Ami Updates Bourgeois Styles for Fall Runway Show at Paris Fashion Week 

French model Laetitia Casta presents a creation from the Fall/Winter 2024/2025 Collection by French designer Alexandre Mattiussi for Ami during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
French model Laetitia Casta presents a creation from the Fall/Winter 2024/2025 Collection by French designer Alexandre Mattiussi for Ami during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
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Ami Updates Bourgeois Styles for Fall Runway Show at Paris Fashion Week 

French model Laetitia Casta presents a creation from the Fall/Winter 2024/2025 Collection by French designer Alexandre Mattiussi for Ami during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
French model Laetitia Casta presents a creation from the Fall/Winter 2024/2025 Collection by French designer Alexandre Mattiussi for Ami during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 January 2024. (EPA)

Ami designer Alexandre Mattiussi added a contemporary flair to classic bourgeois styles for his fall/winter collection, presented on the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week late on Thursday.

Men and women models marched out of giant double doors -- the set was a towering building facade -- parading long tailored coats, fitted suit jackets and glittering tops.

The idea was to evoke life in a Paris apartment building, Mattiussi explained after the show, when he was swarmed by guests.

“There was the idea of doing something very sophisticated, very evening-like,” he said.

Dressier looks included a trim, fake-fur top with three-quarter-length sleeves, a shimmering gold dress with plunging V-neck, and for men, a sheer grey tank top paired with high-waisted trousers.

Models included actors Diane Kruger, Laetitia Casta, Lou Doillon, Andres Velencoso and Audrey Marnay -- prompting murmurings of surprise from the audience as they walked by.

A winner of the French fashion prize Andam, Mattiussi founded the fast-growing label Ami in Paris in 2011. Within four years, the brand opened a store in Tokyo, followed by Beijing in 2018 and New York in 2021.

Paris Fashion Week's fall/winter menswear shows run through Jan. 21, and include presentations from some of the industry's largest brands, including LVMH labels Dior and Louis Vuitton, as well as Hermes, Valentino and Balmain, along with dozens of smaller labels including Sean Suen and LGN Louis Gabriel Nouchi.



Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
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Hermes 2Q Sales Rise 13% on Continued Appetite for High-End Luxury

People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)
People stand with Hermes shopping bags as they wait at a traffic light in Tsim Sha Tsui, a bustling shopping hotspot, in Hong Kong, China December 5, 2023. (Reuters)

Birkin-bag maker Hermes reported a 13% rise in second-quarter sales on Thursday, demonstrating the continued appetite from wealthy shoppers for its luxury handbags, even as less affluent consumers pull back.

Sales at the French luxury group grew to 3.7 billion euros ($4.02 billion), a 13% organic sales rise that strips out currency fluctuations. The figure was in line with analyst expectations, according to a Visible Alpha consensus.

Operating profit for the first half was 3.1 billion euros, compared to a forecast from consensus provider Visible Alpha for 3.2 billion.

One of the most steady performers in the luxury goods sector -- even as economic conditions worsen -- the French group's results stand out after a string of disappointing earnings updates from peers which have raised investor concern about uncertain prospects for the sector in the coming months.

Hermes' famously classic designs and tight management of production and stock have helped reinforce the label's aura of exclusivity, and CEO Axel Dumas told reporters the company had seen "no big interruption in trends".

However, he said Hermes was seeing slightly less traffic with aspirational clients, which was impacting higher volume products like fashion accessories.