Paris Fashion Week created feelings of joy when simple, wearable clothes were brought to the runway.
Dries Van Noten’s collection was subtler than his previous collections. His usual choice of opulent fabrics, skilled colour coordination and exotic hues were there, but while these designs may not grab your attention, they do grow on you. Through the regular customer’s eyes, every piece is suitable for buying. There’s the denim chambray fabric cut into shorts and knee-breeches, an embroidered bomber jacket suitable for everyday wear, and a decorated silk blazer thrown over trousers that featured a paper-bag-like waist. These give new life to the usual style of everyday wear. Dries Van Noten gives classics a twist, and a slight nod to the past – there’s a 40s style skirted suit showing off rich, decadent shades. Silk tea dresses let us see the early 40s through the lens of the 80s. Also included in the collection are a range of wide pants and tulle skirts that give off an air of lightness. From teal and fuchsia brocades to yellows and purples, dark shades and navy, the ordering of the show sees transparent layers set against bright embroidered pieces.
Alber Elbaz at Lanvin usually designs Parisian cocktail dresses perfect for those who prefer the ornate – draped fabric and a sprinkling of sequins and rhinestones. But this season, Lavin’s strongest creations were appropriate for daytime wear, too. There were different styles of white shirts and blouses tucked into silk skirts, with a tweed coat worn over the top and slouchy boots completing the look. The show ended with a blend of designs echoing the 80s – which appears to be the new trend this season – with leopard and graffiti print fabric, and the occasional everyday jacket thrown over a dressier piece. There was an undone casualness different to what is normally expected of Lavin.
There’s a decadent energy to how Alessandro Dell’Acqua approaches fashion. Like Elbaz, he uses fashion to explore what it is to dress in a feminine manner, and this season’s collection is full of these ideas. Silhouettes are parred down to create a simple, elegant piece. While Rochas is lacking the cool and polished sexuality of Dell’Acqua’s eponymous label, the latest collection looks at how straight silhouettes and blunt edges can still be as feminine as traditional flowing dresses.