In France, the office siren works overtime From the open space to the dancefloor, the office siren is not ready to leave the wardrobe of Parisian women

Everyone knows the office siren by now. She's part boss, part seductress, and still going strong among the trends of the fashion world, though under different interpretations. In Paris, she's not just at the office — she’s at the bar, the club, and the afterparty. The Parisian going-out uniform increasingly looks like it came from the corner office, as the office siren aesthetic is becoming a familiar sight in French nightlife. Fitted blazers and kitten heels are a staple, while button-up shirts have crept into Zara's party clothes racks, and slimline Bayonetta glasses have become a nightlife accessory rather than a vision necessity. In the French capital, a new wave of the office siren has clocked in after hours.

According to data from Pinterest’s Summer Trend Report, searches for “corporate chic” surged by 950% in early 2024, signaling a sharp rise in interest in office-inspired fashion. The viral appeal of the office siren look has translated into real consumer behavior, reflected in both online search trends and retail demand for statement pieces like pencil skirts and rectangular eyewear. In Paris, the office siren aesthetic takes on a more rugged, laid-back edge compared to the polished “clean girl” version seen on social media. It’s the classic Gisele Bündchen in The Devil Wears Prada, but with a dark cat eye, a cigarette, and a pair of Tabi’s. It’s a re-adaptation of the 2023 office siren girl-craze that draws on 1990s and early 2000s power dressing. People say history repeats itself—or at least returns in new silhouettes—and this aesthetic feels reminiscent of Ralph Lauren’s Spring 2006 and Calvin Klein’s Fall 2006 collections. The sleek silhouettes, darker color palettes, and modern accessories bring it firmly into the present, one that designers like Miu Miu, Hodakova, and Prada have leaned into.

At Milan Fashion Week FW25, Prada reframed the office siren through a more wearable, less seductive lens. Gone were the body-hugging silhouettes. In their place came asymmetric hemlines, stiff wool minis, high-waisted skirts, and oversized sweaters. The accessories leaned into this — geekish, barely-there frameless glasses, sculptural bags, and loafers nodded to Prada’s woman this season as sophisticated and comfortable. Not necessarily seductive. Also at Paris Fashion Week, designers traded quiet luxury for a louder, more ironic take on power dressing. From Stella McCartney’s open-plan office set — complete with coffee mugs and Marie Davidson’s “Work It” blaring through the speakers — to Balenciaga’s distorted tailoring, the message was clear: some version of office core still lives and breathes among us. Haider Ackermann’s debut for Tom Ford leaned into cinematic seduction with crimson trench coats and acid-green shirts, while Stella's models strutted in broad-shouldered blazers and pencil skirts with cargo pockets, turning the cubicle fantasy into high-concept costume. Even Demna’s minimalist suits at Balenciaga, worn with a studied shrug, felt like commentaries on the fatigue of fashion standards. It was corporate dressing as seen on a mood board — heightened and repurposed. 

Interestingly, this French revival arrives just as the office siren is being declared dead elsewhere. Critics have argued that “conservatism killed the office siren.” Notes state that the trend’s flirtation with power and sexuality has been dialed down by a growing fashion conservatism, as this aesthetic can be interpreted as a harmful contribution to the “sexy secretary” stereotype. On TikTok, tutorials now explain how to make the look "more corporate," since earlier interpretations were sure to get you fired — or at least dress-coded — at work. But the Parisian nightlife siren doesn’t play by those rules. On one hand, she wears her ambition like a fragrance and her blazers with nothing underneath. On the other, she’s filtered through thrift-store oversized coats tossed over micro-minis. It’s a time for being playful with fashion, bringing a wardrobe you wouldn’t expect to see at the club — as seen with the trend of wearing sportswear to bars, heavily popular in Scandinavia. In the end, the office siren is not a trend so much as a cipher — endlessly reinterpreted, restyled, and reborn. In Paris, her power lies in contradiction: blazers, button-down long sleeves, and reading glasses live on in the French clubs.