On the opening night of Paris Fashion Week, Patric DiCaprio and Bryn Taubensee of the New York-based label Vaquera said they were feeling riled up: about the demands of producing to a seasonal schedule and about the modest size of their bank accounts almost a decade into their fashion careers. It was a feeling that most of the journalists reporting on the autumn/winter 2024 collections could probably sympathise with. Because what is fashion month if not the ultimate Sisyphean endeavour? The thing is, DiCaprio and Taubensee managed to prove why so many people continue to put themselves through late nights and meagre salaries and all the other innumerable insecurities that come with working in fashion: for the excitement of seeing models storm through a corrugated Parisian salon in “titty twister” tees and distressed leather chaps and sequinned cocktail dresses with 2-metre-distance donut skirts. It all sounds a little silly, but it was – fun, punk and sex.

On the other end of the spectrum was Dior’s elegant autumn/winter 2024 collection, for which Maria Grazia Chiuri paid homage to the maison’s 1967 diffusion line “Miss Dior”. She appeared in graffitied skirts and shift minis and beaded flapper-style dresses and gladiator-buckled riding boots. As models weaved around a series of behemoth cane sculptures created by the Indian artist Shakuntala Kulkarni, Aceille documented their comings and goings backstage. Having captured just about every other major show this season – see here for New York Fashion Week, here for London Fashion Week and here for Milan Fashion Week – she’ll be there, providing a sort of access-all-areas pass at a number of other shows throughout the remainder of Paris Fashion Week: among them Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Miu Miu, Valentino, Alexander McQueen and Chloé. Scroll down below to see all the behind-the-scenes highlights from the final pit stop of the autumn/winter 2024 collections.