the growing depth and breadth of her offering, introducing her first sneaker, the handsome environmentally friendly “Ohio,” and her first haute fine jewelry pieces with precious stones.
She hit many of the season’s trends. Floaty sheer dresses with raw edges, crochet knit sets, gaucho-inspired tooled leather rancho pieces and cowboy boots looked particularly fabulous in this boho fashion cycle, and a recycled cotton linen blue denim coat with swirling appliqués and hand-painted tiled maxidress had art-to-wear haute hippie flair.
Meanwhile, sculptural leather bows on the shoulders of an assertive black napa trenchcoat and in the cutouts of a black napa off-the-shoulder puff-sleeve dress added romance, and a chic camel-colored Watteau back short trench and full skirt expanded daywear options beyond her popular suiting.
Conjuring the warrior goddesses, a striking molded leather bra top was embedded with a golden nipple on one side, worn with a fringed blue skirt of silk, cashmere and leather. A showstopper for sure, but which Hollywood goddess will get to wear it first? A silver mesh chainmail fringe tank worn over white trousers and a sculpted yellow-gold woven metal puff-sleeve dress were also powerful looks.
Speaking ahead of the show, Hearst was particularly proud of an eco-friendly material she was using for the first time on accessories — Inversa Python, an “ethical exotic” that protects the biodiversity of the Florida Everglades by hunting the invasive species for use as a leather product. There was something poetic about having the material crafted into her popular pointy Edwina pumps, letting goddess women slay snakes with every confident stride.
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