Live From... Paris Fashion Week, Day 2

Damir Doma

Damir Doma is principally a menswear designer, and this direction infuses his womenswear with a minimal androgyny that renders the wearer almost genderless. Sleek lines, created by elongated layered lengths and the minimising of details such as collars and closures, are neither masculine nor feminine. 

The look: Androgynous minimalism
Silhouette: Elongated and linear
Key items: Tunic-length shirts and tops were layered over cycling shorts, maxiskirts or super-wide fluid pants, while bomber jackets and tailored blazers featured cutaway collars and revers. Unstructured outerwear, including a tab-shouldered jacket and a soft wrap coat, softened the minimal linear silhouettes, as did the cloud-like Mongolian lamb jackets. Capes were revisited items - arriving either as a zip-up jacket or snug-fitting knitted top - while skirts or dresses often featured a tabard-like strip panel at the front, acting as a graphic high-low detail
Colour: Graphic black and white punctuated with bronze, peach, chestnut brown, old gold and steel blue Fabric & knit: Mongolian lamb, dense wools, leather, suede, hammered satin, silk, crepe, lamé, textured open-mesh knit
Print & pattern: Speckled/flecked
Details & trims: Zip pockets, long tabard-like strips as skirt panels, short turtlenecks, single-buttoned high necks
Footwear: Triple-sole creeper shoes and thigh-high boots
Accessories: Snakeskin belts with silver buckle, long cuffs in embossed gold, copper or silver metal

Anne Valérie Hash

Soft romantic drapes and delicate blouson shapes are AVH hallmarks, and for winter the designer fuses them with a gentle masculinity through unstructured sleeveless jackets, slouch-fit peg pants and a palette of subtly muted tones. 

The look: Soft androgyny
Silhouette: Slouchy tapered layers
Key items: Loose-fitting peg pants worn with softly draped silk blouses and slouchy, unstructured sleeveless jackets; blouson drapey jumpsuits with a casual V-neckline, signature ruffled miniskirts with paper-bag waist and raw-edged layers; short or cropped jackets that are boxy and collarless
Colour: Muted tones of khaki, mocha, powder blue, skin pink, old gold and pale misty grey, with black and navy
Fabric & knit: Silk, silk chiffon, wool, faux shearling, short-haired fur, metallic linen weave, cable knit in marled yarn
Print & pattern: Dense scratch print, shattered multicolour abstract
Details & trims: Wrapped and draped waist/crotch detail, paper-bag waists, layered ruffles, raw edges, puckered gathers, twisted drapes
Footwear: Extra-thick platform ankle boots with a buckled criss-cross strap
Accessories: Rope belts

Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten works colour and print with a painterly hand, effortlessly combining seemingly random patterns and fabrics into a seamlessly beautiful whole. For autumn/winter 2011/12 he melded diverse fragments of influences together - gilded Japonesque lacquer motifs, black and white op art, constructivist geometrics and slabs of bold colour - which on paper shouldn’t have worked, but in reality created a collection of instantly desirable pieces.

The look: A melting pot of vintages and eras
Silhouette: Elongated masculine/feminine
Key items: Mannish influences were played out in softly structured and overscaled tailoring, pleat-front pants and strict, almost Edwardiana DB coats, all the perfect contradiction to fluid below-knee skirts, narrow but easy belted wrap coats, and the collection’s multitude of beautifully simple collaged pieced dresses, which came with a 30s feel. There was a modern twist too in the oversized colour-blocked cable knits, and a series of mixed pattern columnar silhouettes that brought a new definition to eveningwear
Colour: Black and white led the field, with quiet blocks of grey acting as a canvas to the collection’s rich cognac and caramel browns, vivid pumpkin, Kelly green, and sapphire or cornflower blues punctuated with antiqued gold
Fabric & knit: Loosely woven tweeds shot with vivid colour sat side by side with monochrome Donegals, black curly lamb, mixed furs, vividly patterned satins, jet beading, fluid crepes, and gilded brocades or jacquards, all worked as separate garments or collaged into constructivist shards within one silhouette
Print & pattern: Japonesque bonsai and floral patterns, constructivist linear geometrics, vivid spatter prints, swirling op-art all-overs, tonal morphing motifs
Details & trims: Fur facings, mismatched piecing
Footwear: Ankle boots, which came in solid colours, in snakeskin or in bright colour-blocked effectsAccessories: Patterned socks, narrow leather belts, amber-coloured deep cuff bangles, clutch bags, colour-blocked totes

Felipe Oliveira Baptista

A vaguely 20s look from Felipe Oliveira Baptista, who cited Nancy Cunard among his many influences this season. The designer tapped into several of next winter’s key trends, with his dropped-waist silhouettes, mannish trouser shapes and fur gilets. 

The look: 20s hybrids
Silhouette: Short versus long
Key items: Long, lean coats with funnel necklines exaggerating the narrow silhouette; masculine wide pants and side-split knee-length skirts teamed with sheer shirts etched with vivid beaded trims; full fox gilets and sleeves on reed-thin hip-belted coats contrasted with the more sporty appeal of soft elongated blousons and tunic knits, paired with narrow cuffed pants. For evening, short shift dresses with bright sequined trims
Colour: A brooding palette of black, with bright accents such as poppy, jade, ochre and bright turquoiseFabric & knit: Luxe wools, leather, silk chiffon, velvet, sequins, fox furs, jersey, mohair knits
Details & trims: Sequinned trims, beaded collars and cuffs on sheer blouses, tulle trims on tailoring
Footwear: Buckle-side high-heeled ankle boots
Accessories: Scarves, fur hats

Rochas

According to his press release, Marco Zanini was on a quest to determine the meaning of chic for his autumn/winter Rochas collection. It turned out to be a quest without an answer, as chic is surely in the eye of the beholder. For many it could be Coco Chanel’s fluid but feminine androgyny, Jackie Kennedy’s 60s flair, Audrey Hepburn’s timeless gamine quality, but for Zanini, chic turned out to mean a procession of innocuous tailoring, neat day dresses and unadorned satin eveningwear. 

The look: Unchic chic
Silhouette: Softly structured
Key items: The tailored SB was at the core of this collection, worked in solids, print or as part of an opening mid-blue genderless pantsuit. Subtle striped or colour-blocked knits came teamed with A-line skirts, cropped pants and a floor-sweeping maxi, while dress shapes were worked to the knee as basic shift shapes or A-lines with zipped fronts. Boxy coats had a trapeze-line unstructured appeal, paired with narrow leggings and toeless mules. The collection moved into a lighter vein, which had a certain chic appeal, with brushed mohair coats and lightly ruffled silk dresses and skirts, morphing into columnar satin eveningwear
Colour: A palette of intense winter darks centred around black, ink and aubergine, undercut with midtone blue, soft peach and rose, grey and white
Fabric & knit: Brushed mohair, satin, cashmere, moiré silk. Fine-gauge knits
Print & pattern: A tonal rose jacquard, an exaggerated cheetah print, a childlike Bucol print in brights
Details & trims: Zipped fronts on dresses
Footwear: Toeless winter mules, high-cut pumps with an elongated toe
Accessories: Long gloves, astrakhan hats, crochet bonnets

Gareth Pugh

It doesn’t seem so long since Gareth Pugh was the adored dark prince of London’s club scene, his shows the must-have ticket for a thousand fashion wannabes at LFW. That was before he took the plunge and his signature goth looks on to the broader fashion stage, where his particular brand of monastic-meets-dark-forces womenswear has attained a new level of professionalism, starting to appeal to real fashionistas worldwide.

The look: Theatrical religious iconography
Silhouette: Covered-up, sharp-shouldered and A-line
Key items: There is a certain Alexander McQueen-ish theatricality in a Gareth Pugh collection, full of sharp angles and hourglass A-line shaping, so it was an unexpected departure to see his more fluid semi-sheer wrap dresses and wide-cut pants in among the customary leather-sleeved body-con sheaths, taut leather breastplates and zipped jackets with their flaying asymmetric hemlines. Appliquéd leather crosses added to the religious feel, a look mirrored in the cope-like capes. Sculpted neoprene shapes were broken into angular appliquéd shards before the tempo changed and a softer new look came into focus, with sinuous columnar dresses spliced with a tabard panel or colour-blocking
Colour: Black, Yves Klein blue, gold
Fabric & knit: Leather, jersey, sheers, neoprene, wool, suede, fur
Details & trims: Appliquéd crosses, sharp-angled shoulderlines, asymmetric hems
Footwear: High ridged leather boots
Accessories: Gauntlets

Rue du Mail

Martine Sitbon is one of the stalwarts of the Paris schedule, now showing under her Rue du Mail label rather than her eponymous name. Like Sonia Rykiel, she can always be relied on to bring a flirtatious touch into the season, with her “je ne sais quoi” brand of feminine dresses and knits. 

The look: 60s meets 20s, by way of Sylvie Vartan
Silhouette: Below-the-knee and softly unstructured
Key items: Dresses were a strong suit, simple below-knee shapes acting as a canvas for print and pattern, or worked as flirty knitted silhouettes. There were serious pencil skirts teamed with knitted shell tops, and a play on the Chanel cardigan jacket, here worked in bold blocks of satin. Neat-fit jackets featured the season’s trend for contrasting fur sleeves, and softly tailored pantsuits came in satin and velvet black-on-black effects. Cutouts and devoré patterns were used to effect on cap sleeves, yokes or bib-fronts on dresses, and for evening, semi-sheer shifts were etched with narrow pin tucks and applied rosettes
Colour: Black and white, bright orange, purple, bougainvillea pink
Fabric & knit: Jacquards, mohair knits, velvet devoré, duchesse satin, velvet, sheers, lamé
Print & pattern: Stylised Art Nouveau patterns as all-overs or cutouts and burn-outs, Constructivist appliqués in black and white
Details & trims: Pintucks, applied self floral trims
Footwear: Low-cut front ankle boots with a high heel and cutaway platform
Accessories: Fur scarves, black or white hosiery

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Live From... Paris Fashion Week, Day 1

Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten loves to mix the masculine with the feminine, but this time femininity came out on top, with a series of silky kimono dresses delicately tinted in pastel degradés and painted with large Chinese blooms.

"This collection is about 40s elegance, 90s conceptual fashion and the quirky feeling of the 70s. The iconic item is really the white shirt. I think I made that quite clear by using white poplin shirts everywhere - on top of pants or wrapped as skirts. I also referenced Chinese porcelain for the prints, which we bleached or faded out," Dries Van Noten told WGSN.
The look: Signature masculine/feminine interplay
Silhouette: Oversized proportions
Key items: Oversized masculine items such as wide-leg slacks and jeans, extra-large shirts and longline blazers or overblown coats and jackets; breezy kimono dresses or tunics, the latter worn over the wide-leg pants; softly belted sleeveless tailored jackets with signature wrap-over closures; poplin shirts worn with high-waisted midi-length pencil skirts or transposed into skirts with the sleeves wrapped around the waist; chiffon kaftan-like caped tops or sheath-dress overlays worn over straight-cut shirtdresses; DB jackets with satin shawl lapels
Colour: Delicately shaded pastel degradés - pink/purple, beige/ash grey, nude/yellow or peach/apple green; white, lemon, steely blue-grey, navy, ice blue, champagne neutrals and iridescent metallics
Fabric & knit: Silk, satin, crumpled papery cottons, poplin, linen, silk chiffon, bleached denim, silver waffle piqué
Print & pattern: Florals inspired by Chinese porcelain - placement blooms and budding stems on degradé grounds, ghosted and bleached-out floral prints
Details & trims: Dropped sleeves, sheer overlays, iridescent sequins and gold convex disc-shaped paillettes, denim sleeves on navy wrap jacket, satin lapels and buttons
Footwear: Signature shoe shape with wide heel and thin platform - two-strap mules, Mary Janes, closed-toe sling-backs or multi-strap sandals in dusted suedes, printed silk or iridescent metallics
Accessories: Extra-long thin belts, sunglasses with chunky resin frames, a marabou stole, simple clutch bags in washed leather or iridescent metallics

Guy Laroche

Designer Marcel Marongiu presented a well-rounded if unadventurous spring/summer collection for Guy Laroche, working several of the season's key pieces and colour directions into his subtly flavoured military-inspired look. 
The look: Low-key military
Silhouette: Relaxed and unstructured, combining soft drape with easy boxy shapes
Key items: The military trench came with sleeveless detailing, a casual look to team with highrise easy-cut cropped pants, soft asymmetric draped tunic tops and louche all-in-ones. Dresses were key to the collections, coming with deep V-wrap necklines or asymmetric draped details and as simple fit-and-flare shifts. Shorts and above-knee buttoned pencil skirts were the alternative bottomweights, worked with second-skin jersey tees and tops
Colour: Cool neutral base colours - sand, taupe, ivory and honey - contrasted with navy, teal and aquas, as well as ultramarine, marigold and sherbet with a flash of black
Fabric & knit: Sheers as overlays or as print grounds, summer suede, jersey, sequins and stretch wovens
Print & pattern: A regular repeat honeycomb-style mosaic print contrasted with a dramatic painterly abstract all-over in tones of blue or orange
Details & trims: Asymmetric draped panels, sash-tie waists, draping
Footwear: High vampy ankle-strap platforms
Accessories: Boxy totes, slouchy hobos, double-buckle military leather belts


Rue du Mail

Martine Sitbon's signature is to fuse femininity with a rock 'n' roll edge, and for summer this transpired through the delicate tulle overlays in sparky neon colours and sexy slashed ribbon dresses.
"I started with the colour range. I wanted to work with primary colours and neon - something electric. The other key point was that it had to be light, so all the draped dresses and construction was done in tulle on top of silk or lamé T-shirt shapes," Martine Sitbon told WGSN.
The look: Delicate femininity
Silhouette: Form-fitted
Key items: A variety of fitted sheath dresses with pleated, ruched or embroidered tulle overlays; spaghetti-srapped cocktail dresses with frilly bibs or large coiled ruffles placed at the neck; neat pencil skirts; body-con slashed-ribbon dresses; tailored top and dress with string-lacing details at the back, sides and a plunging neckline; elongated sleeveless tux jackets worn with straight-leg pants or the shift dresses; a flare-skirted soft-belted mac or sleeveless options in jacket lengths
Colour: Neon red and yellow, vivid parrot green, electric cobalt blue, saffron, nude, chestnut brown, black
Fabric & knit: Tulle, crepe, stretch cotton and silk, lurex-woven sheers, silk, lamé
Print & pattern: Diffused and blurred checks
Details & trims: Pin-tucked, ruched or pleated tulle, tufted feather-like fringing, slashed ribbons; ruffled bibs; double-layer revers, sculpted and coiled ruffles
Footwear: Mary Janes in either brown leather or red satin


Rochas

Inspired by a trip to Fjakelmyra in Sweden, designer Marco Zanini - who is himself half-Swedish - drew reference from local folk art and the modest austerity of traditional Swedish dressing.
"The quiet spirit of Sweden pervades the collection, and I find in the modesty of certain Swedish people the key to an elegance which is very composed and severe, yet soft and sweet at the same time," Marco Zanini told WGSN.
The look: Chic hausfrau
Silhouette: Modest elongated lengths with the occasional burst of crinoline-shaped volume
Key items: Midi-length straight-cut sheath skirts or midi-cropped pants worn with tailored tanks with flared peplum; bell-skirted crinoline dresses; loose pyjama sets of cropped pants and long shirt; unstructured house coats; silk-panelled button-through cardigans; dropped-waist full-skirted dresses; midi-length dirndls and buttoned-to-the-neck silk shirts. For the finale, a series of languid spaghetti-strapped slip-dresses and bias-cut gowns
Colour: Strong royal blue, dark ochre, chestnut brown and a splash of chartreuse against white, antique cream, silvery dove grey, midnight blue and black
Fabric & knit: Silk was the core fabric, arriving in varieties such as silk satin, taffeta, hand-punched shantung and a lightweight woven raw silk. Chiffon, slubby linen weaves, crinkled treated cotton, loose hand knits, knitted sheers, suede
Print & pattern: The exclusive prints were a collaboration with Swedish folk artist Slotts Barbro and featured rows of houses, flag-waving knights on horseback and poetic phrases from French writer Françoise Sagan. A three-bud peony floral was taken from the early 20th century Bucol archive. Tea-stained grounds and dye effects
Details & trims: Silk-covered buttons, spaghetti straps, crinoline skirt shaping
Footwear: Mid-heel lace-up shoes or sling-back peep toes, flat mannish oxfords in polished black leather
Accessories: Handmade silk peony brooches made by LeMarié, printed silk headscarves, flat shoppers, single-strap framed handbags, round tortoiseshell-framed sunglasses


Gareth Pugh

The renegade British designer opted to show his spring/summer collection in a film format directed by Ruth Hogben, and featuring model Kristen McMenamy. The film will then be launched on Nick Knight's Showstudio.com and made accessible to a global audience.
"I feel with this season that I have taken a leap of faith: I was very determined to do something pure and focused... and as always a slightly subversive sense of humour," Pugh declared in his press release.
The look: Armoured
Silhouette: Sculpted body-con
Key items: Samurai-like armoured body-con pieces worked alongside sculpted asymmetric wrap jackets with strict peplums and strongly tailored shoulderlines. There were McQueen-like influences at play too in the fit-and-flare silver dresses or the op-art dresses with bunched asymmetric hems and the frock coats layered over narrow leggings or shorts
Colour: Marble grey and alabaster with graphic black and silver
Fabric & knit: Pugh likes to push the boundaries, and he used silicone-coated jersey on Neoprene and rubberised PVC on stretch jersey to construct his sculpted shapes. He also used aluminium-coated nylons and hand-cut reflective silver
Print & pattern: A graphic Bridget Riley-style op-art print in graphic black and white
Footwear: Black platform shoe boots with cutout fronts and zippers
Accessories: Simple silver quilted bags

Damir Doma

Only in his second season, Damir Doma is still shaping his womenswear offer, trying hard to delineate it from his original menswear line. "The last thing I want is a unisex brand," said the designer. This exploration of femininity led him to focus on three key points - exposed skin, veiled sheers and the waist.

"I think the whole collection was about femininity, which is something I started last season but takes time to evolve. Construction was focused around the waist and it all sat much closer to the body than the things I have done before," Damir Doma told WGSN.

The look: Soft minimalism

Silhouette: Signature nomadic draping against sharp angular tailoring

Key items: Bias-cut columnar dresses that twist around the body; asymmetrically draped and twisted dhoti pants; form-fitted sheer maxidresses and midi-length skirts; cropped jersey tops worn with high-waisted mini skirts or tapered pants drawn tight at the ankle; batwing-sleeved kimono jackets with blouson drape at the back; blanket wraps and billowing robe coats. The more fluid and draped pieces were offset with elongated tailored jackets (sometimes sleeveless), or abbreviated tailored jackets with pointed/dipping closures. A wide-cut wrap-over samurai-style jacket was also a notable piece

Colour: The core palette of flaxen neutrals, cool greys and black was lifted with the use of a bright yellow-orange inspired by the robes of Buddhist monks. Occasional hints of bitter chocolate brown and dark khaki also appeared

Fabric & knit: Cotton drill, jersey, woven blanket wools, textured silk jacquard, silk mesh sheers, watery satin

Print & pattern: A dappled grey degradé effect

Details & trims: Caped backs left to fly loose, back cowl drapes, knotted and wrapped sash waists, open fold detail at the back of tailored jackets, asymmetric drapes pulled to one side, jingling metal rings

Footwear: Heeled shooties, sling-backs and peep-toe flats all featuring a wide cross-leather construction, sometimes with a knotted detail

Accessories: Super-wide belts with double buckle, ribbed bracelets and cuffs

Anne Valérie Hash

Anne Valérie Hash has gone from strength to strength since showing on the RTW runways rather than on the couture schedule, and for spring/summer she honed her particular brand of poetic romanticism with a quietly beautiful collection full of weightless femininity.
The look: Poetically feminine
Silhouette: Soft and caressing with lightweight millefeuille layering
Key items: The soft pant was a key item within the look, but it acted as a soft grounding force for gently ruched and gathered tops, simple edge-to-edge shrug-on jackets and ruffled tees. Dresses were as light as air, lapping the body in ethereal smoke-like layers or falling into high-low hems from an asymmetric shoulderline, while millefeuille sheers layers were transposed into short tutu skirts
Colour: A palette of light-saturated colours help evoke the weightless mood, with smoke greys, sun-kissed peachy tints, poudre pinks and duck-egg blue grounded with black and a flash of malachite green
Fabric & knit: Layers of mousseline, georgette, washed silks and cotton, teamed with washed leather, metallic-yarn crochet and tarnished metallic tissues
Details & trims: Inside-out seam details
Footwear: High strappy sandals with deep wooden platforms
Accessories: Braces (US: suspenders)

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