Scouring Paris for the latest
New-model model
A pregnant Miranda Kerr on the runway at Balenciaga, plus-size pop star Beth Ditto at Jean Paul Gaultier, fortysomething model-actress Farida Khelfa at Hermès, a toddler and the 53-year-old Inès de la Fressange at Chanel. You’d think designers had an open door policy at their runway castings this season.
Does all this inclusiveness signal the democratization of beauty on the runway? Are designers finally getting wise to their expanding and aging demographic? Or is it merely a fad that will come and go as fast as last season’s fur capelet? It’s too early to tell, but so far we like what we see.
Punk revival
After all the soft and colorful, 1970s-inspired collections in New York and Milan, it was a shock to see punk rear its spiky head in Paris.
We saw it first at Balenciaga, where white button-down shirts came with metal-tipped collars, and black pants fastened at the side with chunky silver buckles. There were houndstooth check coats and biker jackets too, worn with mean shoes with studs on the soles.
At Balmain, the look was more literally Sex Pistols, with slashed T-shirts, safety-pinned leather jackets and shredded jeans, all of which will cost a fortune. (There are rich hippies, so why not rich punks?)
Jean Paul Gaultier’s punk vixens wore Joan Jett wigs, biker-chick leathers and dominatrix lace and fishnet layers. Oversize, squared-off shoulders, combat boots and the cone bra re-imagined as a metal breastplate added to the aggressive, industrial chic that was also a through line at Givenchy, where silver zippers made for tough-looking decoration.
Borrowed from the boys
Menswear-inspired clothing had been almost totally absent from the runways for spring until Paris, where blazers, button-down shirts and tuxedos came into the picture.
At Céline, designer Phoebe Philo perfected a menswear-style trouser that hangs on a woman’s hips just so, as well as offering a cape-sleeve blazer as a chic alternative to the ordinary suit jacket.
Stella McCartney reintroduced boyfriend blazers (they’re back!) in pastel colors, paired with cropped flat-front trousers and knit polo shirts.
Belgian designer Dries Van Noten brought color and lightness to his oversize blazers, full trousers and trench coats by dip-dying them in Easter-egg shades of pink, violet and cornflower blue. He also showed an elegant cream tuxedo jacket with casual wide-leg pants for daytime, while at Yves Saint Laurent, the tuxedo morphed into a sexy jumpsuit.
A different stripe
The horizontal Breton stripe T-shirts that have been all over the streets like a rash since last year influenced many runways in Paris. For spring, stripes are getting even bigger and bolder.
In Junya Watanabe’s hands, stripes became extraordinary. Turning them every which way, he created Op Art effects on T-shirt dresses, coat dresses and long skirts.
At Céline, bands of color tracing the sides and waistbands of pants added graphic appeal. The same was true at Louis Vuitton, where bright, bold stripes gave Chinoiserie-inspired dresses and clutch bags the color pop of Popsicles.
Isabel Marant took stripes in a sporty direction, showing striped rugby shirtdresses. And she may really be on to something. Now that everyone has a striped T-shirt in her closet, isn’t it about time the striped rugby shirt took a fashionable turn?
Long view
Skirt lengths are falling fast — not that designers would expect today’s woman to follow a hemline dictate. It’s more of a suggestion. But after years of the miniskirt mafia cornering the market, it should be a relief to have alternatives.
Long skirts at Rochas had a 1940s vibe, while the ones at Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent nodded to the season’s pervasive 1970s bohemian spirit. There were also sheer black varieties at Chanel, worn with belted jackets or sweaters, for a retro ladylike look.
Rick Owens made a long skirt statement all his own, pairing grand floor-sweepers with contoured leather vests. And Chloé designer Hannah MacGibbon took a ballet dancer’s long, sheer, pleated skirt and put it with leotards and soft-sole ballet shoes. Which means that come spring, we won’t be raiding the Army Navy store for inexpensive fashion finds, we’ll be hitting Capezio.
Garden party
It was calm in the midst of chaos, color cutting through the darkness, a moment to stop and smell the roses. The Chanel show, set in a faux French garden with orderly hedges and serene fountains under the soaring glass ceiling of the Grand Palais, summed up the mood of the entire spring runway season.
With nature being one of life’s greatest escapes, it’s no wonder that so many designers used flower prints and floral motifs in their collections.
At Louis Vuitton and Dries Van Noten, it was an Asian garden that inspired, while Dior’s John Galliano picked hibiscus and orchid blooms from the South Seas.
The Emanuel Ungaro presentation had flowers bursting out all over a grassy lawn, where models in festive frocks sipped Champagne. The garden party was a rebirth for the house after a disastrous turn with Lindsay Lohan as creative advisor, and a chance for new creative director Giles Deacon to turn over a new leaf.
booth.moore@latimes.com
