Before Paris Fashion Week, a big takeaway from the Milan shows was that designers were emulating Gen Z's deliberately mismatched, thrift store-ish mode of dressing. What cynics might deem a collective identity crisis is, in actuality, an individual sartorial tapestry of interest — online and off, high-brow and low, fractured and scattered and picked at from across many tiny pockets of culture. Here, indecision and opportunism aren't a bad thing; they're creative and eclectic. Evidently, in Paris, too, the wardrobe is the only place where commitment issues are kind of sexy. 

The Row, for instance, sidelined austere minimalism for something more bohemian, slightly oddball even, using rare antique laces and decorative ribbons that are hard to find and harder to replicate. By his standards, Rick Owens’ latest felt brighter and lighter than usual. Courrèges, under new leadership, felt fresh, fun, and wholly something else. Balenciaga's (rumored-to-be) last collection under Pierpaolo Piccioli was his best yet, finally exorcized of his predecessor's ghost. Tom Ford's sweater-speedo combos, half-shaven heads, and frayed pant hems with boxer shorts and ties all helped bridge the brand's vampy, sultry archetype with Haider Ackermann's more experimental vision. And Celine embodied the superlative of its Michael Rider self in convo with its Phoebe Philo past, without appearing repetitive or like some corny, cash-grabby homage.

Meanwhile, Miu Miu looks like more of the same, which certainly makes for an above-average baseline, but it no longer packs the punch it did a few seasons ago; Zara's John Galliano drop borders on costumey; Schiaparelli is stuck in a cage of its own creation; and not even a golden finale could distract from worries of what’s to happen at Saint Laurent, now that Anthony Vaccarello has (allegedly) vacated his position. These aren't negative reviews, per se, but rather an encouragement to let loose, go rogue, and try repping more than one signature theme. (Or defining one at all, as in the case of the Matières Fécales duo, whose theatrics still eclipse their product.)

It can be a good thing when customers connect a brand with a specific product or aesthetic. But it can also put that brand in a box. My favorite (and seasonally appropriate) example is Our Legacy's infamous Camion boot. It is the ultimate shoe for the plugged-in hetero fashion boy — so much so that with every new autumn and every new batch, new memes roll out as well. Still: Someone has yet to present me with a boot as perfect, as ubiquitous, and as coveted on resale sites despite everyone from Maison Margiela to COS doing their best, as you can see in our informal survey above. 

If there's a lesson to be learned, it's that getting too predictable can bite brands in the ass, but failing to convince clientele of a real POV can be just as alienating. “Be the change you wish to see,” they say, but then how about “channel the customer you wish to address,” and reflect their divided attention right back at them?

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