Welcome to the Fashion Week Photo Diary, a series where photographers document the faces, places and parties surrounding global catwalk shows.

Madonna is the undisputed queen of the dancefloor. Charli xcx knows her way around a nightclub. It’s no surprise, then, that Lyas – the 27-year-old fashion influencer who’s spent the last year turning runway livestreams into community events – looked at the pair and thought: party. At this season’s Paris Fashion Week men’s , to accompany his La Watchparty series, Lyas unfurled his impressive rolodex and tapped the two to host an afterparty for the ages. The only appropriate place for their celebration was Bus Palladium, a notoriously mysterious Parisian club originally founded in the 60s, and reopened this April after being shut down in 2022.

Inside, Charli was sitting on a velvet sofa on the upper balcony with It-girl Gabbriette. I tried to chat with her about the night and her plans for fashion week. “Is this an interview?” Charli asked, giggling. “Not technically”, I replied. She grabbed my arm and laughed: “You’re lying to me – but fine!” When I asked if she’ll get behind the decks tonight, she said no. Gabriette thought maybe. “Do you have a USB on you?” asked Charli. “I don’t need one”, replied Gabbriette. Charli had just come from a La Watchparty conversation with Lyas and Petra Collins. “What are your plans for the rest of the week?” I asked. “Paris is for having fun.”

Fresh from Gabbriette’s bachelorette party, the pop star and future Mrs Healy were joined by Gabbriette’s mother, Shameera. Huddled together, we asked Gabriette’s mom about the dynamics of their travel and party life together. Does Gabriette behave when they’re partying together? The response was collective laughter. There is nothing tame about a night out with Charli and Gabbie – not even mom can stop them! The usual suspects accompanied them on this night out, like French model Loli Bahia, director and Charli BFF Aidan Zamiri, plus photographer Petra Collins.

Even though the events looked spontaneous, and were announced mere hours before its start, Lyas told us that it took “up to 2 weeks of planning. It’s 20 phone calls a day.” An hour before the party was about to start, Lyas still didn’t know if there was going to be an open bar, or even if the venue was secured. “The host never has fun. But I’m a good actor,” he concluded.

However, even when everything goes according to plan, some things are out of your control. Madonna – the elusive third co-host of the event – could only be seen from the downstairs dancefloor, as she leaned against the mezzanine balcony railings and swayed to the beat. Even if you were in the VIP area, she was unreachable – quite literally swarmed by friends, photographers, other celebrities and security. The VIP area had suddenly given birth to a second VIP area on its inside – but we can’t say we’re surprised when it’s Madonna at Paris Fashion Week.

Scroll through the gallery at the top of the page for a photo diary from the night