Pair of Kings: A Fashion and Culture Podcast · Pair of Kings

13.5 - Rating and Reviewing Every Paris Fashion Week Debut with Sol (@ellaemhoff) and Michael (@hot_vodkaa)

·1 hr 15 min·4 clips

The hosts call the Balenciaga collection a mix of Valentino, Loewe, and Vetements instead of one clear identity.

1. Pair of Kings: A Fashion and Culture Podcast episode 13.5 reviews Paris Fashion Week debuts through Ella Emhoff and Michael Smith’s fashion-critic banter. 2. Ella Emhoff and Michael Smith host the episode, and Fifi Hodgkinson from Essex joins as the co-host whose store is tied to the giveaway. 3. The episode asks what Paris Fashion Week actually looked like across the big debuts and which collections felt worth buying or wearing. 4. They open with a fit check that includes a Yoji Yamamoto skirt, a Rick Owens skirt worn as a top, Rick Owens heels, a Boston hat, a 2004 Daft Punk promotional T-shirt, Story MFG pants, and Keen x Mad Happy sandals. 5. Ella Emhoff names the Paris Fashion Week lineup, including JW Anderson at Dior, Pierrepaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga, Louise Trotter at Bottega, Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, Glenn Martens at Margiela, Miguel Castro Freitas at Mugler, and the Proenza boys at Loewe. 6. The hosts spend the most time on Loewe, where they call out the structured collarless looks, the wetsuit idea, the clear plastic shoes, and the leather mussel bag. 7. They say Loewe’s collection felt like a blend of Jonathan Anderson, Proenza, and wearable pieces that female clients would actually buy. 8. Their Margiela discussion focuses on Glenn Martens’ mouthpiece detail, the children’s orchestra, the collarless tie jackets, and the criticism that the collection felt overly designed. 9. The Balenciaga segment centers on Pierrepaolo Piccioli’s post-Demna debut and the hosts’ reading that it looked like Valentino, Loewe, and Vetements all at once. 10. They point to specific Balenciaga details like pink gloves, feathered skirts, coffin-shaped dresses, flip-flops, and a black tuxedo look they both liked. 11. One memorable moment is their reaction to the Loewe mussel bag, which they describe as leather mussels and a seaside story without seeming costume-like. 12. Another is the line that New York Fashion Week is “just a party” and about community, support, and seeing friends. 13. They repeatedly push back on people who complain about Fashion Week while still attending every event, and Fifi tells them to “go home and read a book.” 14. The episode also includes frustration that Vogue Runway is now behind a paywall, which they say makes fashion coverage more inconvenient and less accessible. 15. Their discussion of prices at Essex mentions ERD and Jill Sander as expensive brands and Praying as the least expensive brand in the store. 16. They also talk about the model casting this season, saying they are seeing less size diversity and more very thin models across shows. 17. The tone is fast, joking, and highly specific, with constant interruptions, teasing, and real-time scrolling through looks. 18. The format is a conversation-heavy review session that moves from outfit talk to runway criticism to store and media commentary. 19. Best for listeners who follow fashion-week runway debuts and designer changes. 20. Skip if you want a formal interview or non-fashion coverage.

As heard by us

A loose Paris Fashion Week review where fit checks lead into close talk on collars, color, wearability, and commercial appeal.

Paris Fashion Week gives the hosts a flexible frame for a single-episode review built around fit checks, quick preferences, and a look-by-look debate over whether the collection offers more than styling.

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Why you'd press play

For a Paris Fashion Week mood board with opinions, you get fit checks, look-by-look judgments, and one mouthpiece strong enough to carry the room.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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