“I want to bring the dancer’s wardrobe to the streets,” says Alain Paul about his latest Spring/Summer 2025 collection. Inspired by the freedom of movement championed by Merce Cunningham and the simple pieces that compose a dancer’s ‘uniform’ (a leotard, tights, and warm-up trousers), the fashion designer presents a beautiful collection characterised by relaxed silhouettes in both stretch and noble fabrics. We’ve been there with photographer Erwan Filidori, who’s captured the nerves and the beauty backstage.
Artists are constantly looking for inspiration, be it in the the music they’re listening to or the people they encounter on the street, or perhaps the landscapes (natural or urban) that surround them. But looking inwards is usually infalible, as that’s where the most honest creations come from. For Alain Paul, it was easy to find inspiration in dancing as he himself is a dancer trained at the École Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille. That’s why also, besides the clothes, he’s staged the show at Théâtre du Châtelet, allowing the public to experience total immersion. “I see the fashion show as a performance, as choreography,” he said on a recent Instagram post.
Titled Impro, the French designer’s new collection uses Merce Cunningham as a starting point or, rather, as a pillar sustaining it. He has even printed some of the pioneering choreographer’s drawings onto various tops, t-shirts, and hoodies. What stands out from the collection is the cohesive juxtaposition of elements we encounter: stretch fabrics like knitwear are paired with more noble materials like crepe; body-fitting pieces are styled with oversized, extremely flow-y garments like dresses and blazers; and neutral colours (white, grey, black) are combined with splatters of canary yellow, red, or bubblegum pink. It’s also fun to see how the designer has included accessories that look like knee pads, referencing the massive pressure that the bodies of dancers are put under. In all, the collection is simple but effective, and it gets its conceptual point across while being commercial enough to attract buyers.
