Katie Holmes Bravely Wears Her Shirt Backwards at Paris Fashion Week

Actually, the unconventional styling trick has years of runway approval.

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Katie Holmes outside the Patou show at Paris Fashion week wearing a backwards shirt and a leather trench coat
(Image credit: Backgrid)
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From afar, nothing seemed unusual about Katie Holmes's outfit for an evening spent in Patou's Paris Men's Fashion Week front row on Jan. 26. She walked up to the waiting cameras with a blue button-up shirt peeking out from beneath a glossy brown trench coat, her hair curled in soft waves just over her outerwear's sharp shoulders. She accessorized with a blue top-handle bag and polka-dot heels layered with mocha mousse trousers underneath.

It was all quintessentially French girl: relaxed and polished with just a hint of juxtaposition. That is, until she unbelted her coat and revealed the sorcery her stylist, Brie Welch, had performed on her shirt beneath those layers.

Katie Holmes wears a trench coat with a backwards shirt and polka dot shoes at paris fashion week

Katie Holmes arrived at Patou's Fall 2025 show in a glossy trench coat and backwards shirt.

(Image credit: Backgrid)

Holmes turned and faced the cameras to reveal her Patou button-up shirt wasn't a typical top at all. She'd turned her shirt backwards, popping her collar to create a high neckline. It was a risky move, but it worked with her equally unconventional accessories: two large Patou brooches pinned directly over her heart.

Katie Holmes wears a backwards striped shirt with a leather trench coat and brown pants

Holmes turned her Patou shirt completely backwards.

(Image credit: Backgrid)

Holmes isn't the first fashion pioneer to consider sending the front of her shirt to the back, a styling trick that's fairly divisive in the fashion crowd. As early as 2015, writers at The Guardian were attempting to turn their shirts 180-degrees just for the look. Then in 2024, runways like Copenhagen Fashion Week's Munthe flipped and reversed button ups to go on backward—sometimes even with a turned-around cardigan layered over the top.

Holmes has worn that Scandi brand on a few occasion, so it may be where she saw the look first. Of course, she and Welch aren't afraid of taking a risk here and there: They've debuted colorblock backless gowns for red carpets and even managed to elevated the humble Birkenstock sandal. All those looks landed just like her backwards shirt in Paris: like they were worn exactly as they were meant to be.

Try Katie Holmes's Backwards Shirt Styling Trick

Halie LeSavage
Halie LeSavage
Senior Fashion News Editor

Halie LeSavage is the senior fashion news editor at Marie Claire, leading coverage of runway trends, emerging brands, style-meets-culture analysis, and celebrity style (especially Taylor Swift's). Her reporting ranges from profiles of beloved stylists, to exclusive red carpet interviews in her column, The Close-Up, to The A-List Edit, a newsletter where she tests celeb-approved trends IRL.

Halie has reported on style for eight years. Previously, she held fashion editor roles at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar. She has been cited as a fashion expert in The Cut, CNN, Puck, Reuters, and more. In 2022, she earned the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence in journalism. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard College. For more, check out her Substack, Reliable Narrator.