Heads or Tails?
Review of Marine Serre Fall 2025 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Slick chic. Paradoxical power-dressing.
For Fall 2025, Marine Serre nodded to themes of illusion and paradox to carve out a new vision that felt all the more grounded in reality.
The show took over La Monnaie de Paris, the mint that produces France’s coins and, dating back to 864, is the country’s oldest continuously running minting institution and one of the oldest extant companies in the world. The brand itself addressed the tension of an independent, progressive-minded designer choosing this ultimate symbol of conservatism and wealth, saying that the unexpected choice “embodies the paradox of this independent fashion house and its resistance in a world run by financial dictates.”
That paradox is captured by the collection’s title, “Head or Tails.” And yet the collection itself felt focused, consistent, assertive, sure of itself. Nothing was left to chance as Serre gave one of her strongest takes yet on the slick vision of French chic that has always been a through-line in her work.
Crisp tailoring – with a location-appropriate nod to bankers and businessmen – bumped elbows with sleek biker jackets and regal, baroque-inspired gowns. But the theme of duality was both emphasized and subverted as, contrasting that formalism with a more casual spirit, pieces drawn from the language of sport and workwear were seamlessly incorporated.
The designer’s signature crescent-moon motif was never far away, but, save for a few monogram pieces, she relied on it less than in many previous collections, as if becoming more and more assured of her recognizable design language outside of obvious graphic signifiers.
THE DIRECTION
Despite the austere and historic location, the set design of the runway itself paid homage to a more freshly relevant cultural institution. The checkered floor and red curtains of course referenced the late great David Lynch, whose recent passing has further demonstrated just how deeply his vision shaped our collective consciousness.
THE WRAP UP
Despite the ambitious themes of illusion and paradox that shaped the show’s idea of itself, the clothing felt like the start of a more grounded, realist era for Marine Serre. The futuristic fantasies and couture upcycling that have been core elements of the brand were largely eschewed in favor of the focused take on power dressing. Despite this pivot, however, the collection still felt recognizably Marine Serre, which is a testament to the designer’s strength of vision – as if to say that even an independent brand with a left-of-center mindset can project power and luxury, can carve out a space for itself at the bottom line that, at the end of the day, the entire industry comes down to: money.
We have to hope, however, that Marine Serre can maintain this energy without losing the progressive and provocative attitude that made her such an refreshing and unique voice in the industry in the first place. Where will the brand go? Heads or tails? Financial success or artistic integrity? For now, it’s exciting to see Marine Serre revel like Shcrödinger’s cat in the space in between.
