INSIDE ENFANTS RICHES DÉPRIMÉS’ HAUNTINGLY BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN/WINTER 2025 RUNWAY: ELITIST ANARCHY MEETS THEATRICAL REBELLION IN PARIS

At the Lycée Carnot in Paris, Enfants Riches Déprimés unveiled its Autumn/Winter 2025 collection with a runway show that was as much a fashion presentation as it was a dramatic art performance. Under the creative direction of Henri Alexander Levy, the collection echoed the brand’s deep-seated fascination with elitist nihilism, abstract expressionism, and raw emotionality. As spectators took their seats, a brooding atmosphere settled over the venue–one that soon erupted into a complex narrative about conflict, memory, and identity. The final act, which featured a looming cardboard tank followed by children clad in miniature versions of the collection, was both unsettling and poetic. It symbolized the perpetuation of inherited ideologies and the surreal militarization of youth–a haunting metaphor that left a lasting imprint on the minds of its audience.

The collection itself was a study in contrast and chaos, pitting instinct against structure, rebellion against refinement. Levy, a designer whose work flirts with both high art and punk detachment, infused this season’s garments with influences ranging from the Viennese Secession and Art Brut to primitive art and 1980s anti-fashion. Rich, textural fabrics such as velvet and chiffon formed the basis of key looks, including a sweeping black capelet paired with tiered skirts and a closing burgundy evening gown with a dangerously high front slit. The silhouettes were androgynous and purposefully misaligned–a sort of sophisticated disarray.

Casting leaned heavily into ERD’s signature aesthetic of deliberate dissonance.3 The beauty direction, helmed by Mike Martinez and Holly Silius, leaned toward the undone and theatrical, while Nicholas “Aqua” McCarrell’s soundscape replaced typical runway music with something eerily immersive, heightening the show’s introspective, almost cinematic feel. From a production standpoint, the runway show wasn’t simply a showcase–it was a sensory experience meant to provoke as much as impress. The edit, managed by Turbine, and the photography, captured by Ryley Paskal, ensured that even those not in the room would feel the tension and drama radiating from every stitched hem and haunted gaze.

Enfants Riches Déprimés is no stranger to controversy or contradiction. Since its inception in 2012, the label has existed at the intersection of intellectual elitism and punk aggression. Its name, translating to “Depressed Rich Kids,” isn’t merely provocative–it encapsulates the brand’s paradoxical philosophy. Henri Alexander Levy doesn’t design for the masses; he designs for those who dare to wear their disenchantment like a badge. The brand’s garments, which can cost thousands of dollars and are released in extremely limited quantities, are less about seasonal trends and more about cultivating myth. T-shirts retail for up to $1,300, and bespoke pieces can soar to $95,000, solidifying ERD as one of the most deliberately exclusive labels in fashion today.

Yet despite, or perhaps because of its defiant stance, ERD continues to draw admiration from artists, musicians, and fashion’s most daring. Miley Cyrus, Jared Leto, Rita Ora, and countless other provocateurs have turned to the label for its unapologetic fusion of luxury and decay. For Autumn/Winter 2025, Levy didn’t just present clothes; he held a mirror to the fragmented state of the human psyche and dared his audience to look. In an industry that often prizes commercial safety, Enfants Riches Déprimés remains a sanctuary for the raw, the elite, and the disturbed. And with each season, it continues to prove that fashion can be philosophy, couture can be chaos, and even cardboard tanks can roll into the world of high art with thunderous purpose.