Paris Fashion Week round-up: Chanel, Dior, Stella McCartney impress, Louis Vuitton wows, and Marine Serre’s ‘hot ticket’ as Chinese buyers keep away

Paris Fashion Week saw the absence of Chinese media and buyers in the French capital at shows and luxury shops because of coronavirus fears

But it was business as usual for labels including Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior who showed off impressive fall/winter collections

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Paris Fashion Week took a hit to its numbers due to the coronavirus, but collections by designers including Chanel (modelled by Gigi Hadid, centre, and other models), Louis Vuitton and Dior offered fashionistas a glimpse of upcoming fall/winter collections. Photo: AP

Published: 1:15pm, 4 Mar 2020Updated: 9:14am, 5 Mar 2020

The coronavirus may have been the topic du jour during Paris Fashion Week but, barring a few cancelled events here and there, it was pretty much business as usual in the French capital.

While surgical masks and hand sanitisers were on hand at some shows, hardly anyone wore masks inside the packed venues that may have been hotbeds for the spread of the flu.

By day three – amid rumours of possible travel bans and post-fashion-week quarantines in their home countries – some showgoers began to express their eagerness to get out of Paris.

Many of them, including some American and European department store buyers, did leave, raising fears among young designers that this season’s orders for their collections would be significantly reduced.

A look from Chanel’s fall/winter 2020 collection during Paris Fashion Week.

In the end, the main fallout from the virus was the absence of Chinese media and buyers, which was evident not only at the shows but also in the much quieter luxury shops.

Fashion week is one of the most lucrative times of the year for high-end stores in Paris, as many luxury brands invite their top clients – many of them from Asia – to the city to attend shows and special events.