Paris Fashion Week is always stressful, but throw in some travel chaos, and it becomes a full-blown “Fashion Emergency.”
On March 7 I woke up at the ungodly hour of 5:30 a.m. to make my train to Paris, only to receive an email from Eurostar informing me that the normally-reliable locomotive had been canceled. A mild inconvenience, I thought, as I rebooked for the 4 p.m. train and went back to sleep, dreaming of croissants and couture.
Then, a whatsapp message arrived that started me awake soon after. This time from a high-powered PR, with the ominous message, “Are you still coming to Paris? All trains are canceled.” Ridiculous, I scoffed. I had rebooked; I would be fine. But alas, it turned out my 4 p.m. train was indeed also canceled, and I found myself stranded in London, watching my fashion week dreams crumble like a poorly constructed mille-feuille.
Flights were sold out, and I started to entertain increasingly desperate ideas—rowing across the Channel, renting a Vespa and going full Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (except through France, and with significantly less poise). Then, as if by divine intervention, British Airways tickets became available, they were releasing an “emergency fashion jet” from London to Paris. (The fashion gods really answered my prayers.)
© Brendon ThorneThat’s right—British Airways, like the fairy godmother of fashion, summoned a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to rescue the stranded fashion set. I booked it immediately.
As I boarded the plane, I was met with a scene straight out of Zoolander. Every influencer, stylist, designer, and buyer was present, all decked out in their best “I just threw this on” airport chic. First Class was overflowing with fashion It-girls, and judging by the sheer volume of oversized luggage, I suspected some of them were smuggling entire couture collections onboard.
I spoke with a stewardess who admitted she had never seen such a large plane used for such a short flight. “It’s ridiculous,” she laughed, watching as a well-known stylist attempted to stow what was, quite clearly, an entire season’s wardrobe into the overhead bin.
© Getty ImagesThe flight itself was a fever dream of luxury and logistics. The staff barely had time to pour our drinks before we were descending. “It was the quickest flight ever. The staff said as soon as we reach altitude we have to come back down,” one passenger told The Standard.
Despite the chaos, there was a sense of camaraderie. It was a plane full of people who all knew each other, bonded by their mutual desperation to make it to Paris in time for Victoria Beckham's show. Some were still fuming about the travel disruptions, but honestly, I found the whole thing hilarious. What could be more fashion than an entire jet full of impeccably dressed people, frantically refreshing their phones to check show schedules while sipping on airport Costa Coffee?
Boeing proudly states that their Boeing 787 Dreamliner "creates remarkable opportunities for airlines around the world and dramatically improves the air travel experience. The airplane's lighter and robust composite structure enables airlines to reduce fuel use and emissions by 25 percent." I suppose if you’re going to make a dramatic entrance to Paris Fashion Week, you ought do it in a sustainable way. "For passengers, it’s an experience like none other in the air. Innovative interiors provide spacious cabins, better views with the largest windows available on any commercial jet today, and cabin enhancements that allow passengers to arrive to their destinations feeling more refreshed,” explains Boeing.
In the end, did I arrive in Paris the way I had planned? Absolutely not. But did I make it? Yes. And did I get to experience the most absurdly glamorous emergency flight of all time? Also yes.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that in the world of fashion, chaos is inevitable—but so, too, is an impossibly chic solution.
