Paris Fashion Week has come and gone again, and this season was one of the busiest yet, marking 50 years of the event. Between September 23 and October 1, attendees took in over 70 shows and 38 presentations across the French capital, with brands including Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Loewe, Hermès, Balenciaga, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton on the runway. As Vogue detailed, the season delivered plenty of standout moments, from the sunglasses at Prada to the return of Alessandro Michele at Valentino, with appearances from Elton John, Harry Styles, and Andrew Garfield adding to the buzz.
With Paris still feeling the effects of the Olympics on top of Fashion Week, tourism is expected to keep climbing through the end of the retail year. That raises a practical question: what can retailers take from such a packed season?
International impact
Fashion is a core part of the French economy and cultural identity, and Paris Fashion Week saw a 30% increase in media impact in 2023, with this year's number expected to be higher still. The surge of tourists visiting the fashion capital of the world creates real opportunity for retailers to convert foot traffic into sales, but only if the in-store experience holds up. The Olympics alone brought over 1.7 million international visitors to the city, and with tourism already elevated, retailers have a wider audience than usual to make a strong impression on.
Seizing the moment on the shop floor
This season's runway also previewed the top spring 2025 trends: a sport-inspired look from Dior including moto jackets, a preppy comeback of polo shirts from Lacoste, and Chloé's ruffled chiffon "Freedom Collection." Shoppers arriving in Paris during and after the show calendar want that runway newness immediately, which puts pressure on stock visibility. Teamwork Commerce's RFID-powered stock counter app lets retailers scan products at any stage of the supply chain for complete stock visibility, and flags when shop floor product is running low so associates can restock the areas that need it rather than guessing.
Handling the footfall
Statista forecasts inbound tourist spending rising 24% in France and 13% in Paris specifically. Combined with Black Friday and Christmas on the horizon, brick-and-mortar footfall is only going to increase from here. Teamwork Commerce's RFID-powered self-checkout lets retailers process transactions in 30 seconds or less: customers place their baskets in a designated area and RFID readers scan every item accurately in one pass, which keeps queues from building during peak periods.
Keeping up on fulfillment
Paris has always had retail at its core, from luxury flagships to historic shopping districts like the Haussmann-Opéra-Saint-Lazare quarter, and shoppers coming off a fashion-week high expect the latest items to be available fast. Teamwork's omnichannel Order Management System streamlines online orders and in-store transactions together, supporting Buy Online Pickup In-Store, Buy Online Ship From Store, and Buy Online Return In-Store, so returns and exchanges can be processed with minimal friction whether the customer is online or in a store. Mobile POS complements this by letting associates complete transactions anywhere on the shop floor, which limits queue times during the busiest stretches.
What's next
Between the Olympics and Fashion Week, Paris has been one of the retail world's biggest draws this year. To close out 2024 strong, brands will need to keep leaning on RFID and omnichannel capabilities as the last, busiest months of the shopping calendar arrive.