Ready-to-wear, summer 2021: Catwalk shows return to Paris Fashion Week

There were no spectators, no influencers, no fashionistas, at Saint Laurent's presentation of its 2021 Women's Summer collection, only drone footage of models walking on the crest of a tall sand dune in the middle of a honey-coloured desert. Every year, France's top fashion houses compete to find the most spectacular locations in Paris to host their women's wear shows, but with catwalks closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, brands now try do outdo each other with spectacular locations for their online-only shows.

Covid-19 restrictions mean that Paris Fashion Week is taking place in the digital sphere. In-the-flesh fashion shows, interviews and parties aren't happening – instead, buyers and journalists get to sit back and watch a series of films via social media. So how are these films made? We spent 72 hours with Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, a young Parisian designer whose collection, shown at the Palais de Tokyo, is inspired by Franz Kafka's book "The Trial" and brought to life with the help of choreographer Sohrâb Chitan.

Haute couture at its best is a dazzling array of possibilities. It's also increasingly an artform being expressed through the medium of film, with in-person fashion shows still off-bounds thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. Japanese designer Yuima Nakazato has embraced new techniques both inspired and showcased by model-turned-activist Lauren Wasser, who lost both her legs to toxic shock syndrome. Meanwhile, Italy's Sofia Crociani finds inspiration in cognitive experiments from the 1950s and '60s that tracked the effect of LSD on spiders.

Mirror, mirror on the wall… who's the fairest of them all? Dior’s sumptuous and subversive film for next autumn's ready-to-wear offerings suggests the answer isn't a simple one. With in-person fashion weeks still cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the film was shot inside Versailles's world-famous hall of mirrors. Maria Grazia Chiuri takes us deep into a world of fairy tales with the help of a challenging set from Italian artist Silvia Giambrone, set off by choreography from Sharon Eyal.

Slowly but surely, tourists are returning to the island — to the relief of most inhabitants. But not all holidaymakers are welcome. Mallorca is trying to shift the focus from quantity to quality.

Models walk the runway with the Eiffel Tower in the background as Yves Saint Laurent's live show returns to the Paris Fashion Week. The live shows follow similiar returns at London, Milan and New York fashion weeks this year, after much of the designer world moved online last year thanks to Covid.

After 18 months of mostly online shows, Paris Fashion Week is back with models, designers, celebrities and fashionistas flocking to in-person shows. Fashion writer Alice Pfeiffer talks about the post-pandemic era of fashion; the radical change at Dior, one of France's oldest brands; plus her favourite show so far: Charles de Vilmorin's first collection as creative director of Rochas.

Climate activists burst onto the catwalk brandishing banners reading "Overconsumption = extinction" at Louis Vuitton's Paris Fashion Week show. Extinction Rebellion, Friends of the Earth and Youth For Climate said in a statement that around 30 people were involved in planning the protest, with two arrested. They called on the government to enforce "an immediate cut in production levels in the sector, given that 42 items of clothing were sold per person in France in 2019".

After almost two years of empty catwalks, summer 2022's ready-to-wear collections were finally able to be shown in public, and designers rose to the occasion. Yohji Yamamoto's collection was all about the perils of climate change. But the standout feature of this season is an approach to fashion that privileges the female gaze, with Marine Serre, Dior and Isabel Marant all presenting clothes designed to be worn by women and enjoyed by women – rather than having men looking at them!

Today, the fashion industry is increasingly waking up to the importance of acknowledging the full range of human experience in the clothes and messaging it puts out. Inclusion is in fashion and it's taking many exciting forms, from a catwalk show for amputees in Paris to a show by Parisian label Victoria/Tomas that uses the designers' mums as models, via a project that helps migrants pursue careers in textiles in France. FRANCE 24 brings you a round-up.

War may have broken out in Europe, but the world of fashion has decided that the show – that is, next winter's ready-to-wear Fashion Week – must go on. Financial interests no doubt played a large part in that decision, but so too did the conviction that now isn't the time to be stifling artistic expression. For the occasion, Dior takes advantage of technological innovation, Caribbean duo Botter defend coral reefs and the French Institute of Fashion encourages its students to embrace virtual reality.

With war raging in Ukraine, it's not easy to know how to speak about fashion – if at all. The best answer is to face the paradox. Thanks to the French Federation for Haute Couture and Fashion, Ukrainian designer Lilia Litovskaya is now safe in Paris. At Balenciaga, Demna Gvasalia, who fled a Kremlin-backed civil war in Georgia in 1993, offers up a hostile backdrop for his collection. Labels Marine Serrre, Atlein, Benmoyal and Germanier, meanwhile, are championing freedom of expression with their eco-friendly offerings.