Mia Khalifa has infiltrated Paris Fashion Week, and she’s here to stay

ICYMI amid the blur that has been 2023 so far, fashion’s first season, AW23 menswear, has been and gone quicker than you could say Comme des Garçons Homme Plus. 

Traversing Florence (for Pitti Uomo), Milan, and Paris, the season signalled a seismic vibe shift and all the celeb cameos and runway gimmicks that you’d expect. So far, so fashion week, but for Mia Khalifa – a name you might recognise from other platforms, but who’s now a verified fashion girlie on TiKTok and Instagram – it was all a brand new experience, and her first proper PFW.

A longtime fashion enthusiast, amid the shows, parties, and prep for her upcoming body jewellery launch Sheytan – “It means devil in Arabic,” she winks – Khalifa teamed up with photographer Marc-Henri Ngandu, stylist Jamie-Maree Shipton, and make-up artist Thomas Lorenz for an impromptu shoot. “It’s been a community of people who have previously worked together coming together to do something fun,” she explains. 

The images are a hazy journey through Jean Paul Gaultier’s archive – including a guest appearance from Glenn Martens’ AW22 Y/Project collab – with the mish-mash approach a Shipton signature. “Jamie is a fucking genius, she made me feel like I was playing dress-up when we were doing the shoot together,” Khalifa recalls. “It’s so fun to see her put together things that I’d never imagined, like sparkly silver shoes with a purple, metallic bag and gold hardware. I love the shit she puts me in, it makes me feel like I’m on an acid trip.” 

Here, we speak with Khalifa about her relationship with fashion and her PFW menswear highlights.

Hi Mia! Have you always been interested in fashion? What does it mean to you personally? 

Mia Khalifa: To me, fashion allows you to feel like a different person, even if you’re stuck in a rut, you can play dress up and feel like a princess and have fun. I’ve always equated fashion with fun, I love putting a show on for people after I’ve been out shopping. 

So, you’ve always been interested in dressing up, from a young age? 

Mia Khalifa: My mum has always been very into fashion, taking care of herself, and appreciated the finer things. When I was growing up, I would tag along with her on shopping trips and my earliest fashion memory is being with her at Saks. I ran off to the Oscar de la Renta section and the sweet sales associate who always saw us there very kindly let me try on this gown. As a 12-year-old, I was like, ‘What do you mean I can’t get this dress? It’s $1,000? I don’t understand, it looks so pretty on me.’ 

How would you describe your personal style now? 

Mia Khalifa: Somebody recently made a TikTok dissecting my fashion taste and it really made me come face-to-face with my internalised racism. My internalised racism wanted me to be white so badly and I grew up hating being Arab because I was made fun of so much. I gravitated to Brooks Brothers, Sperry, Zimmermann, Alexis, and Kate Spade. The person dissecting my wardrobe said it was farmhouse chic, and that it was giving nothing, so I got rid of everything. I didn’t even sell it, I just donated everything hoping that the good karma would come back to me as inner peace. 

“My earliest fashion memory is being with my mum at Saks. I ran off to the Oscar de la Renta section and the sweet sales associate who always saw us there very kindly let me try on a gown. As a 12-year-old, I was like, ‘What do you mean I can’t get this dress? It’s $1,000? I don’t understand, it looks so pretty on me’” – Mia Khalifa

What are some of the other brands you’re into? 

Mia Khalifa: I love vintage shopping and going to secondhand shops in the UK and finding 90s Vivienne Westwood. I found a Schiaparelli dress from the 1930s which had weights sewn into the hem so the wind couldn’t blow it up. I also love Entire Studios and Windowsen. Mostly, I love the intersection of art and fashion, like Stella McCartney doing a collaboration with Yoshitomo Nara. 

Why has it taken you so long to attend your first fashion week? 

Mia Khalifa: It’s so closed off! The only reason I attended my first fashion show is because I shopped enough at Off-White’s flagship store and formed a relationship to the point that I was invited to attend like the old school days of fashion shows where VIP clients would be the ones in the audience. 

I adore Off-White and every time I’m in Paris I make a point to go there because they usually have a completely different selection and pull than any other Off-White store in the world. I was so shocked when I got an invite, I did not expect it and I thought they were going to turn me away at the door. 

What was your experience like? Did it live up to your expectations? 

Mia Khalifa: It was surreal but really amazing. Sitting there and watching the models walk by, feeling the energy, hearing the music, the lights dimming, it’s so beautiful and exciting. I used to chase that high by going to sporting events, but it doesn’t even come close. The best part is all the people dressed up waiting outside the shows. I love that people have such a love for fashion that they show up at fashion week in Paris just for the atmosphere. 

I would say it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, but I’m already packing to go to Milan and Paris again. So maybe twice in a lifetime… I hope they don’t realise that I’m there and take my privileges away. 

What were some of your show highlights? 

MIa Khalifa: There were two. One was the finale at Bluemarble. I have had the finale song on repeat since I left Paris, I feel like it has altered my brain chemistry permanently. It was so incredible and beautiful and it was the perfect closing song in the perfect venue. The sight of the sun coming through the stained glass windows at the American Cathedral and the bright colours against the dark gothic church was mind-blowing. 

Then the second moment was obviously Motomami (Rosalía) doing the most at Louis Vuitton. 

“I really want to see GCDS next. I’m dying to get my hands on one of those fucking SpongeBob dresses. You don’t understand, I literally have a SpongeBob SquarePants tattoo. I’m really excited at the possibility of going to Acne Studios and Diesel, holy shit, Diesel! It’s so good!” – Mia Khalifa

I loved the head-to-toe Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama look you were wearing to the show. 

Mia Khalifa: Oh my god they didn’t let me keep it and I’m so sad, but at least I got to wear a head-to-toe Kusama look in my life. I don’t know if you can tell, but I’m a very emotional person and when I went for my fitting, I was so overwhelmed and I started to cry! Then somebody came in and told me that they were having a meeting next door so I guess it’s not fashionable to be too excited. I could not believe that I was in the Louis Vuitton offices and they had pulled things for me to try on and choose from, it was insane. 

The power of fashion is so powerful and evocative of so many emotions so I get really overwhelmed. It’s such an incredible world and I have tremendous respect from stylists to creative directors to make-up artists. It takes a village! 

Were there any shows you missed out on that you would have loved to have seen? 

Mia Khalifa: I would love to have seen Mugler, Schiaparelli, and Junya Watanabe, which was on the morning I left Paris, but I wanted to see it so badly. I’ve never had a huge interest in Dior because it’s a legacy brand that does very similar things every season, but nobody does clean, crisp tailored lines like Kim Jones and his show made me want to be tailored in a Dior Men suit way more than anything from the womenswear collections. 

What shows are you most excited for during the AW23 womenswear season? 

Mia Khalifa: I really want to see GCDS. I’m dying to get my hands on one of those fucking SpongeBob dresses. You don’t understand, I literally have a SpongeBob SquarePants tattoo. I’m really excited at the possibility of going to Acne Studios and Diesel, holy shit, Diesel! It’s so good!