Paris flocks to bar to party – and watch live fashion

A giant screen, lots of cheering and applause: the scene inside La Caserne venue in trendy northeast Paris might feel like a sports bar.

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But the crowd there were watching live fashion, not football.

With Paris Fashion Week in full swing, a well-heeled group of mostly 20-somethings has been gathering every day near the Gare du Nord train station for "watch parties" of the biggest shows from Saint Laurent to Dior.

It is a concept created by Lyas - aka Elias Medini - a 26-year-old French influencer with more than half a million followers on Instagram and TikTok.

"The goal is really to democratise an elitist scene and make it super inclusive," said Medini.

His idea stemmed from frustration. Not one of the lucky few invited to Jonathan Anderson's first Dior Homme show in June, Lyas decided to organise his own broadcast in his local bar.