Katie Holmes Bravely Wears Her Shirt Backwards at Paris Fashion Week
Actually, the unconventional styling trick has years of runway approval.

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 arrived at Patou's Fall 2025 show in a glossy trench coat and backwards shirt.
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.
Holmes turned her Patou shirt completely backwards.
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
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Halie LeSavage is the senior fashion and beauty news editor at Marie Claire, where she assigns, edits, and writes stories for both sections. Halie is an expert on runway trends, celebrity style, emerging fashion and beauty brands, and shopping (naturally). In over seven years as a professional journalist, Halie’s reporting has ranged from fashion week coverage spanning the Copenhagen, New York, Milan, and Paris markets, to profiles on industry insiders like celebrity stylist Molly Dickson, to breaking news stories on noteworthy brand collaborations and beauty product launches. (She can personally confirm that Bella Hadid’s Ôrebella perfume is worth the hype.) She has also written dozens of research-backed shopping guides to finding the best tote bags, ballet flats, and more. Most of all, Halie loves to explore what style trends—like the rise of emotional support accessories or TikTok’s 75 Hard Style Challenge—can say about culture writ large. She also justifies almost any purchase by saying it’s “for work.”
Halie has previously held writer and editor roles at Glamour, Morning Brew, and Harper’s Bazaar. She has been cited as a fashion and beauty expert in The Cut, CNN Underscored, and Reuters, among other outlets, and appears in newsletters like Selleb and Self Checkout to provide shopping recommendations. In 2022, she earned the Hearst Spotlight Award for excellence and innovation in fashion journalism. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Harvard College. Outside of work, Halie is passionate about books, baking, and her miniature Bernedoodle, Dolly. For a behind-the-scenes look at her reporting, you can follow Halie on Instagram and TikTok.
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