PARIS — H&M is not normally the sort of name associated with Paris Fashion Week, but for the last few seasons, the mega-retailer has been hosting a — well, nominally, it is a fashion show. But in reality, the evening is more a big-budget, Champagne-fueled social-media fest, awash with stars both on and off the catwalk.
And so it was Wednesday night. The Swedish fast-fashion giant took over the Bourse de Commerce, the grand former stock exchange with an elaborately painted interior rotunda, decked it out in dazzling black and gold, and filled it with a host of boldface names.
The singer Ciara was there in a shimmering kaleidoscopic maxi gown and patiently taking selfies with adoring fans alongside the model Suki Waterhouse. The actress Kate Mara was there, too, wearing a Balmain x H&M dark tuxedo jacket, new pixie haircut and unexpected accessory in the slight, hooded form of her boyfriend, the British actor Jamie Bell, whom she has been dating since October.
"This is no work and all play for me," Mr. Bell said as he lurked in the shadows nearby. "I just joined Kate, and we're going to be here until Sunday." Press junkets for his new film "Six Days," he added, based on the 1980 siege of the Iranian Embassy, will start later this year.
Photo The actress Kate Mara with her boyfriend, the British actor Jamie Bell. Credit Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
"Paris, like New York, is one of those cities you need to explore on foot, and I can't wait to walk around together and get lost here," he added. "Which will be particularly easy for me, as I don't speak a word of French."
Ms. Mara, standing beneath a vast silver-blossom tree built by H&M, was quick to deflect any speculation over a delicate gold band on her wedding finger. "No, no. It's not what you think," she said. "There is no story other than I wanted to come to Paris with Jamie and see another show from this team after going to the Alexander Wang H&M event last year in New York. Paris is the home of fashion after all, is it not?"
A few yards away, Emma Roberts was dispensing advice for anyone who, like the actress, might be feeling the side effects of flying in from Hollywood the night before.
"I am so chronically jet-lagged," she said, wearing a sheer sweater and silk skirt combo. "I was up all night last night. But I have found a solution to the problem: shopping."
"I spent a couple of hours in Merci yesterday and am planning on going over to Colette tomorrow," she added. "I refuse to sleep through any more visits to Paris, which is historically what has happened to me. And it has got me all excited to be here during fashion week. I am as excited about tonight as if it were my very first fas hion show."
On the runway was a who's who of models from across the decades, strutting their way through an ode to the 1970s. They included the '70s supermodel Pat Cleveland; her daughter, Anna; Andreja Pejic; Amber Valletta; Natasha Poly; Jourdan Dunn; and Ashley Graham, the plus-size star of this year's Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover.
Photo Ashley Graham. Credit Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images
Think languid tailoring, hippie headscarves and Navajo prints — as well as a sexed-up homage to the Wild West, with sparkling Stetsons, shearling jackets and showstopping red and cream python-skin thigh-highs. The boots weren't necessarily made for walking, however; or certainly not on black polished marble floors. The finale turned into a supermodel slip-and-slide, with three women on their backsides, helped up by their sisters-in-arms.
