Innholdsfortegnelse for Fall - Winter 2018 i SHOWDETAILS PARIS+LONDON

PARIS March 2, 2018 Alexis Mabille took a break from the runway and presented ‘French Kiss’, a collection in line with last season’s ‘Paris Blossom’. Both were based on the image of the femme française - that elusive quality that French women and Parisians in particular seem to have. Mabille applied a palette of bold colours dominated by Prussian blue and fuchsia to airy pieces and dresses with flared skirts and flounces and/or pleats and loose high-waist trousers. Knits and blouses, embellished with lace insets, pleated collars and tone-on-tone embroidery, had soft or flared sleeves with added ruffles that could be removed with diamond-buttons, while the waistline was accentuated by belts with big bows. Lustrous, refined silk and similar fabrics confirmed that this was a très chic collection designed mainly…

PARIS March 2, 2018 Shirtaporter woman journeys continuously between past and present, lost in a distant paradise across intangible ages and worlds that smell of mystery and magnetism. The entire collection features cuts and fluid shapes embellished with retro prints that reference the final decades of last century. Lace, feathers and sequins project everything into a futuristic universe in iridescent tones, adding waves to skirts and multi-layered plissé mini-dresses in an ode to femininity. Some pieces also nod to menswear, such as striped velvet pyjamasuits, black blazers with frills on the sleeve and tartan and lozenge dresses. Others have a sportswear feel, such as a sweatshirt with a kaleidoscopic logo paired with a big eco fur collar. Un continuo rimbalzare tra passato e presente definisce il percorso itinerante della donna…

PARIS March 3, 2018 The new Altuzarra show was staged at La Coupole, a famous brasserie in the 14th arrondissement. It was an informal venue for clothes the designer wanted to be practical and ‘realistic’ - in short, clothes the women he knows would like to wear. The show opened with a series of pinstripe skirt and trouser suits with an interesting doublelayer jacket accentuated by a horizontal row of buttons, followed by bohemian floral blouses and dresses worn on their own or with a blazer and gilet. The middle section included solid outerwear and shearling, some of which was dyed, and coats with hand-knitted woollen collars, while the finale returned to fluidity, with dresses embellished with sequins and little silver hoops. There was lots of velvet and corduroy for…

PARIS March 4, 2018 “After two years at Balenciaga, I wanted to take all the codes of the House and filter them so they can be one aesthetic and one ethic.” Demna Gvasalia’s words are clear and his first co-ed show for the brand went beyond simply reworking the Balenciaga archive, applying a high-tech computer-enabled process for moulding tailoring, while traditional fabrics such as tweed, wool and velvet were bonded to a lightweight foam. The result, following the opening sinuous draped mini-dresses, were sculptural couture coats and blazers with razorsharp lines, structured shoulders and emphasised waistline, worn over straight leg trousers or with the famous sock-boots seen in past collections. The backdrop was a fake snow mountain, which chimed nicely with the idea of layering against the cold. Outerwear of…

PARIS March 6, 2018 While Chanel recreated the waterfalls of the Gorges du Verdon for its last ready-to-wear show, this time the setting was a forest carpeted with fallen leaves, the colours and shapes of which were reflected in the clothes. Karl Lagerfeld does not hide his love of nature, celebrating its darker and more romantic side by opening the show with a series of long single and doublebreasted coats with a vaguely Edwardian silhouette decorated in some cases by feathers on the edges and sleeves. The brand’s signature suit came as a buttoned dress with hip-height pockets, or else with a long skirt and jackets that were shorter or longer according to the proportions and big knitted collars. Other coats had contrasting collars and cuffs or puff sleeves with…

PARIS February 27, 2018 Chic young women protesting outside the Dior store because there were not enough miniskirts inside. This is the scene in a black and white photograph that Maria Grazia Chiuri discovered in the brand’s archive. It linked nicely to the fiftieth anniversary of the ’68 Paris protests coming up in May and the new wave of feminism coinciding with the arrival of Chiuri as Dior creative director. A sense of the French street protests reflected in the show with late ’60s looks such as patchwork jackets and skirts, immaculate lace or crochet shirts and dresses, embroidered or fringed shoulder bags. Tartan outfits recalled the students’ uniforms, leather trousers and overcoats, while slogan T-shirts and knits had themed designs like the peace symbol. Outerwear ranged from trenches to…

PARIS March 3, 2018 Some flowers blossom in winter, like those on the romantic dresses produced by Elie Saab, who entitled this collection ‘Bouquets d’Hiver’. The first exit, a long asymmetric dress with a rich floral print worn with a matching fringed scarf, a gilet with floral appliqués and black leather above-theknee boots, opened up a series of looks in which lace, ruches, transparencies and, naturally, flowers were the minimum common denominator. A mildly tougher stance was taken by leather corset-belts that cinched the waist of even the most elegant outfits, decorated with crystals and other types of shine. But the Victorian dresses with high collars and chaste hemlines, which Elie Saab was doubtless inspired by, also had the waistline nipped by something only slightly milder than fetish corsets. Ci…

PARIS February 28, 2018 What could be more minimal than a blank sheet of paper? For a self-proclaimed “radical minimalist” like Richard René, in charge at Guy Laroche for two seasons now, the classic A4 sheet provided the inspiration, and the first look in the show. Only a few lines are drawn on the sheet. Very graphic black & white looks with stripes that dissect a top worn with a handkerchief skirt or trim the edges of a long coat worn over bare skin, with matching trousers. René’s other inspiration, Art Brut, which Laroche avidly collected, was seen in the cross-body brushstrokes on structured overcoats with belted waist and on crater neck dresses. Almost entirely dominated by black and white, the show also featured a few bold tints of purple…

PARIS March 1, 2018 Isabel Marant is off to conquer the West with an à la parisienne take on the classic western. In the designer’s words, it was “more Jim Jarmusch than Clint Eastwood” and she was not wrong, given that all kinds of boots and ankle boots have been a strong trend in recent seasons. Classic Native American motifs, seen mainly in the wool blankets and clothing by long-standing Oregon textile brand Pendleton that has long featured the patterns and colours of Indian tribes including the Navajo, were found on cloaks and coats of various lengths with and without a belt and on chunky sweaters and poncho knits. There were also ‘prairie’ dresses with lace insets or draping and floral motifs, fringed blouses and leather trousers and, naturally, Texan…

PARIS March 3, 2018 Are designers obliged to have a theme? Not according to Junya Watanabe, who announced there wasn’t one this season. In fact, the 62 looks presented did have something in common: the idea of making the wardrobe as generic as possible to allow any number of combinations and transformations, a little like girls dressing up in their mum’s clothes or young women buying from vintage markets. A series of oversize masculine single and double-breasted jackets and coats were worn with skinny trousers or leggings with sporty socks and solid sneakers with chunky soles. Coats and trenches were destructured because the basic rule is that garments can transform or at least give the impression of being something else. Vintage-style floral dresses and shirts were layered over sweaters or…

PARIS February 28, 2018 Since Albert Elbaz left Lanvin, the fate of the French brand continues to be uncertain. After Bouchra Jarrar, who was not given enough time to build on her good start, Olivier Lapidus showed a collection that oscillated between long fluid silky plissé dresses and bold colours such as bright orange, used for a biker jacket with a strange side collar and a skin-tight hood, paired with purple stirrup pants over court shoes. That hood detail, later revealed to be part of a turtleneck, cropped up in other looks - teamed with a high-necked zipped knit, high-waist masculine trousers and orange belt or a transparent PVC overcoat and petrol green skinny trousers. Small bags featured a shoulder strap with a handy phone pocket. Da quando Albert Elbaz…

PARIS March 6, 2018 Sporting fluffy hair, lots of eye-liner and a neckerchief, Miu Miu’s girls, led by actress Elle Fanning, seemed to come straight from Karlheinz Weinberger’s photographs of ’50s and ’60s young rebels. It was a hard suburban girl gang parading on the runway, but this time Miuccia Prada said she was less interested in explaining the reasoning behind the theme than in portraying “personalities, different people and to be diverse”. The starting point, aside from the hair and makeup, were the doubled, buckled belts, the chain necklaces and the various types of footwear spanning ankle boots to ballet flats and Mary Janes worn with thick socks. This all came with casual jackets, shirts and skinny high elastic waist trousers in bleached denim, felted jumpers, and oversize jackets…

PARIS March 1, 2018 When you can make a pair of pool sliders look chic, it means you have arrived and no one is going to knock you off the podium. That’s the case for Julien Dossena, who perfectly blended Paco Rabanne classics with Parisian chic, using the brand’s signature chain mail and plastic with Breton knits, white shirts, turtlenecks, denim jackets, trousers and masculine suits as if it were the most natural combination in the world. Perfect French classics merged seamlessly with metallic slip dresses, with skirts and dresses made of transparent plastic tabs or iridescent daisies, while sliders were given floral appliqués, plastic sequins and other metallic details. The alternative footwear was low cowboy boots, which were more ‘normal’ in comparison. Quando si riesce a rendere chic una…

PARIS March 4, 2018 Paul Poiret’s contribution to 20th century fashion has been compared with Picasso’s to the art world. Considered a revolutionary, he created clothes adored by the film stars of the ’20s and freed women from the constraints of the corset, replacing it with lingerie that adapted to the shape of the body. He then launched evening stoles and cloaks, and kimono-dresses in fluid sleek shapes and bold colours. The entire Poiret repertoire was revisited in this eye-catching collection from duo Anne Chapelle and Yiqing Yin, who have the job of relaunching the brand now owned by South Korean giant Shinsegae. Poiret’s passion for the kimono and cocoon shapes was seen in the very first looks - coats and dresses enveloping the body, some enclosing it like a…

PARIS February 28, 2018 Since Alessandro Dell’Acqua has been creative director of Rochas, he is often asked why there is so little day wear in the collections. This season, the deisgner opened the show with an oversize double-breasted camel-coloured suit followed by a shirtdress in the same tint with belted waist and yellow turtleneck peeking out from a pointed collar. Both were worn with python boots. On the wave of the trend for tailoring meets femininity, the designer followed those with blazers with abundant proportions paired with a pencil skirt, masculine trousers in grey wool with a blue polo shirt and turtleneck, a checked suit with a cropped zipped jacket and leather insets. Shine came in the form of brocade dresses with an antique vibe, blouses in metallic burnout and…

PARIS March 5, 2018 Tailoring and lingerie were the two main components of Stella McCartney’s latest show, alongside her signature sustainability, which was represented here by the Loop trainers in knit and Alter-Nappa (faux leather) with hooks and stitching designed to avoid the use of toxic glues. The elongated, vertical silhouette was offset by layering and deconstruction, as seen in the first all-white look - an asymmetric embroidered bustier top with a two-way central zip over a slip dress and fluid trousers. The collection continued in the same vein, with sleek coats and pyjama-suits, oversize masculine pieces and embroidered slip dresses layered over knits printed with the work of semiunknown artist J.H. Lynch. A large section of the show was given over to knitwear, with solid pieces inspired partly by…

PARIS March 2, 2018 Yohji Yamamoto and Azzedine Alaïa, who recently passed away, were close friends. Despite their differing styles, they shared a dogmatic, obsessive devotion to black and rigorous design, and an apparent rejection of easy trends and pieces of the kind thrown up to capture the social media generations. Shocked by the death of his friend and colleague, Yamamoto wrote ‘Hommage’ on the invitation to this show followed by ‘1. M. Cubisme’ and ‘2. Mon cher Azzedine’. The collection is a sincere, heartfelt homage to the great designer, using the mourning tradition to reflect the shapes and volumes of cubism and surrealism. With the exception of a few looks, the show was all about extra-long single and doublebreasted coats and trenches in total black, with staggered buttons and…

LONDON February 17, 2018 Eclectic, eccentric and unusual. The woman dressed by Markus Lupfer loves her contaminations, contrasts and bizarre synergies. She enjoys teaming gutsy details and bonton touches. The skirts in this presentation were below-the-knee but had daring splits or stroboscopic sequins. Knitwear came in traditional shapes but featured quirky foxes, deer and sparkling lips. All-tartan outfits in various colour combinations were mixed with ink-coloured fringes. Markus Lupfer’s woman has no fear of opulence: suits were glossy with flowering bud patterns and came with eco-furs. Statement buttons on cardigans were in the shape of delicate flower heads. Flowers also appeared as embroidery on lace in autumnal colours. The collection was tinged with woodland tints - sage green, chestnut brown, tobacco, suede, rust and midnight blue. Eclettica, eccentrica, insolita. La…

LONDON February 17, 2018 Following seventeen years at the brand, Christopher Bailey is leaving Burberry with a collection about the future and positivity. This ‘see now, buy now’ show was all about brightly-coloured optimism and a social message: the brand’s iconic tartan gained a rainbow tint in support of LGBTQ+ rights. Burberry reinvented the blanket idea and worked colours, archive details and prints into it. Outerwear dominated the show. There were oversize trenches, military coats, and shearling aviator jackets. Cloaks were long, capes were patchwork and sweaters came with pop prints. When it came to combinations, anything went: sweatshirts were teamed with embroidered jacquard dresses and sparkling appliqués, long tiered skirts were worn with electric blue cardigans. The bold, iridescent palette included glossy vermilion, Klein blue, intense green and purple.…

LONDON February 18, 2018 Delpozo brought a mild winter with early February sun to the London runway. Josep Font’s collection is sculptural yet light. He revealed a more ethereal side: free folds, sophisticated ruffles, fluttery drapes. Blazers melt in asymmetric fluid fabrics. Dresses are airy with sleeves like butterfly wings. Materials embrace softness, with feathers, eco-fur, cashmere and mohair. Knitwear features maxi houndstooth intarsia. The first spring flowers are celebrated. Embroidery is naturalistic, with buds in bold colours, bouquets of sequins, and raised dew drops. Red petals embellish organza and lamé resembles frost waiting for the dawn. Big leather flowers sit like sculptures on belts. Colours reflect the fragrance of spring, as though painted by Inès Longevial - vanilla, ivory, chalk blue, fleur-de-lis and pink in all its shades Delpozo…

LONDON February 17, 2018 JW Anderson chose the simplicity of everyday life. Simple lines and comfortable shapes. Knitwear came in various guises: chunky knit, cable, hooded sweaters, unexpected puffy sleeves, thick fringed edges, matching scarves. The collection was dedicated to fashion that can be worn all day long, but that does not give up on surprising details. Ruches, irregular wavy hems and taffeta gathers created movement and dynamism. Dresses featured a drop waist accentuated by ribbons, knots and tone on tone ties. Long sleeveless robes gleamed with sequins that spanned purple tones to the brightest yellow, and zips that created sinuous contrasting metallics. Paisley prints added to JW Anderson’s natural colour palette, teaming sage green, slate-grey, rope and ivory with electric blue, saffron and earthenware. JW Anderson sceglie la semplicità…

LONDON February 18, 2018 A light wind ruffles the hems of Roland Mouret’s dresses. Fluid, wavy dresses in breezy shapes. Ruffles flutter in the air and light tone on tone ribbons are knotted like romantic ties. This is a femininity that does not aim to show off. It reveals while concealing: impalpable fabrics cover the sternum, rise up to the nape, and leave just a glimpse of the neck. Necklines are refined and chaste, but at times left a teardrop of bare flesh. Chevron lace and Greek frets in dark tints recur on shirts, playing with sheer effects. Lightness and substance amalgamate with harmony and refinement: jacquard silk, upholstery fabric and corduroy are used for double-breasted jackets, capes, trenches and panelled skirts with asymmetric splits. Hems change shape with rounded…

TENCEL™ BECOMES LENZING’S LEADING BRAND/TENCEL™ DIVENTA LEADER BRAND DI LENZING Lenzing Group presented its new business strategy at the latest edition of Première Vision Paris. A press conference on 13 February saw the presentation of the group’s business portfolio, the main goal of which is a broader product offering and closer connections between clients and consumers. This new project is part of Lenzing’s transformation from a B2B to a B2B2C platform. TENCEL™, the key brand for the Lenzing Group, a leading renewable wood-based sources user, is spearheading this change through its look good, feel good but also do good philosophy. “By applying this new business strategy, we are adopting a more personalised approach focused on a defined target that reflects the essence of the TENCEL™ brand (softness and feeling comfortable…

PARIS March 1, 2018 “Let’s pretend we’re young, pretend we start from now, and let’s see what happens.” This is how Marco Colagrossi explained the new course Emanuel Ungaro is embarking on, starting from scratch with a collection of few pieces that will expand as the brand finds new partnerships. The clothes are in line with the brand’s style codes, featuring its signature ’80s details such as statement shoulders, a key trend for a while now, bright floral patterns and polka dots. These elements played out on lownecked or high-necked mini-dresses worn with matching neck scarves, with or without puff sleeves, outfits with a cropped top and long skirt or the inverse, and outerwear with flower-head collars. One of the few monochrome piece was a denim mini-dress with puff sleeves…

PARIS February 28, 2018 Resisting the tendency to travel somewhere new from one season to the next, Tsumori Chisato stayed with her Pre-Fall destination inspiration, i.e. Guatemala. She must have really loved it, and no wonder with its beautiful landscapes, vivid colours and craftsmanship traditions, to which she always pays close attention. The presentation began with sombreros studded with LEDs worn with dresses of various lengths all with the same trapeze shape and colourful big circle prints. Then came graphic black and white looks with a few splashes of red, which were all flared including coats and trousers, like the oversize track pants with contrasting side bands worn with a cropped crochet gilet and a Guatemalan design knit. Some pieces were made entirely of plush fabric, while the naïf designs…

PARIS March 3, 2018 Andreas Kronthaler often takes the time to remember his student days at Vienna’s University of Applied Arts, not so much for his studies as for the explosive encounter with his future wife, Vivienne Westwood. He said she looked like a ‘superwoman’ and this show was a sort of declaration of love from the creative director of Kronthaler for Westwood to her. The style was pure Dame Viv, with lots of gender fluidity and mixing driven by destructured pieces and flashes of different eras and styles - some monastic, some carnivalesque or Tirol peasant. In short, all the Westwood repertoire: asymmetric dresses with ruches and draping, patterned suits with statement shoulders, supersexy mini-dresses, frayed knitwear, enormous headpieces and the famous phallic symbols hanging from belts or used…

PARIS March 2, 2018 The first look in the Balmain show, an iridescent silver jumpsuit, introduced the theme of the collection that Olivier Rousteing set in 2050, which is ‘only’ 32 years away, a time when people may well be dressing in chocolate wrappers. As we wait to find out, Rousteing tried to imagine the future without moving away from his own aesthetic which, aside from the metal and shine, was pushed to excess in this show, including the bodycon silhouette and plenty of embellishment. A new feature was metallic tailoring, with structured statement shoulders and loose trousers, a look also proposed in quilted fabric or holographic PVC, or as a sequinned tracksuit with printed T-shirt, or else in quilted denim. Ruched, broad-shouldered minidresses featured trompe-l’oeil effects and/or neon colours…

PARIS March 1, 2018 Anjelica Huston, Sissy Spacek, Isabelle Huppert and Stéphane Audran are all actresses and strong women that Natacha Ramsay-Levi cited as the inspiration behind her second collection for Chloé. The designer’s process to conjure the aura they emanated consisted in taking normal, ‘bourgeois’ pieces like shirt-dresses and shirts, removing the buttons from them and opening them into deep V necklines. The result was fluid dresses with drop waist that almost met the plunging neckline, emphasised by a long pendant necklace, with handkerchief skirts worn over branded tights. In the show, the pieces stayed largely the same but the details varied. Sometimes there were side cut-outs, elsewhere embroidery or graphic all-over prints with a vintage feel. Shirts were worn outside or tucked into jodhpurs zipped at the bottom,…

PARIS February 28, 2018 Art Brut, a term coined in 1945 by French painter Jean Dubuffet, describes art created by the incarcerated or the mentally ill and stands firmly outside conventional aesthetics. By the ’70s, this kind of anti-establishment culture had almost become mainstream and fashionable. The link between Art Brut and psychedelic culture is celebrated by Dries Van Noten in this collection packed with optical prints that blend stylised floral motifs on oversize parkas, belted coats, asymmetric or pencil mid-calf length skirts, long fluid dresses worn with patterned high-heel boots. These were paired or alternated with masculine pieces such as shirts, pantsuits and blazers decorated with brooches or trimmed with feathers, while oversize outerwear had big faux fur collars or colourful eco-fur coats and handbags. L’Art Brut, definizione coniata…

PARIS March 5, 2018 Giambattista Valli’s inspiration for this season was the ‘nomadic’ art of Alighiero Boetti, Francesco Clemente, Alba Primiceri and Gabriella Crespi, who found inspiration for their work by travelling to experience other cultures. These exotic influences were combined with Valli’s constant search for romantic beauty, made of long fluid dresses, often high-necked and/or worn with matching neck scarves, which featured details taken from Boetti’s trips to Afghanistan or Crespi’s to the Himalayas or which referenced Middle Eastern ethnic embellishments in general. Dresses had mesh overlays or were layered under cropped tops, others had a Renaissance feel with teardrop necklines, while others were transparent with precious floral embroidery. Some had square panels applied to the chest that Valli described as ‘tantric drawings’, while others featured allover brand logos.…

PARIS March 3, 2018 Haider Ackermann says we are going through ‘strange times’ in which there is a certain fragility but also a positive side. This came across in the clothes with frequent dashes of bold, energetic colour, such as a bright orange silk tailored suit or a jacquard outfit embellished with delicate white floral embroidery. Sky blue opaque tights were paired with matching stiletto-heeled ankle boots with satin laces, in a combination made all the more striking because it came with a black vinyl zipped overcoat or a high-necked burnt sienna jacket with large pockets, while another matching jacket was tied around the waist in a kind of peplum skirt. An iridescent green overcoat was layered over a pink wraparound coat or a knit with hyper-glossy skinny trousers. The…

PARIS March 2, 2018 Titled ‘Silent Energy’, Yoshiyuki Miyamae’s collection for Issey Miyake was a ‘technologically advanced meditation on nature’ that resembled a civilisation midway between the ancestral past and the future. The show opened with cosy, layered all-white looks embellished with tufts of tonal faux fur, with wavy surfaces that were a theme throughout the collection. Then came blue and brown creating eye-catching colour pairings on soft knits worn with loose trousers that resembled tree bark. The silhouettes grew increasingly full, cosy and layered as the show went on. Asymmetric overcoats and cloaks were styled with or without a belt, while neon fuchsia, yellow and orange added to the mix. Opaque tights were also worn with trousers. ‘Silent Energy’ è il titolo della nuova collezione di Yoshiyuki Miyamae per…

PARIS February 28, 2018 If cinema is the seventh art, then the latest work from Lim and Leon for Kenzo falls within the collections inspired by the various art movements seen on the recent Paris runways. The creative duo’s show referenced cult Hollywood movies in the film poster prints on white dresses and T-shirts worn with high-waist pencil skirts, bustiers and colourful animal pieces, including long gloves and opaque tights. These were followed by a series of draped floral looks that wrapped around the body in a femme fatale style that didn’t take itself too seriously, even when underwear was visible under an oversize masculine coat or worn on top of a chunky cable knit. Slip dresses were knitted and styled over Japanese-inspired floral blouses, which were later turned into…

PARIS March 6, 2018 Nicolas Ghesquière once again staged his Louis Vuitton show at the Louvre. The chosen spot was La Cour Lefuel, a now disused courtyard built for Napoleon III complete with giant ramps for his horses, which the models walked down. Ghesquière spoke of his choice to team past and future with a sporty and space-age collection, which included classic pieces inspired by the 18th century haute bourgeoisie touched up with technical and/or futuristic details. Suits had cropped jackets with embroidery snaking through metal chains and hooks. These were worn over solid leather bodices with long fringes, flared bodice-tops edged with gold buttons layered over cashmere knits and dresses, while straight skirts were also decorated with rows of buttons or gold lozenges. Colourful stripes decorated sweatshirt-knits topped with…

PARIS March 2, 2018 While we wait to find out whether Guillaume Henry will stay at Nina Ricci, what could be his last collection for the house continued with last season’s retro-military theme, sacrificing the brand’s signature codes: femininity, lace and romanticism. A veiled hat attempted to soften the severe, tailored looks, such as long coats with toggles worn over cadet cassocks, cape-shirts, soft trousers with side bands, long cloaks almost touching the feet, one of which came in bronze-coloured latex. More in line with the brand’s style were long high-necked dresses in iridescent puckered fabric worn with a thin belt and conical bra tops with the cups intentionally squashed and purposely crinkled silk paired with patchwork mid-calf length skirts. Nell’attesa di sapere se Guillaume Henry resterà da Nina Ricci,…

PARIS March 6, 2018 The new Paul & Joe collection contains an entirely personal vision of the childhood years of founder and creative director Sophie Mechaly, i.e. the ever-popular Seventies, proposed here in a playful way beginning with the prints, which depicted little animals, toys and childlike drawings on dresses and knitwear. One of the decade’s most symbolic fabrics, jumbo corduroy, was used for colourful, studded calf-length trousers worn with thin socks and loafers with big platforms, while shearling had a military feel and tartan coats featured fringes and/or studs on the shoulders. Long high-necked dresses came with floral or iridescent patterns, while a zipped metallic jumpsuit in two-colour sequins added shine to the finale. La nuova collezione di Paul & Joe contiene una visione tutta personale della moda degli…

PARIS January 22, 2018 What is the closest thing the United States has to European couture? The new collection from the creative duo at Proenza Schouler, showing in Paris for the second time, is a reflection on the rediscovery of the American textile tradition and draws inspiration from the work of American textile artist Sheila Hicks, whose exhibition Jack McCollough recently visited. Craftsmanship and ‘handmade’ met in a neo-hippie collection featuring tie-dye, macramé, woven leather, prints and patchworks on tops, skirts, long high-necked dresses or slip dresses with side cut-outs and tailored or shearling coats decorated with brass clips and buttons. Long fringes and weaving appeared alongside big beaten metal necklaces straight out of the art jewellery tradition of the ’60s and ’70s. Cosa c’è di più simile negli Stati…

PARIS February 27, 2018 Black leather micro-shorts over long, long legs and silver buckled ankle boots, topped with a blouse with a gathered collar and a cropped velvet jacket. The first look on the Saint Laurent runway laid down the ground rules for the collection. In short, a homage to black and young, hyper-sexy fashion with a dash of pirate, judging by the widebrimmed hats or turbans and extra-long earrings. The shorts were alternated with mini-dresses with plunging necklines and/or big shoulders, skinny calf-length trousers, little knits or airy blouses. These later gave way to full-length couture gowns offset by deep necklines and then, surprisingly, a series of brightly coloured floral mini-dresses with sequins and metallic embroidery, draping and asymmetry, billowing sleeves or one-shouldered, worn with opaque tights and platform…

PARIS March 2, 2018 Undercover explored adolescence through the alienating lens of Jun Takahashi, who offered all the iconic youth pieces but with the magical, unsettling twist typical of both the designer and that ungrateful age when everything coincides with the opposite of everything. Vintage tracksuits were styled with beanies pulled down low, knits, jackets and sweaters reminiscent of student uniforms, patchwork overcoats that mixed classic and sporty, while everything came with new details and combinations. A hooded sweatshirt was embellished with ruches, a tracksuit had insets or else was made entirely of plush, college bombers in plissé silk, coats were a hybrid of down jacket, sweatshirt and trench, and trousers and jackets came in metallic threads. In the finale, a series of colourful trenches featuring slogans and numbers were…

LONDON February 18, 2018 The creative universe of MM6 Maison Margiela is nocturnal yet full of cosmic lights. Bright trails and starry shimmers invaded the collection, exploring the infinite variety of metallic surfaces, revealing all the facets. Doublebreasted jackets, trenches, futuristic parkas, biker jackets and gilets were all silver. They created a smooth, flat, glossy and compact cloak, like a second skin. The surfaces then became grainier. Interstellar sand appeared on shearling outerwear and featured like a lunar encrustation on jumpers with military patches. Midi length skirts trapped the light between their pleats. Dresses were glassy fragments, an aggregation of sequins with changing reflections. Forms, lines and volumes were reminiscent of celestial mechanics. Prints teamed stars and comets, featured skies, constellations and celestial bodies. The moon merged its contours with…

LONDON February 17, 2018 Chalayan’s latest collection is titled “Périphérique”. It was a parabola of expressions that followed a trail as multiform and multifaceted as reality itself. Inspiration came from the social tensions of contemporary society. The collection was a story of changing styles and gradually altering shapes. The body was first encased in boxy down jackets and shaped trousers with a practical, utilitarian appeal, yet featured unexpected details such as pleats, contrasting zips and fur panels. The lines then became more sinuous. Spirals of fabric were wound around the body, two-colour drapes added lightness, organza and prints alternated and overlapped, leaving the shoulders bare and fluttering down to the feet. Colours included white, black, hazelnut, garnet and mauve. “Périphérique” è il titolo della collezione di Chalayan. Una collezione che…

LONDON February 17, 2018 Fire and fury. Gareth Pugh was after a daring, ruthless muse with a very impetuous side. As smart and provocative as a wild feline, she strode confidently down the runway in leopard-print jackets, languid dappled dresses and fur coats. Later in the show she was bent on destruction, in black leather and vinyl, dresses that shaped and exaggerated the body in a metamorphosis of proportions: accentuated rigid, square shoulders, a waist-cinching belt, super high-waist trousers, work gloves. To finish off, Gareth Pugh turned his goddess into a rally driver, clothing her in shaped corsets, body shields, and futuristic dresses in electric blue. Even the materials showed their bolder side. Black patent dominated the runway, leaving room for touches of austere pinstripe, leather, plastic and fur. All…

LONDON February 18, 2018 Balanced. Between Victoriana and the Bauhaus. Between celebrating decoration and simple shapes. Between decorativism and functionality. Mary Katrantzou skilfully mixed antithetical elements, overcoming the contrast between them and finding a connection. She created hybrid works with a strong evocative component. Collages mixed colours, dates and places, “1919 – 2019 Weimar Dessau”, and embroidery reminiscent of William Morris wallpaper. The show featured an array of inspirations. The bomber reworked the Chesterfield sofa. Dresses, corsets and coats featured new Gobelins tapestries. Even divisionist paintings were referenced on pastelcoloured dresses, where the dots of paint were made in glass beads. The collection reverberated with light, between lampshade shapes and velvet and sparkling creations, like Victorian curtains with a trompe-l’oeil effect. A blending and mixing of references. A vocation in…

LONDON February 17, 2018 It is a time for drama, depth and shade. Simone Rocha’s women in this show had the consistency of oil paints and the ancient beauty of a John Constable painting. They were tragic dark dames in voluminous, sculptural dresses. Dark maidens wrapped in fluctuating ribbons and bows. Handmaids lost in a winter landscape, clothed in warm knit gloves and black fur coats. But a glimmer of light appeared: golden dresses with filaments and fringes, bright brocades, sudden sparkles, red patent and vivid tartan, petal and rose prints, floral embroidery in intense colours. A whirl of lace, satin and organza built up in many transparent layers made for sinuous shapes, big airy sleeves, and mysterious combinations. Simone Rocha’s collection turned out to be thick with pathos and…

BIQI: THE EXCELLENCE IN FASHION/BIQI: L’ECCELLENZA FASHION www.biqifashion.com 设计师 田燕/TianYan，中国女装品牌著名设计师、知名服装陈 列师。都市女性的灵魂捕手，以深厚的工艺美术修养和 国际化视野表达细腻独立的女性精神世界，作品充满对 自然、生活、绘画、艺术的感触和热爱。注重东方情愫 的表达，擅长捕捉经典文化元素，如材质、纹饰、图案 等，通过织绣手工等传统工艺结合到整体设计中去，以 深入内在的态度将文化自信与当代风尚完美融合，呈现 出富有韵致的东方独立格调。 品牌介绍 碧琦时装BIQI，由设计师田燕创立的独立女装品牌，意 为“无瑕的美玉，专注都市女性内心诉求和心灵归属的外 化呈现，灵感来源于传统文化元素、生活与艺术。致力 于中国服饰文化传承与当代摩登审美之间的内在联接。 以深厚的艺术积淀、绝佳的面料、精湛的工艺、世界化 的审美高度创作出经得起时间考验的作品。 THE DESIGNER TianYan, the noted Chinese womenswear designer and visual merchandiser, channels her artistic training and international vision to express a delicate yet determined spiritual world, through which she interprets the deepest desires of urban women. Her work is full of feeling and love of nature, life, painting and art. The designer expresses her sincerest emotions through traditional tailoring techniques, mixing basic classic elements (materials, decorations, models, etc.) with a broader design vision. This vision perfectly blends her artistic training with contemporary fashion, offering a highly stylish and unique oriental fascination. THE BRAND BIQI FASHION is a womenswear brand created by designer TianYan, meaning “perfect jade”,…

RANDSTAD BECOMES PARTNER OF MATTIROLI ASSOCIATI/RANDSTAD DIVENTA PARTNER DI MATTIROLI ASSOCIATI Randstad Holding, the Dutch multinational operating since 1960 in sourcing, recruiting and training human resources, announced on 1 March a new partnership between its Randstad Professionals division and Mattiroli Associati. This consultancy studio based in Perugia with extensive experience in personnel and top manager recruitment in the fashion sector enables the international agency, headed in Italy by Marco Ceresa, to consolidate its service offering in middle and top management recruitment for the textile and clothing sector. “This partnership between Randstad and Mattiroli Associati confirms a constructive union can be built between a global recruitment giant and a highly specialised “boutique” in the luxury fashion sector for more than thirty years. This will allow clients to receive customised and high-profile…

PARIS March 4, 2018 Marimekko’s models happily smiled in the joyful prints for which the Finnish brand has long been known. Big floral prints and graphics covered the surfaces of long tunic dresses, loose blouses worn tucked into high-waist trousers and even a long down jacket worn with a matching scarf. Men’s shirt stripes appeared on long dresses, while a new feature this season was a black and white woodblock print on a long flared dress and skirt. The Sixties-style ‘Kissapöllö’ print, representing owl’s eyes, came in black and gold jacquard on a long belted coat worn with high-heeled boots decorated with the same pattern but in different colours. Sorridono le modelle di Marimekko, gioiose come le stampe che portano addosso e non potrebbe essere altrimenti, dato che il marchio…

PARIS March 5, 2018 Sarah Burton’s affinity with nature is well-known. Her past collections have drawn inspiration from it and this one was no different. This time, insects were used as a metaphor for the changes a woman goes through in her life. A series of metamorphoses and, in the finale, a “paradise found rather than lost”. Bodices represented the exoskeletons of insects, and Burton used them to construct dresses, giving them a rigid structure that elongated outwards in two strips reminiscent of insect legs or two wing-like ruffles, while skirts remained fluid. Other dresses had structured shoulders, long sleeves and corset-belts cinching the waist, with an extra-long strap hanging down, or were wraparound with side slits and a matching neck scarf. Everything came with intense multicoloured butterfly prints, which…

PARIS March 1, 2018 In classic total black with a few dashes of white, the Sébastien Meunier woman for Ann Demeulemeester walked proudly on the runway in thigh-high leather boots. In a ‘less romantic and more noir’ show, counter-balancing his recent William Blake–themed men’s collection, Meunier focused on a deconstructed silhouette made up of tailored coats and jackets layered over soft peplum mini-skirts held up by double belts that were not always fastened or solid fetish corsets. Skinny trousers disappeared into long pirate boots, but were clearer to see, as were the belts and bustiers, when paired with white draped asymmetric robes hung with long matching or contrasting ties. Leather gloves reached above the elbow, completing the already intense and powerful feminine vision. In irrinunciabile total black con qualche spruzzata…

PARIS March 1, 2018 People-watching on the Paris streets, observing the looks and how people combine pieces and volumes. This was the starting point for Serge Ruffieux’s collection for Carven, which focused on layering and menswear pieces, especially oversize outerwear with robust shoulders topped with multiple layers of different materials. A cropped jacket mixing blanket fabric with quilted insets was worn over a long patterned shirt and a sheer embroidered skirt. An overcoat with big floral shoulder patches was styled with a pleated tartan skirt, while other jackets featuring basting stitches, fraying and raw-cut hems were paired with knits or skirts of various lengths. The layering continued with shirtdresses worn over high-collared shirts, while tailored outfits layered long, structured blazers over high-waist trousers, a micro sweater and asymmetric lace blouses.…

PARIS March 3, 2018 In 1964 Susan Sontag wrote ‘Notes on Camp’, an essay on the ‘camp’ sensibility in western culture. In it, she provided a reflection parallel to the sexual revolution and in this sense ‘camp’ was understood as an aesthetic sense and attitude, while in general the term refers to the deliberate and sophisticated use of kitsch in art and fashion. Rei Kawakubo, who has been reading the essay, said that this sensitivity would be worth rediscovering. As such, her Comme des Garçons show became a theatrical and sublime expression of ‘camp’, with its living sculptures immersed in exuberant layers of fabric. There was the princess bride, in a masterful padded lace riding coat over a crinoline dress with maxi bow at the waist, the girl ‘sandwiched’ between…

PARIS March 3, 2018 Marianna Rosati, the designer and founder of leather wear brand DROMe, wants women to be able to express their vulnerability. For next autumn, she resorted to a palette of dusty pink and grey, which later turned into dark green, gold and black in the finale, and effects that ‘softened’ leather, making it less aggressive. It was puckered and/or patent for pencil skirts and slip dresses with visible underwear, patchwork for a dress and an extra-long coat or treated so that it was so shiny and thin as to resemble a technical fabric. Elsewhere, it came bonded to silver silk on pleated skirts fit for urban warriors. There was lots of translucent python for insets, accessories and linear outerwear worn with knitted arm-warmers, while gloves were made…

PARIS March 4, 2018 Givenchy has joined the faux fur ‘movement’, confirming that moving away from animal fur is not just a passing trend but an important stance throughout the fashion industry. Clare Waight Keller’s new collection opened with a series of voluminous faux fur coats with belts tightened at the waist, expressing that gutsy and slightly trashy glamour inspired by two films: ‘The Hunger’ and ‘B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989’. The latter chronicles western Berlin in the ‘80s and its lively music and underground scene. Apart from fur, the other chosen material was leather, which came with tailoring or colourful, for example in green, on dresses and double-breasted extra-long coats, structured looks that contrasted with the fluidity of long asymmetric dresses and lace slip dresses. The most…

PARIS March 3, 2018 The Hermès woman is tough and sexy when she wears black leather, especially in total looks, as seen in the first exits in Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski’s show set in a twilight garden on a dark red gravel path. The looks recalled Helmut Newton’s ’80s portraits of powerful women, especially the opening overcoat with a silver chain set vertically down the front, worn with matching gloves and red suede boots, and the 3/4 sleeve dress with a wide belt and studded shoulders and pockets. Cashmere and knitwear were later added to the mix, along with a horse riding theme, and the atmosphere turned more poetic. Skirts, dresses and jackets referenced horse blankets, with yellow stripes across the surfaces later proposed in pinkish red. More equestrian elements came in…

PARIS March 4, 2018 A young Midwest farmer and a burlesque dancer from a travelling circus spend a passionate night together, only for the circus to leave town the next morning along with the dancer and all the farmer’s clothes! This is, more or less, what Bill Gaytten’s collection for John Galliano is about. He mixed menswear-inspired pieces with lingerie and slip dresses in an exquisite late-19th century mood also seen in the veiled and feathered headpieces. Trousers and blazers were worn with sheer slip dresses over visible underwear and derby shoes. Bodices were paired with lowwaist pleated skirts and wrinkled socks or long johns, while everything was topped with several strands of pearls. Even the more elegant dresses were inspired by underwear, featuring transparent fabrics with sequins and crystal…

PARIS February 28, 2018 Sustainability, conservation and humanity; these were the key words in the notes for Felipe Oliveira Baptista’s new collection for Lacoste, which relayed an anecdote about the brand’s founder. During the Second World War, René Lacoste helped plant 125 acres of forest on land belonging to the family of his wife, thus sparing his workers enforced deportation to Nazi Germany. Sporty and casual, with a nod to days out, the looks had a vintage ’80s-’90s feel, with micro cable or argyle knit dresses, velvet suits, jacquard sweatshirts with or without a hood and sometimes in denim. Outerwear included trenches and cloaks with leaf motifs or vintage graphics, paired with solid Aigle rubber boots, the French equivalent of Wellingtons. Sostenibilità, conservazione e umanità; sono queste le tre parole…

PARIS February 28, 2018 The protective layers offered by Maison Margiela look as though creative director John Galliano is anticipating an apocalypse, but instead the designer confessed his idea of ‘dressing in haste’ - throwing on whatever comes to hand in no particular order - came to him while thinking about what he puts on to walk his dog around the block at night. Well, the inspiration does not always have to be profound! This way, the number of combinations is infinite, but outerwear was often transformed into a dress, like the maxi-parka in Klein blue and black, which resembled a protective shell, or the trench worn under a destructured blazer, which instead of shoulders had two braces attaching the back to the front. Then came more décortiqué outerwear, such…

PARIS March 1, 2018 Whether it’s because he has just bought his family a horse or because the sport is just ontrend at the moment, Virgil Abloh chose horse riding as the inspiration for the new Off-White collection, representing it with a tapestry pattern in pale blue that appeared throughout the show. The opening sexy looks featuring the pattern were paired with masculine pieces such as a white shirt or blazer-playsuit, while look seven was a cosy blanket in antique blue styled with matching boots. Staying true to the brand’s streetwear heritage, Abloh also offered sporty pieces, such as secondskin jumpsuits, with neon details, logos and/or visible underwear. The collection’s key tapestry pattern returned in all-over designs on a masculine suit, an extra-long coat, and a bustier dress layered over…

PARIS January 21, 2018 Paul Smith’s love of tailoring was clear to see in this co-ed show, in which the women’s wardrobe mirrored the men’s. Apart from a few long satin dresses worn with pointed ankle boots at the start of the show, the rest of the looks focused on coats of various lengths but mainly extra-long, single or double-breasted, and with and without a belt. Sometimes they featured blue and green tartan with contrasting collars, others solid colour on one side and check on the other or else a naïf appliqué made from ribbons reminiscent of Edmund Dulac’s ‘The Dreamer of Dreams’. Suits ranged from pyjama-style fluidity to more structured lines, with solid shoulders, one-button fastening and soft trousers, some of which were gathered with side bands. Bright red,…

PARIS March 1, 2018 ‘‘Who else could wrap and twist a couple of pilled wool blankets into a lumpy dress and call it seduction” if not Rick Owens? The visionary designer stepped into the thorny territory of the #MeToo movement in a provocative way, subverting the classic concepts of femininity. The result was surprisingly sensual with bare legs in simple sneakers and the rest of the body hidden under twists of fabric made even more voluminous by padding and maxi-bumbags. As elaborate as it was simple, Owens’ vision looked to Arte Povera, using “poor” materials and spare shapes to create not just fabric wrappings but also more linear pieces such as coats with a gentle spray of studs or ‘peeled away’ at the shoulders to reveal glimpses of silky contrast…

PARIS March 3, 2018 At Sonia Rykiel’s 50th anniversary celebration, models were seen smiling or even laughing on the runway! To help launch the party, creative director Julie de Libran invited none other than pop group Bananarama to sing live. De Libran looked to the cultural and musical movements of her youth, from post-punk to new wave and pop - symbols of expression and liberation of her personality, as Sonia Rykiel’s fashion has been for so many women. The brand’s signature pieces were reinterpreted with nods to the ’60s and ’90s grunge and everything in between: tailored coats and outfits with cheeky cuts, new zips, decorative studs, cloaks, tartan berets and maxi scarves seen in a formidable hyper-colourful quartet, knitwear teamed with leather skirts and trousers, bright lurex dresses and…

PARIS March 4, 2018 “Romanticism,” Pier Paolo Piccioli said, “it’s a strength today, if you’re able to be assertive but not aggressive.” These words accompanied a Valentino collection of fluid lines that ranged from black and white looks to bright tints, symbolising a marked understanding of colour. Minimal, boxy yet always sleek shapes alternated with richly embellished pieces that never looked overloaded because the work was controlled and light. Almost all were long dresses, capes and cloaks, some with gathered hoods, with giant flowers extending over the entire piece or in intense shades of monochrome green, fuchsia or sky blue. The dresses were mainly tunics with scalloped edges that further elongated the silhouette, high or Pierrot-style collars or else one-shoulder with a long matching scarf. The necklines became lower later…

LONDON February 19, 2018 It is a collection that speaks the language of rocks. The wild nature of crags and ledges. It has the charm of irregularly shaped semiprecious stones, nostalgic and strong. Scottish agate was used as the leitmotiv for Pringle of Scotland’s winter collection. Slivers, fragments, jewelled brooches, made in collaboration with Gala Colivet-Dennison, were placed on soft hand-knitted wool pieces. They were spread over brushed mohair surfaces, blending in as they do in the harsh peaks and plains of Scotland. The materials unfolded like clearings: jacquard in two-colour lozenges, doubleface cloaks, cardigans with little geometric motifs, sheepskin-effect woollens, airy rustic yarns. There were also some sporty pieces and daring touches, such as athleisure style and leopard print trousers. The mixture of colours recalled the earth, rocks, sand,…

LONDON February 19, 2018 Cover up or reveal. Show or hide. Christopher Kane’s latest collection was an exercise in provocation. His work always addresses ambiguity, sensuality and the sex drive, showing off and concealing. Coats and dresses covered the body but has long vertical zips left open or closed, like great long splits. Necklines were plunging or chaste, with high collars and lace bibfronts. Shoulders were left bare or covered by batwing sleeves. Cosy jumpers were slit to reveal the flesh and parts of the bra. Some pieces were sexually allusive: lace mini-dresses in bright colours, transparent plastic skirts, crystal cages, laminated details, marabou feathers. Prints told an erotic tale, including “More Joy” slogans and illustrations taken from “The Joy of Sex” by Alex Comfort. It was a reflection on…

LONDON February 17, 2018 A new colour theory was presented on the runway and moulded to the body. Jasper Conran’s palette was fresh, intense and vital. No half-measures here. Sun yellow, orange, papaya. But also sea green, olive and brown. And purple, bright sky blue, ultramarine and sapphire. Daring tints teamed purity of form, linear garments and minimalism. Loose skirts fell to the ankle in pleats, trousers were fluid and understated. Jackets, bombers, parkas and trenches were light and comfortable and featured lots of pockets and handy zips. Every element of the collection was about colour. Dresses came in bold monochrome tones and were filled with light. Colour was applied in great watery and opalescent brushstrokes. Elsewhere, it was saturated and thick with pigment: a necessary step on the path…

LONDON February 16, 2018 A garden party with tea at five o’clock. Mulberry celebrated the elegance of English rituals with a ‘see now, buy now’ collection. The show was staged in the courtyard of Spencer House in St. James’s Place and pulsated with freshness and grace. The clothes were made of great drapes, ruches and flounces in impalpable fabrics. Silk and organza swayed to the notes of a string quartet. The shapes were soft, loose and flared, and gave a relaxed allure to the silhouette. Prints featured flowers, buds and climbing plants. Delicate crystals rested on satin like raindrops, playing with reflections. Linen suits teamed the elegance of tailoring with a bold palette, from emerald green to cream. The show-stopping hats added to the bright colour palette created by Johnny…

PARIS SHOWROOMS ALEXIS MABILLE Tel. +33-661766688 www.alexismabille.com EMANUEL UNGARO Tel. +33-153570000 www.ungaro.com MARIMEKKO Tel. +1-2122954338 marimekko@prconsultingparis.net www.marimekko.com SHIRTAPORTER Tel. +39-0457570591 info@shirtaporter.com www.shirtaporter.com TSUMORI CHISATO Tel. +33-155283440 www.tsumorichisato.com PARIS CATWALKS ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Tel. +44-2072784333 www.alexandermcqueen.com ALTUZARRA Tel. +1-2129660638 www.altuzarra.com ANDREAS KRONTHALER FOR VIVIENNE WESTWOOD Tel. +33-149270023 info@viviennewestwood.co.uk www.viviennewestwood.com ANN DEMEULEMEESTER Tel. +32-38305272 info@32.be www.anndemeulemeester.be BALENCIAGA Tel. +33-156521717 info@fr.balenciaga.com www.balenciaga.com BALMAIN Tel. +33-147203534 contact@balmain.fr www.balmain.com CARVEN Tel. +33-173541967 www.carven.com CHANEL Tel. +33-142862600 www.chanel.com CHLOÉ Tel. +33-144943333 www.chloe.com COMME DES GARÇONS Tel. +33-147036090 press@comme-des-garcons.com DIOR Tel. +33-140737373 www.dior.com DRIES VAN NOTEN Tel. +33-142744407 info@driesvannoten.be www.driesvannoten.be DROME Tel. +39-0276006275 milan@drome.it www.drome.it ELIE SAAB Tel. +33-142567769 www.eliesaab.com GIAMBATTISTA VALLI Tel. +33-148040074 info@giambattistavalli.com www.giambattistavalli.com GIVENCHY Tel. +33-144315000 www.givenchy.com GUY LAROCHE Tel. +33-140696800 www.guylaroche.com HAIDER ACKERMANN Tel. +32-38305272 info@32.be www.haiderackermann.be HERMÈS Tel. +33-140174717 www.hermes.com ISABEL MARANT Tel.…