In a perfect world I would be sitting front row at Gareth Pugh, going to a post-show tea with Karl Lagerfeld and celebrating Alexander McQueen’s triumphant collection with the man himself. Alas, it is not a perfect world and so I must face reality and report to you from my laptop at home, while a bunch of oh-so-fabulous Parisians strut around the city in their latest looks fresh off the runway.
Fall collections at Paris Fashion Week are usually dubbed the le mieux of the fashion calendar because of their quality, their substance and the outrages theatrics of many of the shows. With the city being home to the world’s design elite, you can always trust that each collection of the seventy-two that are debuted will be magnifique!
At this season’s event many of the designers chose to play with latex and leather. At Hermes we saw black napa-leather pant suits and alligator blazers topped with shoulder-plates. Karl Lagerfeld showed us super-slim patent pants while Gareth Pugh continued his signature edginess with suits made from solid neoprene-backed leathers and a coat that had Berkeley Beetle written all over it! This obsession with futurism was taken to the next level at new-comer Pedro Lourenco's show , where the 19 year old played on the conviction of youth, shape and geometries and presented high-necked panel leather dresses in beige, black and brown. Who knew that a little leather could bring out the Honey Rider in all of us?
Another trend seen at the Fall 10/11 showings in Paris was the reference to the Art Deco era. At Balmain we saw short and tight micro mini-dresses that were smothered in luminous paillettes while at Manish Arora there were disgustingly brilliant graphic prints, sci-fi pant suits and every fluorescent you could image.
Art Deco was not the only artistic inspiration found last week but the history of art as well. Without-doubt the most anticipated showing of the season was Alexander McQueen, although his latest collection was only eighty percent completed at the time of his death. Each garment was completed by his loyal team and debuted at an intimate showing with privately invited friends, family, editors and media. McQueen found inspiration through the art of the dark-ages and strived to show the light and beauty of the time through his collection. He was able to transport high-church angles and bosch demons from the ancient era onto the delicate handcrafted fabrics. Couture-like gowns and short, draped dresses were embellished with precision but a jacket made entirely of gold feathers was the true McQueen piece.
A winter fashion week in Paris wouldn’t be complete without the obsession of outerwear and the trend was certainly not slowing down at this year’s event. Viktor & Rolf’s latest collection “Glamour Factory” featured the designers personally dressing the models on the runway after stripping muse Kristen McMenamy of a giant tweed cape, a reversible leather coat and a ball skirt that turned into a enormous Elizabethan ruff. At Chloe we saw classic coats in neutral palettes and a focus on layering. And at Chanel, an arctic BC-esque collection that featured faux fur trousers and coats challenged Karl Lagerfeld’s in-the-moment view on fashion and left the crowd not only slightly confused but with a little frost bite.
So as I continue living in my perfect world I am so excited by the collections of Paris Fashion Week Fall 10/11. Latex, leather, sci-fi suits, demon dresses and Elizabethan ruffs of ridiculous proportions are all more than welcome in my wardrobe, although I’m not one hundred percent convinced on the faux fur pantsuits at Chanel. But hey, I guess we’ve still got to look fabulous if that ice-age hits. Here’s hoping...
Words: Leni Andronicos
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