This way you can still attend the coolest Fashion Week shows in Paris
the La Watch Party of Lyas
In Paris being is something I love to do the most, especially during Paris Fashion Week. There’s just something about that city when everyone suddenly walks the streets dressed fabulously, one show after another takes place, and you bump into a celebrity on almost every corner.
Nowadays, it’s simply almost impossible to just walk into a show. Even with some smaller brands, it’s no longer just a matter of sending a nice email and hoping for an invitation. The guest lists are getting longer, shows are getting bigger, and before you know it, you’re standing outside while the most beautiful looks of the season are happening inside.
Fortunately, there’s our saving angel, Lyas. He has come up with something for that.
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La Watch Party with Lyas
Maybe you’ve seen the name La Watch Party pass by before. And if you thought: is this just a kind of viewing party? Yes. But then for Fashion Week and a hundred times more fun (I can really attest to that).
The idea of Lyas is actually very simple: if you can’t come to Fashion Week, we bring Fashion Week to you. And he doesn’t do that from a small room with a projector that you can’t see from the third row. No, La Watch Party has grown into a gigantic fashion event where thousands of fashion lovers come together to watch shows live.
And the best part? It’s free for everyone. No invitation, no complicated RSVP, and no guest list that you have to be on months in advance. Besides just watching shows in the hall, Lyas and his team also organize interactive games with quiz questions about fashion designers and brands. There are really huge prizes to be won. The time I was there, my classmate even won a bag from Vivienne Westwood (yes, really).
You do have to stand in line for it
Well, I’m also bringing some less good news. “You just come” might be a bit too easy to say. Because by now, everyone knows how to find La Watch Party.
During Paris Fashion Week in April, La Watch Party took place at the Théâtre du Châtelet. And that’s not exactly a small neighborhood theater. This impressive place has room for more than 2,000 people, and during Fashion Week, it was filled for several days in a row with people who all wanted the same thing: to watch fashion shows.
From Balenciaga to Céline and Isabel Marant to Vivienne Westwood, I was there for it all. But yes, you do have to be willing to invest time (and effort). Arrive on time, wait 3 hours, and you’re in. It’s a harsh world. The line can be quite long, and a spot is not guaranteed.
The principle is: free and open to everyone, as long as there’s space. But once you’re inside, you also get something in return. During the edition at Theatre Châtelet, according to Lyas’ team, a total of about 18,000 people came to the Watch Party over a week.
As if you’re literally at the show
Large screens, the shows live, and above all: a lot of people who are just as enthusiastic about fashion as you are. It feels much less like you’re watching a livestream and much more like you’re part of Fashion Week.
Lyas made it so crazy during Fashion Week in March that after the last La Watch Party show of the week, the screen went up and we could attend a real show live. There, in the theater. Although from an unknown brand, that didn’t take away from the fun at all.
And he also makes dreams come true: sometimes Lyas takes a winner of his quiz questions to an actual show. So there was a girl in April just sitting front row at Isabel Marant. How cool is that?
And of course, you’d prefer to be on the invitation list for every show. But unfortunately, that’s just not realistic for most people. La Watch Party suddenly makes it possible to watch the biggest shows in the middle of Paris together with hundreds or thousands of other fashion lovers. And it’s precisely because of those surprises that Lyas organizes that it’s truly a very special experience.
