Matières Fécales Handed Place de la République to the Immigrants for SS27
Steven Raj Bhaskaran and Hannah Rose staged the square’s first-ever PFW show with 99 models of color, turning Bhaskaran’s childhood in Montreal’s immigrant community into a historic runway protest.
Paris Fashion Week has seen its share of extravagant processions, though none had ever claimed Place de la République, the square Parisians flood whenever there’s something to rally behind, until now. Matières Fécales opened it up as a public stage for its Spring/Summer 2027 collection for the first time in a historic showcase dedicated to immigrants and outsiders.
Last season, the brand presented its “One Percent” collection, a commentary on the greed that travels with wealth and power, and for SS27 it turns to the other side of that story with “Ninety Nine Percent,” cast with 99 models of color, many of them the designers’ own family, friends and collaborators.
Co-designed by Steven Raj Bhaskaran and Hannah Rose, the show draws straight from Bhaskaran’s upbringing in low-income housing in Montreal and the mix of cultures and faiths he grew up surrounded by. “We spoke for a lot of people who don’t have a voice in this arena, in this city, in this environment,” Raj Bhaskaran shares with Hypebae backstage.
And speak for the people they did, in a show that landed with real force at a moment when immigrants everywhere are being targeted and made to live in fear, bringing their stories into the center of fashion’s biggest week and refusing to let anyone look away.
The presentation unfolded in three chapters, opening with “FAMILY” and a procession of white garments that moved out into the square in the label’s now recognizable shapes. Wrapped tulle blazers over voluminous matching skirts were grounded by a new collaboration with Christian Louboutin, a flip-flop on a curved heel that brings a working-class staple into the label’s world. The section closed with a family moment, as Bhaskaran walked in white alongside his mother, sister and niece.
The second act, “TRIBE,” brought a much harder energy, leaning into utility and subcultural codes as collectives of models moved through the square like a demonstration. Military tulle tweed sets and leather capes treated to look as though they were decaying came alongside khaki knits unravelling at the hems, all cut through with heavy punk references that nod to the underground scene Bhaskaran found as a teenager in Montreal. A trio of women in twisted, draped gowns in red, white and blue then brought the section to a close, carrying the tricolore as a tribute to mothers as the ones so often on the front line when a community’s rights are under threat.
The final chapter, “GODS,” was where the couture came out, pairing delicate artisan work with historical shapes pulled out of place. For the finale, models circled the République statue carrying lifelike billionaire figures on their backs, echoing the figures from the label’s FW26 collection, a confrontational image by design.
A portion of sales from the SS27 collection will go to La Maison d’Allanah, a non-profit initiative in France providing housing for LGBTQIA+ refugees, which feels like the right place for a show this personal to land and somewhere that will keep the conversation going well after the last look left the square.
For more on the SS27 season, read our Milan Fashion Week recap.
