Setting a new trend that’s here to stay: How we stole the show at Paris Fashion Week

This year’s Men’s Paris Fashion Week, all eyes were on one particular style icon. And no, it wasn’t the flaming ball of fire at the Rick Owens show. This Fashion Week, it was the year of the e-bike. We rallied an international crew to showcase the pure joy of city living on an e-bike during one of the busiest and most visible times of the year for the industry. And safe to say, our customized S3s stole the show.
Unlocking the city: Celebrating the transformative potential of the e-bike
You might be wondering how an e-bike brand could make a splash at the fashion world’s most talked-about event. Well, our take on Fashion Week wasn’t far off that of all good designers: let the bike do the talking. We riders know just how much riding electric can change your life in the city – it’s your chance to reclaim your space, move your own way, and make the most of that big-city-feeling that anything could happen at any given moment. So all we had to do was let those bikes shine.
Celebrating the transformative potential of the e-bike took center stage as we showcased our latest collaborative projects and limited-edition bikes. For its collaboration with Salomon, L'Art de l'Automobile unveiled a gradient S3 featuring the colors of both brands. And Berlin-based magazine and global fashion label Highsnobiety presented a VanMoof S3 customized in the colors of their impressive pop-up at the notorious exhibition space, 3537. The ‘Not in Paris’ theme first sprung to life during the pandemic, when it wasn’t possible to gather for Paris Fashion Week to bring together leading creatives in art, fashion, music, design, and tech. This year was the first time ‘Not in Paris’ was finally in the city itself.

This mobility trend is here to stay
Needless to say, with riders like Amine, Pia, Skinny Macho, Patrick Mason, and many more on the saddle, our S3s turned heads in the fashion capital. But it’s not just about the VIPs. We wanted to challenge some of the conventions you see year on year in Paris, as editors, stylists, tastemakers, and creatives from around the world flock to the event. Traditionally, the vast majority use cars to drive around the congested city in stuffy 30-degree heat, stuck in endless traffic jams, frustrated at the thought of being late to the next show, and creating havoc for locals.
But this year showed that trend to be a thing of the past. We handed out e-bikes to give visitors from all over the world the chance to navigate the streets of Paris without breaking a sweat. And it’s becoming clear that this mobility habit isn’t going to drift away at the end of the festival – or shift to the next big thing as all fashion trends do. The e-bike is in Paris to stay.

Bike positivity in Paris
Attitudes towards biking in Paris are undergoing an exciting change. The city municipality is actively encouraging biking, having introduced multiple incentives to make choosing an e-bike more accessible – an act that makes it clear that city legislators worldwide are recognizing the fundamental need to accelerate efforts to both facilitate and encourage biking in urban areas. As part of the city’s Bike Plan, 180,000 additional bike parking spots will be added to the current total of 60,000 – more than tripling the city’s bike racks. And between now and 2026, Parisian riders will gain 180 km of long-awaited and permanent bike lanes.
E-bikes are taking over every element of the city and claiming their rightful place on the roads. Are you ready for the next big thing? Because this one’s here to stay.