Inside the Carreau du Temple in Paris’ Marais, the air on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, was charged with anticipation—and a touch of mystery. Nicolas Di Felice, the Belgian designer at the helm of Courrèges, was set to unveil his latest vision for the storied French house at Paris Fashion Week. The result? A show that artfully blended equestrian and beekeeper motifs with the futuristic minimalism that has become the brand’s calling card, all while pulsing with a sly, unmistakable sex appeal.
According to the Associated Press, Di Felice introduced a helmet-veil silhouette as a recurring motif, drawing inspiration from both equestrian and beekeeper aesthetics. The effect was striking: models appeared as if shielded for a journey—whether to a sun-drenched field or a futuristic dance floor. This unique headwear set the tone for a collection that was both protective and provocative, a theme that ran throughout the show.
Minimalism anchored the entire presentation. The grounding note came in the form of black boots that morphed seamlessly into socks, presented in myriad variations. Silver wrist clasps and sheeny black shades punctuated the sanitized, stripped-back mood. The look was clean, direct, and unmistakably modern. Yet, as AP’s Thomas Adamson observed, Courrèges is never just sterile. Beneath the surface, a current of sex appeal ran strong—a coatdress unzipped nearly to the crotch flashed bare skin, while a shoulderless black mini trailed a floor-skimming train, licking behind the model with studied nonchalance.
The staging itself was inspired by a simple “solar” idea. Di Felice and his team transformed the square venue into a circle, echoing the cyclical, looping motifs that have become his signature. Colors shifted gradually during the show, warming from cool blues to the rich tones of a sunset, as the soundtrack built to a white-hot finale. The effect was one of steady escalation—a rise in energy and light that mirrored the progression of the collection itself. Even the sunglasses, sent out as invitations, hinted at the show’s central themes of glare and heat.
Accessories and fabrics hugged the models’ bodies like a protective second skin. This tactile intimacy was reinforced by technical cleverness—loops, wraps, and circles abounded, with Di Felice employing what the AP described as “Möbius-strip logic.” Simple shapes were twisted and turned into asymmetric minis or spiraling party dresses, each piece a testament to the designer’s knack for balancing mathematical precision with a sense of fluid movement.
The Courrèges name carries significant weight in the world of fashion. Founded in the 1960s by André Courrèges, the house became synonymous with space-age futurism. The original DNA of the brand—geometric cuts, go-go boots, and glossy minimalism—revolutionized the way women dressed in the latter half of the twentieth century. Di Felice has taken up that legacy and bent it toward the tastes and rhythms of today’s club generation, the desert rave, and the after-hours Paris that the brand now speaks to.
“He has built his vocabulary on loops, wraps and circles—Möbius-strip logic that turns simple shapes into asymmetric minis or spiraling party dresses,” wrote Adamson for the Associated Press, highlighting the technical artistry that underpins Di Felice’s work. This approach was on full display at Tuesday’s show, where the interplay of structure and movement kept the audience rapt.
But it wasn’t just about technical prowess. As the AP noted, Di Felice balanced this cleverness with a sly eroticism—a house signature since his much-discussed “pocket” show last year. The tension between protection and exposure, between minimalism and sensuality, gave the collection a distinctly modern edge. It’s a balance that feels particularly relevant in an age where fashion is often called upon to navigate the boundaries between public and private, safety and seduction.
The show’s energy was palpable, building steadily as the models circled the transformed venue. The audience—an eclectic mix of fashion insiders, celebrities, and longtime Courrèges devotees—responded with enthusiasm, recognizing in Di Felice’s work both a reverence for the brand’s heritage and a willingness to push it into new territory. The “solar” staging, with its progression from cool to warm hues, seemed to encapsulate the designer’s approach: honoring the past while looking unflinchingly toward the future.
One of the standout moments of the show came when a model appeared in a coatdress unzipped nearly to the crotch, bare skin flashing beneath. It was a look that captured the essence of Di Felice’s Courrèges—at once bold and understated, technical and sensual. Another highlight was a shoulderless black mini with a floor-skimming train, a study in contrasts that felt both effortless and meticulously constructed.
The accessories, too, played a vital role in conveying the collection’s themes. Silver wrist clasps and glossy black shades added a futuristic edge, while the sunglasses—sent as invitations—were a playful nod to the glare and heat that defined the show’s atmosphere. Fabrics hugged the models’ bodies, reinforcing the sense of clothing as both armor and adornment.
In the broader context of Paris Fashion Week, Di Felice’s show stood out for its clarity of vision and execution. While many designers are content to riff on nostalgia or chase fleeting trends, Di Felice has carved out a distinct identity for Courrèges, one that fuses the brand’s historic clarity with the sex, swagger, and cultish energy of contemporary nightlife. It’s a formula that has earned him a reputation as one of Paris’ sharpest revitalizers—and Tuesday’s show offered further proof of his talents.
“This presentation reinforced Di Felice’s reputation as a leading revitalizer of the Courrèges brand,” noted the Associated Press, summing up the impact of the collection. By marrying technical innovation with a deep understanding of the brand’s DNA, Di Felice has managed to keep Courrèges relevant in a crowded and competitive fashion landscape.
As the lights dimmed and the last notes of the soundtrack faded, it was clear that Di Felice had once again succeeded in capturing the spirit of Courrèges—futuristic, sensual, and utterly of the moment. For those lucky enough to be in attendance, the show was a reminder of fashion’s power to surprise, provoke, and delight. And for the rest of us, it’s a tantalizing glimpse into what’s next for one of Paris’ most iconic houses.
