Recap: Menswear at Paris Fashion Week '25
What inspired J&J asst. buyer Darcy McElroy in the City of Love
After another whirlwind market week in Paris, Jake and Jones assistant buyer Darcy McElroy is back! This week on Picnic, Darcy is spilling the beans on what she loved, who she met, and what she’s excited to bring into the womens- and menswear shops soon.
Read our Q&A with her below.
Welcome back, Darcy! How are you feeling?
Thanks! Well, it was an 8-night trip, which is the longest I’ve been in Paris and the first time I’ve gone solo. I was a little nervous and intimidated by that at first. But once I was there and settled in, I got in the groove of things.
Fashion week is a whirlwind. You’re so busy meeting people, going to appointments with brands, and of course seeing amazing designs. Even just walking around Paris…that alone is a very mind-boggling place to be, in a good way! You’re constantly stimulated by all the old buildings, the people walking around, the general sense of style there. It really is a pressure cooker of inspiration, evoking all the feelings and senses.
So, I’m coming back to Santa Barbara full of inspiration, and very excited to share what’s coming to the stores.
What was this trip’s focus?
The focus was Fall/Winter menswear, but I also saw some Pre-Fall womenswear. I have to say, this is my third time going to Paris for Fashion Week, and everyone’s collections this round were simply amazing. I really like Fall fashion in general, so seeing all the coats and textures and knits and patterns was right up my alley. It was very fun.
I’m very attracted to the menswear side of fashion. I enjoy helping our menswear customers — who are all different kinds of people, not just dudes — try something new or pushing them a little bit to test their own boundaries with what they normally wear. I feel like once people do that, it opens up their perspective and helps them embrace their own personal style and get creative with what they can wear. I’ve seen firsthand how bringing some of these brands that don’t feel stereotypically Santa Barbara in a lot of senses actually empowers people when they shop here.
For a small community, we have really great small boutique retailers. So, we pride ourselves on the brands we carry and the offering we provide. We buy for quality, as well as function and of course style. It all helps us create a collection and space that feels unique and is a place of discovery.
As a buyer, Fashion Week is all about appointments with brands to see their collections. What’s that typically like?
At Fashion Week, yes, there are the big, luxury fashion shows, but it’s only a small amount of people that go to those. At Jake and Jones, we do carry some bigger brands, like Auralee and Lemaire, but we typically meet with emerging designers and smaller operations. It’s amazing because you’re actually getting to meet face-to-face with the designers. It’s a very intimate experience. This trip was full of amazing appointments! From morning to evening. Long days but super worth it!
You arrive at your appointment and someone walks you through the collection — you get to touch the designs, hear the story behind the collection, and pull the pieces you like the most so you can take a closer look. It can be a lot! Sometimes I pull 40 items and then slowly narrow it down to 20-25 to make it easy for us to create our orders afterwards.
At Jake and Jones, we buy such a broad range of options for our customers, which is really great. It’s how you build a wardrobe for yourself. I’m grateful to be working with someone like Jen (store owner and lead buyer) who appreciates and dresses in a lot of different styles herself. It’s fun to be able to explore different parts of yourself, and to appeal to so many people and provide that opportunity for our customers, too.
That said, I really believe in buying sustainably, and making sure you pick quality pieces that you can have for a long time. That’s one of my favorite things about fashion and buying, and I hope people can come to Jake and Jones and buy their absolute favorite pieces.
Tell me about some highlights.
The biggest highlight was the people I met. It starts with the designers, and then the reps or showrooms they’re working with, and also the stockists and other buyers from different stores. I met really good people from every part of the operation. That’s always a highlight for me, and this time it was even more apparent because I got so much one-on-one time with people I admire and respect. We all kind of geek out about the brands, designs, and being in the fashion business. And a lot of the time, the coolest dressed person in the room was also the nicest and most humble person in the room. So, I loved that. There was so much mutual gratitude among all of us.
The street style in Paris is always really inspiring, too. You can appreciate so many different types of style there. And, of course, French women are so chic in general.
In terms of collections I saw, this was a very strong fashion week all around.
Here are a few of my designer highlights:
Camiel Fortgens – The textures, the fabrics, the colors…gah! Amazing. The coats and jackets were just fantastic. The whole collection was great. And, with the various ways they style their pieces, you can buy it in a bunch of different ways.
Lady White Co. — Their core collection is always so good, and they’re only getting better and better. I also really like what they do with color – their seasonal colors are always really strong.
Carter Young — This was probably my favorite Carter Young collection thus far. His shirting was really sharp, just beautiful. And I got to meet the whole team that works with him. It was really fun to put faces to the names of people I’ve been emailing.
Kartik Research – Just brilliant.
Aaron Levine – It was so nice to finally get to meet Aaron! He launched his collection last year, and we’re bringing it in for Fall. It connects really well with our Santa Barbara—Montecito community and lifestyle. You can wear the clothes hard since the quality is there and the fabrics are great. Overall, it was a really fun collection to see. They’re pieces that are gonna be your favorite pieces in your closet, the ones you wear all the time.
Aaron Levine Cawley — Cawley is a personal fave. I think Hannah [Cawley] has such a strong personality to her collection. Her use of color feels so cohesive. It was all really impressive.
Engineered Garments — Both their men’s and women’s collections were really strong. The shirting and how you can style them is really fresh and unique, a fun little push for our local customers. These pieces are something you wear all the time.
Engineered Garments Eckhaus Latta – We’re bringing them in for womenswear, and it’s gonna be dynamite! The denim, their shirting, really great dresses…It’s all super unique and a fun pop for womenswear.
Pilgrim Surf Supply — Solid. Chris, the owner, has a lot of intention behind his designs. Their fabrics and the construction of their products is great, and they came out with some new designs this season that I’m really excited about.
orSlow — orSlow is always a no-brainer. The quality, style, and the general craftsmanship are all impeccable. They’re vintage-inspired and they’ve got great styles for menswear and womenswear.
I don’t typically go to fashion shows when I’m there, but this time I got to go to the Auralee show. Auralee is one of my favorite brands, and the designer behind it — Ryota Iwai — was recently voted by Vogue as one of the most underrated designers of 2024. I really like his perspective on fashion and building an everyday wardrobe. The fits are great, but his fabrics to me are bar-none. I also like their use of color, and their stylist who they work with is incredible.
Overall, the Auralee quality is stunning, even the thin materials he uses. In other instances, those might not have the same quality and fall apart. I wear my clothes really hard, and I feel like Auralee has the capacity to hold up. And it does.
What was a typical “day-in-the-life of Darcy” on this trip?
The first couple days I’d wake up, try to fight jet lag, and just power through. I’d have breakfast and coffee every morning in the hotel, which was near Notre Dame, and then I’d take my 20-30 min walk to each appointment. I really liked that walk in the morning to wake up. It was cold out, so it felt good to get the blood pumping. Plus, it’s such a beautiful walk to “work.”
At the first appointment of the day, I’d usually have another coffee upon arrival, see the collection, and then figure out where I was going next. Around lunch, I usually grab a sandwich or something to go. Two of my favorite spots for grab-n-go sandwiches and bites are Babka Zana and Cosi, there are a few throughout the city. Next time I will plan my meals better. This time was just go, go, go!
I still had some great food, though! My first night there, I made a reservation for my mom, aunt, and me at a Thai restaurant. I had Tom Kha Kai soup while it rained buckets outside. Dreamy. Another night, I met up with a friend for dinner at Gramme, where I got some delicious scallops and a potato dish. This was my favorite restaurant of the trip for sure.
By chance, your mom and aunt happened to be in Paris the same time as you! How was that?
It was so fun. We didn’t travel out of the country a ton when I was growing up, so this was my mom’s first time in Paris. We had such good quality time together, which was very special. She even came to my first appointment with me, which was with Jacques Solovière. I was sad to see her go. But we both said we really want to go back to Paris together, next time with my dad, too.
Paris in January is cold! What did you wear the whole time?
My staples this trip were the black Sofie D'Hoore Plato Jeans, my grey Lemaire Maxi DB Coat, and the grained black Jacques Solovière Paris Eduoard Lugs on my feet. I was cozy and warm, but still felt stylish. I also wore a beanie and my grandma’s scarf that my mom had brought with her.
Any last reflections on your third buying trip in Paris?
It’s such a cool and unique opportunity to get to experience a place like Paris, and to meet the people I admire in the fashion world — designers, and other buyers and independent retailers. I tried to take as many moments as possible to be appreciative throughout the trip. Like, in the middle of the day for lunch, I’d go eat my sandwich in the park. I walked the streets without my headphones as much as possible, to be present for the sights and sounds.
On a buying trip, you’re so busy that you’re not really sightseeing or going to museums. But I did make it to the Eiffel Tower, which I had never seen before, and the Sacré-Cœur Basilica. These are big tourist destinations, but for a reason! They’re legendary structures that are so epic to witness.
On my last night, I sat outside on my hotel rooftop, which had panoramic views of the city, including the Eiffel Tower. It was really cold, but I wanted to take a moment up there to reflect in gratitude. I looked out at the twinkling cityscape, enjoyed a glass of wine, and toasted to myself for another great trip. Until next time!
Gahhhhhh - love love love all of this!!!