Louis Vuitton brings the beach to Paris in near 40C heat

A model carries a branded surfboard at the Louis Vuitton show in Paris. Photograph: Pixelformula/Sipa/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen A model carries a branded surfboard at the Louis Vuitton show in Paris. Photograph: Pixelformula/Sipa/Shutterstock Louis Vuitton brings the beach to Paris in near 40C heat Pharrell Williams’s menswear collection had a surf theme, while Saint Laurent models wore skinny suits In temperatures close to 40C, most of Paris would have loved to go to the beach this week. Guests at the Louis Vuitton show got the look at least – the ground was covered with sand and there was a huge artificial wave as a backdrop. The menswear collection, designed by Pharrell Williams , had a surf theme. There were branded wetsuits, Ugg-style boots and the chunky knits surfers wear at the end of a day. There were some jumpers and slouchy suiting, but the active lifestyle idea took centre stage with board shorts, caps, skate-style sneakers and a gilet. Some models carried surfboards branded with the Louis Vuitton logo and the final look was a model in a monogram wetsuit carrying a bike on his shoulder. View image in fullscreen The ground was covered with sand and there was a huge artificial wave as a backdrop. Photograph: Abdullah Firas/Abaca/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen The active lifestyle idea took centre stage at Louis Vuitton. Photograph: Abdullah Firas/Abaca/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen The designer Pharrell Williams salutes the guests at the end of his Louis Vuitton show. Photograph: Abdullah Firas/Abaca/Shutterstock 24-hour parks and alcohol bans: what cities could learn from Paris’s ‘heatwave mode’ | Helen Massy-Beresford Read more The venue for the show – the gardens of university accommodation usually used by students – has caused some controversy . There was a small protest outside the event and 1,300 people signed a petition against the brand using the lawn, meaning it was off limits to those living there. This follows other brands – including Loewe and Victoria Beckham – using the space. In April, a letter from union representatives complained of “external events unrelated to the university’s mission repeatedly [privatising] spaces essential to residents’ lives”. Missy Elliot, Jeremy Allen White and the basketball player Victor Wembanyama were sat on the front row, but Louis Vuitton had already scored one of the biggest coups in celebrity menswear before this week. Callum Turner, an ambassador for the brand, wore two suits designed by Williams for his three-event nuptials to Dua Lipa. This included a tan suit for the reception in Palermo, and a black custom-made tuxedo for the final ceremony at the 18th-century Sicilian mansion. With Lipa’s Instagram post showing the newly weds gaining 14m likes, it’s the kind of product placement that has serious reach. View image in fullscreen Jeremy Allen White attends the Louis Vuitton show. Celebrities scandalised the internet by smoking cigarettes before the events. P