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2:32Hello and welcome to Fashion People. I'm Lauren Sherman, writer of Puck's Fashion and Beauty Memo Line Sheet. And today with me on the show is writer and stylist Becky Malinsky. We're here talking about the best of Paris Fashion Week from Saint Laurent to Chanel.

2:50Happy Tuesday, everyone. I am back in Los Angeles. I have been up since 4.30 something. Love jet lag. If I could wake up at 5 a.m. every single day and go to bed at 9, that would be my ideal. Doesn't always work out sometimes. This week on Line Sheet, you'll find my takeaways from the Paris shows, a couple little scoopy things, some retail stuff, some investor stuff, my ranking of my top five favorite debuts that I got some really passionate feedback about. Look, it's all subjective people. I'm not saying this, that was literally the shows that I think, you know, achieved what they're meant to achieve.

3:31But looking at the photos that we chose, they were also shows that I mostly liked. So it is what it is. But anyway, don't get too upset. Rankings really, they really ruffle people's feathers. Today in Line Sheets, Sarah Shapiro, a little break from big luxury to talk about Bandit, that running brand out of New York that has like sort of risen up with the rise of run clubs as pickup joints. So interesting stuff. And Rachel Sturgas will be back tomorrow. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Becky. And we both had a great time in Paris. So it's nice to catch up as we've now landed. Becky Malinsky, welcome back to Fashion Fubal.

4:20Thank you for having me. You landed in New York minutes ago. I landed hours ago in Los Angeles. We were both in Paris. We did not spend as much time together as we normally do on these trips. I know. You know what? Eva Chen was on my flight home. Yeah. And I was like, it was kind of a weird season. No, she said, yeah, it felt very isolating. And I said, I felt the exact same thing. I was just all over the place, kind of by myself. I know. It's also that you didn't come to Milan, where we usually have every single meal together. so um next season but we did we did get to hang out uh i'm gonna have a special guest on a friday to talk about fashion month so i don't want to go too much like you can get some air some frustrations or or things you wanted to get off your chest about milan after listening jacob and i discuss it but um but i wanted to talk to you mostly about paris fashion week which just ended today still happening today but last night was sort of the finale with the big chanel metu blazy uh new new season new designer new everything fashion is back baby so um but it started with saint laurent on monday night and sort of went up to chanel the next monday what was your overall impressions of the week you kind of got there midweek how did you feel about the energy because this isolating thing, it did feel, I mean, Fashion Week always feels kind of isolating, but it was just like kind of, it was really intense and crazy and there was so much going on.

6:00But what was your experience? I think so. I think there was a lot of pressure in sort of every aspect of the participants of Fashion Week, whether that's the media, whether it's the buyers, whether it's all of these debuts. I just felt there was a lot of nervous energy in the room in a lot of places. But I will say the energy leaving Chanel last night was so electric. Everyone was so happy, so excited singing. So it ended on such a high note that I can barely even remember all of the annoyances. You know, they were singing Paula Cole, I Don't Want to Wait. It was amazing. Because that was part of the soundtrack, As was Rhythm is a dancer, which I did as a choreography and dance class in second grade.

6:49It's very clear this designer is exactly our age. Well, this is the thing about all these designers. And I think Jacob and I maybe talked about this last week. But, you know, he's younger than us. So it doesn't count as much for him. Everyone's between 80 and 84. So it's just like, it's our life. Yes. It's our life. Back to us. And it, oh, it was so good. It was so, it made me so happy. But yeah. Yeah, I loved all of the 80s references all season long. Yes. Like every time I saw an 80s reference, I was really happy. Yes. I felt that way at Chloe. I felt that way at Valentino. I felt that way at even Celine a little bit.

7:31I don't know. I just loved it all. So let's go through your sort of highlights of Paris. Let's start with the row. Yes. I loved the row. It was so elegant. I mean, if you were with me at all this week, this is a broken record, but for everyone else listening, I'm really fed up with the styling of half outfits of either no top or no bottom. to me now can you describe this can you describe what that yeah so you know like for a long time now we've been seeing seeing hot pants as a bottom you know like half of the looks or we're seeing like no top and some sort of styling trick to make up for it and to me at this point i'm desperate to see clothes you know i work with clients who are desperate to buy clothes so I just I feel like the challenge now is to complete an entire outfit like can you make these clothes look good with pants with the top without relying on a perfect six foot body for half of the look yeah so the row was that I mean it was beautiful clothes it was fully formed ideas full outfits like there was a lot of 80s reference there was this velvet two-piece sort of almost evening sweatsuit that just was so beautiful.

8:51There was really like easy turtlenecks with a beautiful skirt. It just felt really, really beautiful. Yeah, I felt like look too, which I'm looking through WWD right now, the photos, which was like a four-button or five-button jacket, crop jacket and a pair of trousers and a really simple like wedged flat that is I thought you know I have like a little Armani blazer that's similar to that I thought oh that's how I'm gonna wear that Armani blazer with pants in a row that I already own I've been trying to figure out how to wear it and as usual like the styling is actually super simple but I do think the styling kind of gives you an idea of like okay this is how how I want to look and how I want to present this this year and and it just moves because the thing is like we can't all buy new stuff every single you and I both bought some very nice things that we'll discuss later but we can't like um maybe I'll get this jacket in look number two jacket but probably not and so um or or a new I I tend to like buy a new pair of heels from the row every season or because I need like that is my refresh or my update.

10:11But yeah, I think it looked really elegant. I also, you mentioned Chloe. I really like that too. And I have to say from my perspective, because I'm really looking at that. I love the first collection. I felt like at retail it hasn't really resonated in the shoes and bag space in the same way that like its stablemate Aliyah has and we'll get into the greatness of Aliyah soon. But I thought and I just was kind of like, is this going to work? Because she has done a great job. Shemina has done a great job at creating a real look and she has a great sense of color and the runway is super fun. but I was kind of like, is anyone going to actually buy this stuff?

10:56And this season, she evolved it and it was still the same woman, but with a new attitude. And I thought, oh, okay, she's not going to just stay in the same place forever. This is going to evolve. And they will find a bag or a shoe that's a hit and it will take off. I know the clothes are already, I've heard, doing really well at retail. So it's exciting. There was like a lot. It's funny. the beginning of the week felt a little down, just challenged. And then by the end of the week, there was just so much optimism. And Celine, I feel like, is the sort of poster child for that right now. It just looks like full outfits, as you were saying, put together by a real person and kind of a reflection of how we all want to dress right now, but obviously in a more elevated way.

11:50And I thought it looked fantastic. I was super impressed. I agree. I thought this person really understands how we want to dress, how we want to be seen. I felt like sort of the theme of the week was slouch, like this idea of everything feeling like beautiful fabrics, really dressed, but really relaxed. It was the same at Chanel, but they just did it so well at Celine. Like me, I had conversations with multiple people about the men's look of the skinny jeans and the black long sleeve tee with the tie-dye arms like everyone just mind blown and so simple yeah but all of the little dresses it's just sort of felt like really easy to just kind of put on and walk yeah and and I think it's interesting Michael Ryder the designer styled it himself this season and yeah I think look he worked with Brian Malloy who we stan congrats Brian Malloy is on the BOF 500 this year.

12:50Super, super proud. But he worked with Brian last season, this season. He clearly has a lot of these designers end up doing it themselves. I think working with Brian that first season kind of helped him figure it out as someone who had never been a creative director before or had never been front and center like that before. I'm sure working with a pro like Brian helped him sort of figure it out. But this time it felt like way more confident that he knew exactly what he wanted. My one critique for June was that there were too many looks. And I think he realized, OK, yeah, there was too many looks.

13:29And this time it was still a real mix, like those little floral turtleneck minis. They didn't really like like the nice thing about this collection was like it wasn't just like one idea. It was a bunch of ideas. And I think he famously, Michael, when When he was the creative director of Polo at Ralph Lauren, they did a big 50th anniversary Central Park show. And usually this woman, Buffy, styles Ralph Lauren. I don't know if she still does, but she did for a really long time. And then that show, I remember hearing that Michael styled it. And it was like a revelation. The clothes just looked a million times better and more dynamic.

14:09And that that 50th anniversary show to me was the turning point for Ralph Lauren, where it became, you know, Ralph and we should talk about this a bit is like the center of the fashion industry right now. Everyone is thinking about Ralph Lauren, how and you can see it in all the little like insignias on the polo shirts that all these big designers are showing. Like it is the sort of main reference point for so, so many of these designers. And I thought he did. Michael did a good job of sort of taking what he learned there and what he honed there and making it French and cool. And I said it was just ultra chic.

14:47I loved it. But on this point of the polo, so I believe Jack and Lazaro, the creative directors of McCullough and Hernandez, the creative directors of Loewe also wore polo shirts on the runway. And you went to the polo event. But what do you think? I noticed it. I felt it at Prada. I felt it at, I definitely felt it at Dior men's, less so at the women's. But what as a polo stan, as a Ralph stan, what do you, you know, I just started using this word stan, which like is about 15 years old now. I refused. And now I'm like, I guess I'll just use it.

15:34Anyway, what do you think about why do you think it's like so front and center in fashion culture right now? That's a great question. I mean, what's interesting to me about it is that for a long time, like when I was a junior market editor, polo worked really hard to like kind of remove that identity. Sort of like when I was like a junior market editor and you wanted cable knits or polo shirts for a shoot, they were not available. They only really recently sort of leaned back into this Americana. And it has proven to work so well. And I did see a reflection of sort of American fashion and this American girl in a lot of the shows.

16:10And I do think it's interesting that she's inspiring now. I also think, you know, Americans are really having their moment as designers. So there's really this look at America. But also, could it be, I don't know, I'm making this up, but like, brands are nervous. The economic climate is unstable. I think people really are looking to America and how is that going to change? And it's such a big market for so many of these brands. I'm wondering how they're looking to that person and how to service that person. And if that had anything to do with where their mindset is when they start designing a collection.

16:47I think that's definitely a huge part of it. Look, the American market and the Chinese. And now there was just a big article about how LVMH has like turned its focus on Korea because the China market isn't going to bounce back super fast. But look like China is big for Ralph Lauren. It's big for everybody. Yes. And the thing is, and, you know, I'm coming back from being in Europe for two weeks. I just said to my husband, it's like I truly live a completely different life when I'm not in Los Angeles. Like here, I'm like I already booked workout three workout classes. I'm going to the movies. I'm going to see Haim at at a Kia Stadium, whereas there I'm like, I need my Prada trousers.

17:31I definitely need to buy those. but like my life is just so different there and and we do i do spend a good amount of time there but the point being that like people they don't spend money on they will buy one or two really nice things but they don't consume the way americans consume they just don't like i was talking to a magazine editor there we were talking about the row and he said all anyone talks about is the row but like people don't buy it here because they buy like one thing from charvet a year and then they buy a bunch of vintage and it's just a different culture whereas in america like i buy a new pair of shoes from the row every single season like that's what you do and so i think you're right i don't know if it was strategic to hire so many americans to front these uh these houses but i think it's actually it's just it feels really refreshing like Like by the end of the week, I thought I got there and I went to Saint Laurent on Monday night and I thought Saint Laurent was great.

18:33And it's really resonating. And you did a great newsletter that I linked to as well that everyone should look at just about like the Saint Laurent woman and how what they're what they're selling and also the way they're styling and everything is inspiring for for people who'd get dressed every day. but I thought that like I just think for people who have a lot of money who pay full price there's a lot of really elegant gorgeous stuff in there that's like real fashion with a capital F um but then you know the the beginning of the week was a little bit like I don't know it's just a little stressy as you were saying like everybody was just like oh like the the Dior was interesting and compelling, but wasn't uplifting for sure.

19:21And I don't think that's what Jonathan Anderson wanted to do. But then by Sunday, the tides had turned. And I think it started, honestly, on... Look, Hyder Ackerman, Tom Ford was amazing, but it wasn't a part of this conversation we're having about this optimism thing. But I would say it started on Saturday morning at Aliyah, which like could be not people could construe that as not an optimistic collection i think it's also the first half of the week is very spread out you're kind of seeing like one big show a day and then by the time you get to the weekend there's multiple like big headline shows every day so a lot of more ideas coming at you consistently so that might also be part of it but it felt more propulsive Yes.

20:08On the under$3 menu at McDonald's, a McChicken is$2. Because when you're craving a McChicken, you deserve a McChicken. And now that McChicken is just$2 with McValue. Limit time only. Prices and participation may vary. Prices may be higher for delivery. So how did you feel about Aliyah? Oh, I really liked it. I really liked it minus the bondage. pieces. I'm sorry. I can't I can't get on board. It's interesting. I didn't find that I I don't read reviews before I write my reports because I just don't want to I just don't want to know. Like I asked. That's a good idea. Yeah. I mean, it's there's no point.

20:52Like I don't need something to talk to. Like I talked to Vanessa Friedman about Margiela before I wrote my Margiela, which helped me. And I talked to a lot of buyers and editors and get their feedback, but I don't tend to read reviews, but I heard from a couple people that there was like, people were offended by the cocooning. And I was, I just found it to be like an experiment with clothing. And I wasn't weirded out by that in any way, but. I did not find it as offensive as I did the stitching of the mouth. Oh, see, I love the stitching of the mouth at Margella. a Handmaid's Tale reference I could not look at.

21:31I was like yes and I understand this is what's happening in our culture. That was to me this the just for reference people the mouths that Maison Margiela were stitched open like just like stitched open. Like the Margiela label with the four stitches in the corner. I mean I thought that was brilliant and I was like and the mouths were agape. It was very stressful. I love that. Yeah I love that. But I will say like I actually really love Deliah. That is my only critique is those looks where you couldn't use your arms because I just sort of think like we are in a time that we need to be a little bit empathetic with so many people like in a very in very precarious situations in risk of losing rights.

22:17And just so the idea of treating a woman to not be able to have arms was very strange. But I do think that I loved, like, I loved so many aspects of that show. It was an uplifting show to me for the most part. I loved the fringe stockings. And I actually find them to be extremely, like, I'm not going to say practical, but easy to wear in a way that it can update an outfit really easily. like he has some magical gift for accessories that like you could buy these weird fringe stockings and put them under a little black dress and all of a sudden have this like mind-blowing outfit yeah it would not be hard for many body types to do so can we just talk about the constriction thing one more time i don't think that he thinks about that like i don't i don't think many men male designers think about I don't think they're they're thinking about they're just thinking about designing like to me it's about process for him and that's why I it didn't once cross my mind that that was like going to bristle that people are going to bristle against that I just thought it was an interesting way of using the body and I loved the way the like pink stirrup pans really like pulled the legs up.

23:38I loved that. Devil's advocate for one second. Don't you feel it's their responsibility to have an awareness of the world that they're designing in? No, I actually don't. Like the thing is, I don't know. I mean, I think it happens no matter what in some cases. But but like like, you know, Peter's former design friend or partner or whatever you want to call him, Ralph Simmons, like is thinking about this stuff constantly when he's designing. Like you see you see his thinking in his clothes very clearly. I think Peter's a process person. I don't know if I don't know if he's like. I don't know if he's it just it never crossed my mind.

24:33And that may just say more about me than anything else. I was just like, wow, this stuff is so fun to look at. And also, I see a million things that are going to sell really well in the experimentation. and that's what was so and in the in his show notes which I should say that like people really tried to up their game with show notes this season they tried to talk like human beings it sounded like many of the designers attempted to write them themselves Daniel Roseberry's show notes for Schiaparelli were just like a chit chat it sounded very conversational and I understood what he was saying um yeah uh I thought they were they were good but I liked Peter's as well and he said at the end like clothes that'll make you cry which of course raf simmons did cry at the end of the show god bless him the crier my god i love it and i don't think that this reflects negatively on peter like i think i loved the show um i just sort of meant as an overall concept for all designers but back to the show the color was amazing i love the shapes there were these weird spring coats that looked like almost like fur but were string like a bunch of string hanging off it and they i was like i know people who will wear that and it seems crazy but like actually it's all weirdly easy i i love the asymmetrical trench i love all the asymmetry the skirts everything the colors the pine green the bubblegum pink yeah the it was ah that was just amazing and also So I love the Fondation Cartier, that old.

26:12It's no longer there, but where it was forever. It's an incredible building. And to have it in there, and it was just, oh, it felt really good. Like 9.30 in the morning on a Saturday, and you're just, also I had gone to Victoria Beckham the night before, which love her as a person and think her beauty line is amazing. The show was extremely difficult. I forgot to write about it, But it was very hard and it really made me question, like, why is she doing a runway show? And so to go from that to Aliyah the next morning, it just felt it felt really magical. And it kicked off the next three days of amazingness, which what else did we have on?

26:58So Margiela, we talked about a bit, but we had Hermes where Mizaina Garten was holding her Kelly. It was so amazing. It was so amazing. Best star sighting. This is how you do a celebrity front row. It was very funny because I'm sitting there, I see Nick Kroll and Layla Gohar, and I'm like, okay, if this is, they need, I love both of them. They're cool. If this is the lead, what's the Hermes strategy here? Like, I know they love to have a comedian. They love their food world adjacencies. And then I turn. I sit down at my seat. I look right across. And Ina Garten's there. And so is Julia Louis-Dreyfus with her hot husband, Brad.

27:42And I was like, this is who needs to be representing Hermes. Like, cool, interesting people in the center of pop culture who are also rich. It was so good. It was perfect. I actually thought it was a great show, too. It's good. Especially for spring-summer, which I think is challenging for a brand like Hermes because they use so much leather. Spring is a harder collection to make. And I saw lots of things that I loved. I liked it, too. I miss Jodi Barnes styling it, which is, I believe, I wrote that. I don't know if it got edited out in the end because it was so long. But I thought Jodi Barnes was a really good match for Nadege.

28:25He was the designer. And I forget who styled it. Perfectly good stylist. Just was like a little looser. And I like it real like zipped up and tight and shiny. I liked it. I loved like the way that the little crop jackets were buckled, but then the shirts were loose and the silk shirts with the kind of harness on top. I don't know. I just felt it worked. Well, it's more your style and less mine. But I think for me, what Hermes, like what that runway needs to do is display the bags and shoes. And I thought the previous collections that they were a little more front and center. So I thought the collection was super nice.

29:05But speaking of Joni Barnes, He Stout Loewe, which I thought and I think that it really benefited from that. Like it felt really zipped up and sharp. And yet again, another optimistic collection. I think like people were really rooting for them and wanted it to work. But in the end, like it definitely exceeded my expectations in terms of what they can achieve as designers. And I really loved it. I'm definitely getting that green jacket. Which green jacket? The like hourglass. No, no, no. There's like just like an hourglass blazer. Oh, OK. In green. I'm going to pull it up. It's good. That green color is just the color of the season.

29:52It's good. It's really, really good. I mean, there was so much color this season. It was so, maybe that's part of why it started to feel really uplifting too. There's so much color, which is so nice. Did you go to Sakai? I did go to Sakai. How was it? I thought it was good. There was a couple of these like patchwork floral looks that I thought were really nice. I think Sakai is also like in the same way as Hermes is also a fall designer because So coats are so good. It's a great point. All the tweeds are so good. So for me, I thought it was good, but I always look forward to fall more. Yeah, I understand.

30:26But I did like, I really liked those sort of mixed floral polka dot moments. Yeah. Okay. Should we just talk about what we really want to talk about? Sure. I'm ready. you said you feel when chanel when the first model walked down matu blazy's runway were you like fashion is not because the whole week all i was thinking was okay some great collections the shit is over i was like this is done i'm gonna have to get a new job like there's this industry is consolidated it's good i still believe that and like don't think it's gonna be what it was 10 years ago with the mega brand stuff. But I think the culture has just changed and it's going to have a different place in the culture.

31:15But he also mentioned that in his show notes or in his interviews. Oh, yeah. I was blown away and I was just like, this is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I'm a Chanel girl now. Audible gasps throughout the show from all sides. It was so fantastic. and yeah the new shape I mean it was the same thing the slouch everything just felt a bit easier like a bit younger you can see the pieces broken down and worn with jeans you could see the bags you could see the shoes yeah I don't know she was I also as I already texted you I said it's a great time to be a skirt person well it's it's funny because we had this conversation over the summer where I was like, I'm done with skirts because I buy them and then I never wear them.

32:03And then I was talking to Scott Sternberg and I was like, did you see it? It's so amazing. He's like, it's because you're a skirt person. And I was like, but I'm not. But I guess I am. You are. It's hard in LA. It's funny though. Well, I wore yesterday all day until Chanel, which I changed into like a proper nighttime outfit. But all day I was wearing my Prada skirt with like the ruched waist and it's like a pastel plaid with a leather jacket. And I was walking around and doing my appointments and there's no one in skirts. I was like, I feel so out of place. I feel so Italian in this like French city of cool girls walking around in their cool jeans.