The search for the new is vital to
fashion.
Yet a number of leading designers debuting their
fall-winter 2015 collections in Paris this week are proving just
how powerful focusing on their signature aesthetic to explore
its potential can be.
At Saint Laurent on Monday, Hedi Slimane pushed his edgy
bad-girl act to the limit with leather leggings sporting cutouts
all the way to the thigh, ripped tights and a black leather
dress slit up to the undies.
There were countless ultra mini skirts and dresses,
including a little light pink tulle number under a masculine
grey jacket and cigarette pants with suspenders - to play the
androgynous act.
Slimane's Saint Laurent woman has always loved her rock n'
roll and dark edge but this time she was unapologetically
rebellious.
And if the designer's collections have been divisive since
his revolutionary debut two and a half years ago, their fine
craftsmanship and signature looks have proved to be best-sellers
- and there were plenty of those both on the catwalk on Monday
and among the crowd in-the-know attending fashion month.
The leather biker jackets and pants, the peacoats, the
patchwork furs, animal prints, it-accessories such as pointy
booties, reach new highs for next fall - proof that Slimane's
brand of disruptive has staying power.
And the power of pushing the repeat button and elevating a
fashion concept to new heights was evident at Stella McCartney's
show on Monday.
The British designer took her trademark feminine dresses,
flowing pants and thick knits and inched their aesthetic high up
on the sophistication front.
Jackets made a statement with deep V-necks and wrapped the
hips - managing at once to be purposeful and sexy while
perfectly suitable as workwear.
Cropped tailored trousers were styled with oversized
bathrobe coats, a black coat with pants looked streamlined and
unique at once with the handkerchief silhouette of the skirt.
Sweater dresses also tested the sexy side of the story and
were open at the side.
Fluidity and sophistication were expressed through evening
separates and dresses, including single-strap dresses and
strapless gowns such as a cream number styled with pants.
Slick flared trousers gave fresh meaning to the 1970s - a
decade still resonating across catwalks this month.
And the 1970s provided new testing ground for Giambattista
Valli, who moved away from his trademark botanic references
towards an edgier flower-girl vibe, while staying true to his
feminine brand of sophistication.
Valli envisioned a woman wearing zigzag flared trouser
suits, mid-calf macramé dresses, and short A-line dresses going
further back to the 1960s, inevitably quoting Pierre Cardin also
in the geometric patterns.
And this edgier aesthetic included bronze, gold and pearl
sequin trousers under ruffled shells.
The lean tunics over flare pants, the frilly blouses with
damask pants, along with the sheepskin coats were some of the
new renditions of Valli's trademark one-of-a-kind sophistication
that has been keeping European socialites on their toes for the
past seasons.
And a much-awaited debut on Monday, Nadège
Vanhee-Cybulski's first collection for Hermès, was a rendition
of the best ancestral tradition of the French fashion house -
fit for the contemporary woman.
Vanhee-Cybulski is known for her sense of understated
elegance while holding leading design positions at Céline under
Phoebe Philo before moving to The Row, from 2011 until last
year.
Indeed the Hermès history was all there in her fall
collection, oozing from the rich fabrics and execution, yet
references were subtle.
Vanhee-Cybulski designed ingrained quotes of the label's
history while evolving its deluxe equestrian aesthetic with,
among others, a blue riding jacket in lambskin with padded
lining, corduroy trousers and a revised version of the riding
boot.
There was a stunning red silk dress featuring
color-on-color stirrup leather prints, which also decorated a
bold necklace over a superbly streamlined below-the-calf cream
dress.
The designer further pushed on the understated mode with
accessories including an altered, abstract version of the
trademark H for Hermès belt and a new bag sporting a yellow and
orange strap - conveying a whiff of streamlined modernity at the
aristocratic house.
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