1. Gucci
Gucci’s new creative director, Alessandro Michele, is leading the fashion pack on the season’s heritage charm.
Unlike the bombshell Gucci babes of yore, Michele’s Gucci girl is dreamy and emotional, charismatic and a little awkward, liberal yet conservative and above all, she’s youthful.
Her curious sartorial choices alone are a smorgasbord of surplus-store treasures — menswear-inspired trouser suits to military coats, libertine blouses, chunky heirloom jewellery, estate-worthy robes, decadent fur coats and granny glasses fit for stylish erudites. Michele is chasing a sense of romance, in particular an emotion or an attitude that defines what’s beautiful and sensuous now.
One of these aesthetic choices surfaced as a gender ambiguity, where lines were surprisingly blurred between many of the men’s and women’s pieces — boys and girls both in pussycat-bow blouses and feminine lace tops? Hmm…
The study of sex and androgyny continued into the collection in a subtle narrative of “the birds and the bees” — two recurring creatures that appeared embroidered to perfection on a dress, a sweater and even as a secret on the inside of a trenchcoat’s lapel. But the overall fancy of Michele’s collection was its inimitable vintage appeal developed from his personal tastes, as well as a penchant for quaint valuables with a backstory.
“I love the idea that a dress has a memory,” he told an online fashion site. In fact, one of the most fascinating elements to illustrate this peculiar notion were the “decorative” crease lines pressed onto trouser suits in areas where fold-lines would have remained if these pieces had been put into storage. A tiny afterthought? Not in Michele’s eccentric mind.
2. The Functionalist
Hermès
To design for real women, you need to walk in the shoes of one. Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski, the new artistic director for Hermès, is as real as it gets. “This collection is very much designed for a real way of life…and I suppose partly that’s my way of life. I don’t want to turn women into gimmicks or stereotypes,” Vanhee-Cybulski tells The Telegraph. The French native, who spent three years in New York, knows what it’s like to get her trouser hems soaked from a downpour, so she created an elegant solution — waterproof wool-gabardine trousers.
Her debut collection is also firmly rooted in Hermès’ equestrian heritage: Saddle-bag-inspired leather pockets on quilted jackets, riding coats made from lambskin leather, and saddle-strap-inspired leather chokers on capes. Though discreet, her designs are desirable — and the secret lies in Vanhee-Cybulski’s expert use of ultra-luxe, innovative materials such as double-faced cashmere in contrasting colours and teal-coloured mink.
3. The Victorian Ladies
Chanel
It was a revival of many things French but the one that stood out before the show was the Brasserie Gabrielle. The typical French-style restaurant served as the impressive show set this season and spanned the length of Paris’ colossal Grand Palais hall (three tennis courts’-length and more). Brasserie Gabrielle functioned as any brasserie would, serving breakfast to the fashion set for a good hour before the show. Talk about keeping it real. The collection on the other hand, was its own reality check.
“This is a collection for the down-to-earth woman,” said Karl Lagerfeld who had revived the traditional Chanel skirt suit, keeping in mind that it had to work for day as it would night, outdoors as indoors. They came in every shape, size and permutation possible: A-line or pencil-cut in a knee-length and paired with a slimming jacket to honour the archives’ most matronly-yet-elegant renditions; sporty, pouffy and tactile, to illustrate its infinite possibilities in embracing modernity and, dare we say, a nod into the future? There were only two real trouser suits in sight. The rest came paired with narrow-cut, long skirts that mimicked aprons worn by brasserie servers (to support the restaurant theme), as did a clutch made to resemble two stacks of teacup saucers.
Thematic references can reach tacky limits but not when Lagerfeld is in charge. There were fabrics that recalled the geometric beauty of mosaic tiles — a common feature in brasserie flooring. Likewise, the tartan and check motifs, which appeared as lavish fabrics or as puffy quilted patterns, were also references to a tiling fancy.
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