2:25 PM
admin
Haider Ackermann
A perfectly pitched collection from Haider Ackermann, who is becoming a force to be reckoned with on the Paris schedule. No longer the preserve of a small band of fashionistas in the know, Ackermann has extended his repertoire lately, and works colour with a masterly hand for silhouettes that riffed the season’s masculine/feminine vibe, combined with some seriously sensuous fabric mixing.
The look: A seductive twist on the trend for masculine/feminine dressing
Silhouette: Unstructured and layered versus strict hourglass
Key items: Masculine tailoring was the core that ran throughout, with tuxedo-inspired ankle-skimming coats, cinched at the waist and with a soft rounded shoulder, or the sharp peaked-shoulder velvet and satin blazer layered over a trapeze-line dress and narrow cigarette pants. A more feminine mood came into play, with the second-skin pencil skirts, lapping the ankle with a trailing asymmetric hem, tethered with a waist-whittling wide belt, or in Ackermann’s sensuously draped silk dresses, strictly belted and with high, scrunched, wrapped necklines. Cropped tuxedos and soft wrapped leather jackets were teamed with velvet or satin pants, worked in intense jewel-coloured layers, with softly draped satin blouses or tautly ruched fine-gauge knits
Colour: Ackermann’s palette summed up the key colour trends for next winter, with his jewel-bright garnet red, peacock blue and sapphire, mallard green and soft olive, offset with the contrast of winter white, black and mole grey
Fabric & knit: Sensuous fabrications gave this collection its edge, with lustrous silky satins worked against the most sinuous leathers, shearling and suedes, sooty velvet, felted bouclés, sequins and loosely structured tweed
Details & trims: Ravaged hemlines
Footwear: High-heeled platform boots
Accessories: Gauntlets, deep alligator belts, narrow belts, striped scarves
Junya Watanabe
A strongly focused collection from Junya Watanabe, who took the ubiquitous biker jacket as his tipping point and worked it every which way into myriad unexpected silhouettes. Add cocooning knits and textured outerwear into the mix, and you had a highly believable look, a little bit beatnik, a little bit punky gamine.
The look: Subversive biker chic
Silhouette: Hourglass shapes contrasted with ovoid cocooning
Key items: The biker jacket appeared in every manifestation, from strictly waisted and hourglass layered over knee-length swirling skirts, to square-cut and boxy teamed with leather jeans. Or with a graceful picture collar, caped fabric sleeves or a softly caped back, or even cut as a leather cape and simple hip-belted dresses with leather biker collar and sleeve details. Leather dresses offered an alternative look, sinuously cut as a ruched tank, topped with a faux-fur boa, or draped into ovoid-shaped togas. Outerwear was simply styled, with big cocooning coats worked in dimensional faux furs - perfect to layer over a series of knitted sweater dresses and big slouchy knits
Colour: It was black all the way, with the odd jolt of cognac and bisque
Fabric & knit: Leather, crackled leather, faux leather, lightweight wools, heavy-gauge dimensional matted knits, dense faux furs, spongy bouclé knits
Print & pattern: An abstracted skin pattern on faux furs
Details & trims: Zips, corseted waists
Footwear: Masculine chelsea boots
Accessories: Black opaque hosiery
Loewe
After the kitsch candy colours of summer, Stuart Vevers drove his quirky twists into the classic Loewe style in a much subtler way this season. Yes, there were pops of bright colour here and there, but there were also luxe furs mixed with lo-fi sheepskin, raw antelope hides acting as surprise back panels and a series of bonded leather dresses and tops worn back to front. “Outerwear was our big statement,” said Vevers. “We worked to push the techniques with leather such as bonding, to create more sculpted silhouette. Colour is always important and something about brown just felt right, with pops of colour for the bags.”
The look: Subtly twisted luxe
Silhouette: 60s A-line swing
Key items: With outerwear the core drive this season, options included A-line swing coats with skinny martingales, cropped DB pea coats with bracelet-length sleeves, chunky sheepskin flight jackets, oversized coats with a domed shoulderline and a couple of fluffy fox-fur gilets. Other leatherwear highlights included a matching button-through pencil skirt and stock tie shirt, a dropped-waist dress with box-pleated skirt, short-sleeved sheaths - one with a corseted waist, another decorated with black jewels - and quirky shirts and dresses with back-to-front buttoning. There were coordinated silk separates comprising prim Peter Pan-collared shirts worn with high-waisted box-pleat kilts, and stretch knit leggings and tube skirts that were used as layering pieces.
Colour: A shaded palette built around Loewe’s signature “oro” brown - ecru, caramel, chocolate, chestnut and black against pops of bright kitsch colour - red, turquoise, marigold and oliveFabric & knit: Signature nappa, including new bonded leathers; ostrich, suede, nubuck, shearling, fox, calfskin and antelope hair; silk, bonded cashmere, stretch knits
Print & pattern: A black-and-white trompe l’oeil herringbone and a digitally enhanced repeat inspired by the stained-glass rose windows of Borgo Cathedral, both on silk
Details & trims: Structured seams, fox collars and sleeves, round childlike plastic buttons, skinny martingales, black-on-black jewels, buckled leather kilt straps, back-to-front buttoning, stock ties, box pleats, a contrast antelope-skin back panel on a coat, double-strap collar buckles on flight jackets
Footwear: Shoes were inspired by men’s oxfords, brogues and loafers in rubbed cordovan leather - calf-length lace-up boots and shorter shooties with stacked heels, open-toed slingbacks with kiltie fringe
Accessories: Bags were luggage inspired - a suede Gladstone bag, small hard boxes studded with gold nail-heads. Other bags were small and neatly structured in bright pops of coloured and padded nappa with heavy gold locks. Long fingerless knitted gloves, resin cuffs
Sonia Rykiel
“This is about a woman who is into life and everything that is going on in the world,” said Nathalie Rykiel backstage after the show. More precisely, it would seem the Rykiel girl is currently “into” Scotland, bringing home its tartans, Argyles and Fair Isle knits, and wrapping them up in a Parisienne medley of pattern and colour. “There has always been tartan at Rykiel, but this time it was more of a focus – as patchworks or against satin,” continued Rykiel. “There were a lot of mixed fabrics and mixed colours this season, but it was still very considered.”
The look: Left Bank lassie
Silhouette: Cosy layers
Key items: It was a mishmash of individual pieces including a host of pant shapes - ski-pant leggings with plaid stripe running down the side, corset-waisted tapered and cuffed tartan pants with a vertical fringe running the length of the leg, snug-fitting flat-front options with mismatched plaid legs, and pair of wide-legged tartan trousers. These were topped with neat sweaters, some with floppy bows or quilted sleeves, others featuring collars and jewel-buttoned henleys. A pantsuit in overscaled grey plaid with a longline DB jacket was the only piece of tailoring, while outerwear was cosy and oversized with huge fur sleeves. Other highlights included a roomy military wool parka and quilted baseball jackets, one lengthened into a coat. Signature sweater dresses arrived long-sleeved and with banded waists, in textured Aran stitches, Argyle diamonds or Fair Isle - the latter topped with a matching cardigan coat with quilted ciré lining - while for evening, maxidresses were fluidly columnar and featured bra cups and lingerie details
Colour: Grenadine and poppy red with yellow cognac, shots of royal blue, Kelly green and fuchsia, with black, cream and faux nude
Fabric & knit: Tartans and plaid wools, knitted Argyle diamonds and patchworked Fair Isles, Aran stitches; quilted satin, kidassia goat, dyed fox, long Mongolian lamb, silk, georgette, wool crepe
Print & pattern: Silhouette maple leaf
Details & trims: Diamond quilting, contrast edging, baseball-jacket collars, fox-fur sleeves, halternecks, bra-cup/lingerie detailing, low-scooping backs, jewelled gobstopper buttons, metallic foil stripes, paillette pattern resembling stylised houndstooth, contrast sleeves (fabric and colour), keyholes, maple-leaf appliqués, tiered stripes
Footwear: Courts with elastic strap, thick-soled mannish lace-ups reminiscent of brothel creepersAccessories: Mini satchels with long shoulder straps, a huge weekend bag in tartan with fringing and quilting; oversized chunky wrap-around scarves, stoles and shawls
Cacharel
The proportional layering that has appeared elsewhere this season played out at Cacharel, as designer Cédric Charlier worked minimal and sometimes sporty shapes in triple tiers. The cool and neutral palette made the layers look wearable not awkward, at times no more than a couple of graduated tops and a longline pant. Naturally for Cacharel, print was also important and arrived as a hand-drawn floral doodle touched with mere hints of colour. “I tried to develop a new technique for print,” said Charlier. “I wanted to superimpose hand-drawn florals with touches of colour that made them look realistic and surrealistic, creating a new phantasmagoric effect. If the shapes look simple or minimal, that’s great, but the construction is really rigorous.”
The look: Delicate minimalism
Silhouette: Boxy minimal with triple layers
Key items: Triple-layering was Charlier’s key motif, comprising minimal, almost sporty jackets or simple T-shirts teamed with short structured pencil skirts with fluid silk skirts then peeking out at the hem. That same triple layering was also applied to upper layers - those same jackets featuring cutaway collars that revealed a crewneck sweater atop a collared shirt. Elsewhere there were ribbed-knit tunic sweaters, long-sleeved fluid silk dresses in various lengths, funnel-necked coats and jackets, Mongolian lamb gilets and casually wide-legged pants worn with proportionally layered tees, sweaters and tops, repeating that triple-layered effect, while tailoring came in the form of short shorts or cropped pants with elongated jackets
Colours: Ecru and warm white, taupe, putty and faux nude, with washed sage and chartreuse greens, with inky navy blue to finish
Fabric & knit: Silk, wool, ribbed knits, wool crepe, Mongolian lamb
Print & pattern: Whimsical hand-drawn floral placements in white, with dabs of colour - orange, yellow and turquoise - on either an ecru or navy ground
Details & trims: Cutaway collars, bateau and straight-cut off-the-shoulder necklines, turtlenecks, wide hoods, crisp box pleats
Footwear: Curved-heel ankle boots in orange coral, navy or ecru
Accessories: Frosted-frame round sunglasses
Véronique Leroy
It was difficult to ascertain which era Véronique Leroy was referencing with her latest showing. There were elements of the 50s in her ladylike below-knee silhouettes, but they lacked the sexy va-va-voom of that period, coming in vintage colour mixes and unseductive fabric textures.
The look: Demure and geeky
Silhouette: Boxy and covered-up
Key items: Boxy tunic shapes coloured everything from woollen shift dresses to tweedy suits, via tunic tops layered over below-knee pencil skirts, shrug-on slope-shouldered jackets and a square-cut bouclé top. Ladylike dress shapes came in chevroned colour-blocked mixes, tethered with incongruous military buckled belts, while a slick patent pencil skirt and jacket nodded towards a more seductive look, and sparse daisy-patterned dresses and skirts brought a more feminine feel into play
Colour: Black and winter white, bisque and camel, with rich shots of midnight blue, chestnut and grenadine, offset with pale mint and apricot as offbeat accent colours
Fabric & knit: Nubby shearling and bouclé brought dimensional textures into play, tweedy effects, astrakhan textures, crepe de chine, wet-look patent, melanged wools
Print & pattern: A micro daisy pattern, colour-blocked chevrons
Details & trims: Contrast binding, leather trimsFootwear: Platform chelsea boots, chunky sandalsAccessories: Constructivist metal earrings, wire-framed spectacles, ankle socks, military-buckled white belts
Viktor & Rolf
Inspired by medieval knights, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren created an army of battle-ready crusaders, applying their innovative tailoring skills to pleating techniques, which created fierce coats and armoured dresses with edges as sharp as a sword. “We wanted to create a glamorous fashion crusade with strong women battling for beauty,” they said. “We used bonded wools to create sharp, faceted armour that looked like steel, not fabric.”
The look: Medieval crusaders
Silhouette: Fierce fit and flare
Key items: Military-influenced maxi coats with nipped waists and an A-line flare featured spike-pleated sleeves and necklines, while wool jackets sported face-framing collars and wide revers. Trousers were wide cut with a deep turn-up cuff, or slim with a red officer’s stripe, and bandeau jumpsuits were cut loose, sitting away from the body. Box-pleated skirts were paired with snug sweaters featuring a placement rose intarsia, or organza shirts with spike-pleated sleeves, while draped silk dresses with a cross motif evoked crusade flags. Tailored wool jackets were nipped at the waist and featured ruffled fronts and cutaway shoulders, while cocktail dresses were severe in structure, either with crisply pleated skirts and sash-like wraps around the torso or as a single shoulder strap, or fierce spike-pleated leather dresses in matt silver leather
Colour: Black, red, off white and matt silver
Fabric & knit: Double-faced wool, bonded wool, tuxedo wool suiting, felted knits, leather, glittery lace, organza, open-mesh knits, velvet, silk chiffon, taffeta linings, quilted PVC, beaver furPrint & pattern: Heraldic rose intarsia
Details & trims: Sculptural face-framing collars, circular fan pleats, spiky ridged pleats, patent quilted leg-of-mutton sleeves, cutout shoulders, elbow slashes, cadet pleats, ruffles created by squares hung on point, metal-tipped corners, raw edges
Footwear: Ankle boots with winged topline, and tall boots - both with red suede shoes and black patent wells. Patent peep toes with pleated frill, silver-foil sandals with pleated frill acting as a T-bar
Accessories: Across-body satchel, leather clutches in shape of a folded bow, belt bags, gloves with contrast-coloured fingers
Jean Paul Gaultier
With their beehives and sexy pencil-skirted wiggles, the models at Jean Paul Gaultier could have been the epitome of 60s chic, but this is JPG and nothing is done with a straight face. Forty-something French comedienne Valérie Lemercier opened the show with a partial striptease, while the younger models who followed in her comical wake arrived with greyed hair, dressed in frumpy tweeds and tartans, and dragging wheely-trollies behind them - by all accounts, this was Gaultier’s take on granny chic.
The look: 60s chic with a granny twist
Silhouette: Masculine tailoring vs sexy hourglass shaping
Key items: Every exit was a performance, with models peeling off coats, gloves and scarves in a partial striptease, but essentially looks were built on the repetition of just a few core items - wide-legged mannish slacks, silky pussy-bow blouses, hip-hugging pencil skirts and the occasional box-pleat midi. Wrap skirts were layered over dresses or pants, an effect also achieved with coats, which had contrast panels that created the illusion of a cropped jacket-and-skirt combo - such as the neoprene trench with patent-leather skirt or the alpaca wrap coat with brown leather skirt. Other outerwear options included a couple of quilted ciré puffa coats with banded fur skirts, and tailored frock coats for evening looks, which topped fluidly columnar maxi sheaths
Colour: Black and charcoal grey, tertiary browns and classic camel, navy blue with red tartan, glittery bronzeFabric & knit: Heathered tweeds, herringbone, red tartan, printed silks, super-glossy patent leather, glittery Lurex knits, pinstripe suiting, metallic and multicoloured jacquard, quilted ciré, suede, bonded neoprene printed in chalkstripe; fox, chinchilla, mink
Print & pattern: A printed chalkstripe, variegated stripes - black on red, overlaid spots, 60s geometric wallpaper prints, Art Nouveau floral, a cameo print
Details & trims: Leather collars and edging trims, mink or fox banded trims, black cowls, fur portrait coat collar
Accessories: Extra-long scarves and wraps, silk-fringed silk foulards, tinted sunglasses with graded lenses, peaked catseye opticals with chain, long leather gloves, stud earrings; pull-along shopping trolley
Comme des Garçons
Rei Kawakubo played with the sum of two parts for her autumn/winter showing, combining crisp mannish tailoring with soft feminine draping for her own idiosyncratic play on the season’s trend for gender-bending.
The look: Gender-bender
Silhouette: Structured tailoring contrasted with soft, bunched drapery
Key items: The masculine tailored jacket was the linchpin of the collection, reworked in several manifestations, which came as spliced half jackets anchoring contrast tied-on sleeves, layered with boyish shorts, demure ruffled cami-knicks and taut transparent tops. Those same jackets added crisp flat planes to Kawakubo’s bunched and ruched scarf dresses in a rainbow of brights - often combined with scrolling satin ruffles - while military-style trench coats were deconstructed and reformed into dimensional knots and twists to create an altogether different hybrid. And to close, a fly-front gilded A-line coat. Plain and simple
Colour: A strictly masculine palette of black and charcoal, with inky blue accented with a rainbow of vivid brights and a hint of cosmetique pink and gold
Fabric & knit: Snakeskin effects, washed wools and flannels, silk, satin, velvety flocking on a flat suiting, silver and gold jacquard, velvet
Print & pattern: Flocked coin spots, a multitude of jazzy scarf prints
Details & trims: Ribbon ties anchoring separate tie-on sleeves, ruched ruffles
Footwear: Flat mannish lace-ups as classic brogues, two-tone effects, and with striped units
Accessories: Ankle socks
A perfectly pitched collection from Haider Ackermann, who is becoming a force to be reckoned with on the Paris schedule. No longer the preserve of a small band of fashionistas in the know, Ackermann has extended his repertoire lately, and works colour with a masterly hand for silhouettes that riffed the season’s masculine/feminine vibe, combined with some seriously sensuous fabric mixing.
The look: A seductive twist on the trend for masculine/feminine dressing
Silhouette: Unstructured and layered versus strict hourglass
Key items: Masculine tailoring was the core that ran throughout, with tuxedo-inspired ankle-skimming coats, cinched at the waist and with a soft rounded shoulder, or the sharp peaked-shoulder velvet and satin blazer layered over a trapeze-line dress and narrow cigarette pants. A more feminine mood came into play, with the second-skin pencil skirts, lapping the ankle with a trailing asymmetric hem, tethered with a waist-whittling wide belt, or in Ackermann’s sensuously draped silk dresses, strictly belted and with high, scrunched, wrapped necklines. Cropped tuxedos and soft wrapped leather jackets were teamed with velvet or satin pants, worked in intense jewel-coloured layers, with softly draped satin blouses or tautly ruched fine-gauge knits
Colour: Ackermann’s palette summed up the key colour trends for next winter, with his jewel-bright garnet red, peacock blue and sapphire, mallard green and soft olive, offset with the contrast of winter white, black and mole grey
Fabric & knit: Sensuous fabrications gave this collection its edge, with lustrous silky satins worked against the most sinuous leathers, shearling and suedes, sooty velvet, felted bouclés, sequins and loosely structured tweed
Details & trims: Ravaged hemlines
Footwear: High-heeled platform boots
Accessories: Gauntlets, deep alligator belts, narrow belts, striped scarves
Junya Watanabe
A strongly focused collection from Junya Watanabe, who took the ubiquitous biker jacket as his tipping point and worked it every which way into myriad unexpected silhouettes. Add cocooning knits and textured outerwear into the mix, and you had a highly believable look, a little bit beatnik, a little bit punky gamine.
The look: Subversive biker chic
Silhouette: Hourglass shapes contrasted with ovoid cocooning
Key items: The biker jacket appeared in every manifestation, from strictly waisted and hourglass layered over knee-length swirling skirts, to square-cut and boxy teamed with leather jeans. Or with a graceful picture collar, caped fabric sleeves or a softly caped back, or even cut as a leather cape and simple hip-belted dresses with leather biker collar and sleeve details. Leather dresses offered an alternative look, sinuously cut as a ruched tank, topped with a faux-fur boa, or draped into ovoid-shaped togas. Outerwear was simply styled, with big cocooning coats worked in dimensional faux furs - perfect to layer over a series of knitted sweater dresses and big slouchy knits
Colour: It was black all the way, with the odd jolt of cognac and bisque
Fabric & knit: Leather, crackled leather, faux leather, lightweight wools, heavy-gauge dimensional matted knits, dense faux furs, spongy bouclé knits
Print & pattern: An abstracted skin pattern on faux furs
Details & trims: Zips, corseted waists
Footwear: Masculine chelsea boots
Accessories: Black opaque hosiery
Loewe
After the kitsch candy colours of summer, Stuart Vevers drove his quirky twists into the classic Loewe style in a much subtler way this season. Yes, there were pops of bright colour here and there, but there were also luxe furs mixed with lo-fi sheepskin, raw antelope hides acting as surprise back panels and a series of bonded leather dresses and tops worn back to front. “Outerwear was our big statement,” said Vevers. “We worked to push the techniques with leather such as bonding, to create more sculpted silhouette. Colour is always important and something about brown just felt right, with pops of colour for the bags.”
The look: Subtly twisted luxe
Silhouette: 60s A-line swing
Key items: With outerwear the core drive this season, options included A-line swing coats with skinny martingales, cropped DB pea coats with bracelet-length sleeves, chunky sheepskin flight jackets, oversized coats with a domed shoulderline and a couple of fluffy fox-fur gilets. Other leatherwear highlights included a matching button-through pencil skirt and stock tie shirt, a dropped-waist dress with box-pleated skirt, short-sleeved sheaths - one with a corseted waist, another decorated with black jewels - and quirky shirts and dresses with back-to-front buttoning. There were coordinated silk separates comprising prim Peter Pan-collared shirts worn with high-waisted box-pleat kilts, and stretch knit leggings and tube skirts that were used as layering pieces.
Colour: A shaded palette built around Loewe’s signature “oro” brown - ecru, caramel, chocolate, chestnut and black against pops of bright kitsch colour - red, turquoise, marigold and oliveFabric & knit: Signature nappa, including new bonded leathers; ostrich, suede, nubuck, shearling, fox, calfskin and antelope hair; silk, bonded cashmere, stretch knits
Print & pattern: A black-and-white trompe l’oeil herringbone and a digitally enhanced repeat inspired by the stained-glass rose windows of Borgo Cathedral, both on silk
Details & trims: Structured seams, fox collars and sleeves, round childlike plastic buttons, skinny martingales, black-on-black jewels, buckled leather kilt straps, back-to-front buttoning, stock ties, box pleats, a contrast antelope-skin back panel on a coat, double-strap collar buckles on flight jackets
Footwear: Shoes were inspired by men’s oxfords, brogues and loafers in rubbed cordovan leather - calf-length lace-up boots and shorter shooties with stacked heels, open-toed slingbacks with kiltie fringe
Accessories: Bags were luggage inspired - a suede Gladstone bag, small hard boxes studded with gold nail-heads. Other bags were small and neatly structured in bright pops of coloured and padded nappa with heavy gold locks. Long fingerless knitted gloves, resin cuffs
Sonia Rykiel
“This is about a woman who is into life and everything that is going on in the world,” said Nathalie Rykiel backstage after the show. More precisely, it would seem the Rykiel girl is currently “into” Scotland, bringing home its tartans, Argyles and Fair Isle knits, and wrapping them up in a Parisienne medley of pattern and colour. “There has always been tartan at Rykiel, but this time it was more of a focus – as patchworks or against satin,” continued Rykiel. “There were a lot of mixed fabrics and mixed colours this season, but it was still very considered.”
The look: Left Bank lassie
Silhouette: Cosy layers
Key items: It was a mishmash of individual pieces including a host of pant shapes - ski-pant leggings with plaid stripe running down the side, corset-waisted tapered and cuffed tartan pants with a vertical fringe running the length of the leg, snug-fitting flat-front options with mismatched plaid legs, and pair of wide-legged tartan trousers. These were topped with neat sweaters, some with floppy bows or quilted sleeves, others featuring collars and jewel-buttoned henleys. A pantsuit in overscaled grey plaid with a longline DB jacket was the only piece of tailoring, while outerwear was cosy and oversized with huge fur sleeves. Other highlights included a roomy military wool parka and quilted baseball jackets, one lengthened into a coat. Signature sweater dresses arrived long-sleeved and with banded waists, in textured Aran stitches, Argyle diamonds or Fair Isle - the latter topped with a matching cardigan coat with quilted ciré lining - while for evening, maxidresses were fluidly columnar and featured bra cups and lingerie details
Colour: Grenadine and poppy red with yellow cognac, shots of royal blue, Kelly green and fuchsia, with black, cream and faux nude
Fabric & knit: Tartans and plaid wools, knitted Argyle diamonds and patchworked Fair Isles, Aran stitches; quilted satin, kidassia goat, dyed fox, long Mongolian lamb, silk, georgette, wool crepe
Print & pattern: Silhouette maple leaf
Details & trims: Diamond quilting, contrast edging, baseball-jacket collars, fox-fur sleeves, halternecks, bra-cup/lingerie detailing, low-scooping backs, jewelled gobstopper buttons, metallic foil stripes, paillette pattern resembling stylised houndstooth, contrast sleeves (fabric and colour), keyholes, maple-leaf appliqués, tiered stripes
Footwear: Courts with elastic strap, thick-soled mannish lace-ups reminiscent of brothel creepersAccessories: Mini satchels with long shoulder straps, a huge weekend bag in tartan with fringing and quilting; oversized chunky wrap-around scarves, stoles and shawls
Cacharel
The proportional layering that has appeared elsewhere this season played out at Cacharel, as designer Cédric Charlier worked minimal and sometimes sporty shapes in triple tiers. The cool and neutral palette made the layers look wearable not awkward, at times no more than a couple of graduated tops and a longline pant. Naturally for Cacharel, print was also important and arrived as a hand-drawn floral doodle touched with mere hints of colour. “I tried to develop a new technique for print,” said Charlier. “I wanted to superimpose hand-drawn florals with touches of colour that made them look realistic and surrealistic, creating a new phantasmagoric effect. If the shapes look simple or minimal, that’s great, but the construction is really rigorous.”
The look: Delicate minimalism
Silhouette: Boxy minimal with triple layers
Key items: Triple-layering was Charlier’s key motif, comprising minimal, almost sporty jackets or simple T-shirts teamed with short structured pencil skirts with fluid silk skirts then peeking out at the hem. That same triple layering was also applied to upper layers - those same jackets featuring cutaway collars that revealed a crewneck sweater atop a collared shirt. Elsewhere there were ribbed-knit tunic sweaters, long-sleeved fluid silk dresses in various lengths, funnel-necked coats and jackets, Mongolian lamb gilets and casually wide-legged pants worn with proportionally layered tees, sweaters and tops, repeating that triple-layered effect, while tailoring came in the form of short shorts or cropped pants with elongated jackets
Colours: Ecru and warm white, taupe, putty and faux nude, with washed sage and chartreuse greens, with inky navy blue to finish
Fabric & knit: Silk, wool, ribbed knits, wool crepe, Mongolian lamb
Print & pattern: Whimsical hand-drawn floral placements in white, with dabs of colour - orange, yellow and turquoise - on either an ecru or navy ground
Details & trims: Cutaway collars, bateau and straight-cut off-the-shoulder necklines, turtlenecks, wide hoods, crisp box pleats
Footwear: Curved-heel ankle boots in orange coral, navy or ecru
Accessories: Frosted-frame round sunglasses
Véronique Leroy
It was difficult to ascertain which era Véronique Leroy was referencing with her latest showing. There were elements of the 50s in her ladylike below-knee silhouettes, but they lacked the sexy va-va-voom of that period, coming in vintage colour mixes and unseductive fabric textures.
The look: Demure and geeky
Silhouette: Boxy and covered-up
Key items: Boxy tunic shapes coloured everything from woollen shift dresses to tweedy suits, via tunic tops layered over below-knee pencil skirts, shrug-on slope-shouldered jackets and a square-cut bouclé top. Ladylike dress shapes came in chevroned colour-blocked mixes, tethered with incongruous military buckled belts, while a slick patent pencil skirt and jacket nodded towards a more seductive look, and sparse daisy-patterned dresses and skirts brought a more feminine feel into play
Colour: Black and winter white, bisque and camel, with rich shots of midnight blue, chestnut and grenadine, offset with pale mint and apricot as offbeat accent colours
Fabric & knit: Nubby shearling and bouclé brought dimensional textures into play, tweedy effects, astrakhan textures, crepe de chine, wet-look patent, melanged wools
Print & pattern: A micro daisy pattern, colour-blocked chevrons
Details & trims: Contrast binding, leather trimsFootwear: Platform chelsea boots, chunky sandalsAccessories: Constructivist metal earrings, wire-framed spectacles, ankle socks, military-buckled white belts
Viktor & Rolf
Inspired by medieval knights, Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren created an army of battle-ready crusaders, applying their innovative tailoring skills to pleating techniques, which created fierce coats and armoured dresses with edges as sharp as a sword. “We wanted to create a glamorous fashion crusade with strong women battling for beauty,” they said. “We used bonded wools to create sharp, faceted armour that looked like steel, not fabric.”
The look: Medieval crusaders
Silhouette: Fierce fit and flare
Key items: Military-influenced maxi coats with nipped waists and an A-line flare featured spike-pleated sleeves and necklines, while wool jackets sported face-framing collars and wide revers. Trousers were wide cut with a deep turn-up cuff, or slim with a red officer’s stripe, and bandeau jumpsuits were cut loose, sitting away from the body. Box-pleated skirts were paired with snug sweaters featuring a placement rose intarsia, or organza shirts with spike-pleated sleeves, while draped silk dresses with a cross motif evoked crusade flags. Tailored wool jackets were nipped at the waist and featured ruffled fronts and cutaway shoulders, while cocktail dresses were severe in structure, either with crisply pleated skirts and sash-like wraps around the torso or as a single shoulder strap, or fierce spike-pleated leather dresses in matt silver leather
Colour: Black, red, off white and matt silver
Fabric & knit: Double-faced wool, bonded wool, tuxedo wool suiting, felted knits, leather, glittery lace, organza, open-mesh knits, velvet, silk chiffon, taffeta linings, quilted PVC, beaver furPrint & pattern: Heraldic rose intarsia
Details & trims: Sculptural face-framing collars, circular fan pleats, spiky ridged pleats, patent quilted leg-of-mutton sleeves, cutout shoulders, elbow slashes, cadet pleats, ruffles created by squares hung on point, metal-tipped corners, raw edges
Footwear: Ankle boots with winged topline, and tall boots - both with red suede shoes and black patent wells. Patent peep toes with pleated frill, silver-foil sandals with pleated frill acting as a T-bar
Accessories: Across-body satchel, leather clutches in shape of a folded bow, belt bags, gloves with contrast-coloured fingers
Jean Paul Gaultier
With their beehives and sexy pencil-skirted wiggles, the models at Jean Paul Gaultier could have been the epitome of 60s chic, but this is JPG and nothing is done with a straight face. Forty-something French comedienne Valérie Lemercier opened the show with a partial striptease, while the younger models who followed in her comical wake arrived with greyed hair, dressed in frumpy tweeds and tartans, and dragging wheely-trollies behind them - by all accounts, this was Gaultier’s take on granny chic.
The look: 60s chic with a granny twist
Silhouette: Masculine tailoring vs sexy hourglass shaping
Key items: Every exit was a performance, with models peeling off coats, gloves and scarves in a partial striptease, but essentially looks were built on the repetition of just a few core items - wide-legged mannish slacks, silky pussy-bow blouses, hip-hugging pencil skirts and the occasional box-pleat midi. Wrap skirts were layered over dresses or pants, an effect also achieved with coats, which had contrast panels that created the illusion of a cropped jacket-and-skirt combo - such as the neoprene trench with patent-leather skirt or the alpaca wrap coat with brown leather skirt. Other outerwear options included a couple of quilted ciré puffa coats with banded fur skirts, and tailored frock coats for evening looks, which topped fluidly columnar maxi sheaths
Colour: Black and charcoal grey, tertiary browns and classic camel, navy blue with red tartan, glittery bronzeFabric & knit: Heathered tweeds, herringbone, red tartan, printed silks, super-glossy patent leather, glittery Lurex knits, pinstripe suiting, metallic and multicoloured jacquard, quilted ciré, suede, bonded neoprene printed in chalkstripe; fox, chinchilla, mink
Print & pattern: A printed chalkstripe, variegated stripes - black on red, overlaid spots, 60s geometric wallpaper prints, Art Nouveau floral, a cameo print
Details & trims: Leather collars and edging trims, mink or fox banded trims, black cowls, fur portrait coat collar
Accessories: Extra-long scarves and wraps, silk-fringed silk foulards, tinted sunglasses with graded lenses, peaked catseye opticals with chain, long leather gloves, stud earrings; pull-along shopping trolley
Comme des Garçons
Rei Kawakubo played with the sum of two parts for her autumn/winter showing, combining crisp mannish tailoring with soft feminine draping for her own idiosyncratic play on the season’s trend for gender-bending.
The look: Gender-bender
Silhouette: Structured tailoring contrasted with soft, bunched drapery
Key items: The masculine tailored jacket was the linchpin of the collection, reworked in several manifestations, which came as spliced half jackets anchoring contrast tied-on sleeves, layered with boyish shorts, demure ruffled cami-knicks and taut transparent tops. Those same jackets added crisp flat planes to Kawakubo’s bunched and ruched scarf dresses in a rainbow of brights - often combined with scrolling satin ruffles - while military-style trench coats were deconstructed and reformed into dimensional knots and twists to create an altogether different hybrid. And to close, a fly-front gilded A-line coat. Plain and simple
Colour: A strictly masculine palette of black and charcoal, with inky blue accented with a rainbow of vivid brights and a hint of cosmetique pink and gold
Fabric & knit: Snakeskin effects, washed wools and flannels, silk, satin, velvety flocking on a flat suiting, silver and gold jacquard, velvet
Print & pattern: Flocked coin spots, a multitude of jazzy scarf prints
Details & trims: Ribbon ties anchoring separate tie-on sleeves, ruched ruffles
Footwear: Flat mannish lace-ups as classic brogues, two-tone effects, and with striped units
Accessories: Ankle socks
