STYLE
Paris Fashion Week Highlights (Part 1)
Paris Fashion Week just came to a close and Paris offered up some of the freshest concepts and best craftsmanship we have seen all season. Louis Vuitton and Miu Miu dove into virtual reality on the final day, Valentino presented some gorgeous dresses and Chanel brought big, marvelling smiles from even the most jaded fashion show-goers. The designers balanced the delicate relationship between craft and technology at the Paris shows.
Miu Miu brought the sober mood to Paris, with plaids mixed with tulle paired with sparkling boots which is an expression of moody toughness. The check tweed trousers were high-waisted and cropped like Capri pants and the skirts fell mostly to the mid-calf. The Spring/Summer 2016 Miu Miu collection consisted of anti-sexy ensembles, oversized with long lapels and broad shoulders, bringing a sort of retro flamboyance. The models walked the runway with goth-like black lipstick and several beautiful dresses with blouson shoulders brought to mind a sort of ‘40s elegance.
The Chanel show was a jaw dropper and sent the crowd flying! Karl Lagerfeld set his sights towards the sky for Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2016 show and staged it in a chic Chanel-themed airport terminal. Lagerfeld and co. transformed the Grand Palais into an artificial airport terminal complete with ticketing agents (male models), baggage check-in counters, numbered gates, and departure and arrival boards. It was quite a large production as Edie Campbell opened the show in a multi-coloured tweed jumpsuit with silver sandals and a headband. She was also carting a black Chanel rolling suitcase. The airplane design carried from the set to the clothing and even the accessories. We love the sharply tailored tweed suits and iconic flap bags, not forgetting Chanel’s new micro sized luggage bag.
Ghesquiere’s collection seemed like a foretaste into his own vision of what the future holds for fashion, where clothing is required to have a visual impact. Vuitton had a procession of skirts worn with the house’s new monogrammed leather jacket. Their Spring/Summer 2016 collection went a more futuristic direction, rich in leather and metallics, coloured bike jackets and shimmering dresses. A few details we noticed were the zips that were placed across the jackets as well as down the skirts. We detected a Mad Max meets Def-Con 4 theme running through the collection which chunky black flatform sandals and innovative metal-toed short boots. The future of resilient feminism is here and these warrior women are brazenly fierce.
Dior upped their game this year by creating a man-made hill in the centre of the Louvre’s Cour Carrée covered in 400,000 delphiniums. It was a magnificent sight and Dior model, Sofia Mechetner, who is an Israeli teen Raf Simons met by chance at a Dior boutique opened the show. Every look that came down the runway was carried by the same shoe silhouette, an ankle strap mule with a pointed toe and accentuated buckle detailing. The standout pieces were the cropped sweaters with scalloped edging and the models’ neck were adorned with Baroque style chokers and scarf-like chokers hung with numerical charms. The Dior beauties walked down the runway in candy tinted sheer dresses and elaborate embroidery, all never underdressed.
Spring/Summer 2016 has been quite interesting for Valentino as the collection was inspired by the theme “wild, tribal Africa”, but controversy arose when the runway featured mostly white models sporting cornrows. There was a lot of surface treatment and movement, but it came together seamlessly with fragile Masai-style beadwork, needlework, leatherwork, batik-printed parkas, primitive terracotta chokers, and feathery embellishments. Overall, Valentino delivered stunning dresses with rich cultural history.
by: Adeline Tan
Miu Miu
Miu Miu brought the sober mood to Paris, with plaids mixed with tulle paired with sparkling boots which is an expression of moody toughness. The check tweed trousers were high-waisted and cropped like Capri pants and the skirts fell mostly to the mid-calf. The Spring/Summer 2016 Miu Miu collection consisted of anti-sexy ensembles, oversized with long lapels and broad shoulders, bringing a sort of retro flamboyance. The models walked the runway with goth-like black lipstick and several beautiful dresses with blouson shoulders brought to mind a sort of ‘40s elegance.
Chanel
The Chanel show was a jaw dropper and sent the crowd flying! Karl Lagerfeld set his sights towards the sky for Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2016 show and staged it in a chic Chanel-themed airport terminal. Lagerfeld and co. transformed the Grand Palais into an artificial airport terminal complete with ticketing agents (male models), baggage check-in counters, numbered gates, and departure and arrival boards. It was quite a large production as Edie Campbell opened the show in a multi-coloured tweed jumpsuit with silver sandals and a headband. She was also carting a black Chanel rolling suitcase. The airplane design carried from the set to the clothing and even the accessories. We love the sharply tailored tweed suits and iconic flap bags, not forgetting Chanel’s new micro sized luggage bag.
Louis Vuitton
Ghesquiere’s collection seemed like a foretaste into his own vision of what the future holds for fashion, where clothing is required to have a visual impact. Vuitton had a procession of skirts worn with the house’s new monogrammed leather jacket. Their Spring/Summer 2016 collection went a more futuristic direction, rich in leather and metallics, coloured bike jackets and shimmering dresses. A few details we noticed were the zips that were placed across the jackets as well as down the skirts. We detected a Mad Max meets Def-Con 4 theme running through the collection which chunky black flatform sandals and innovative metal-toed short boots. The future of resilient feminism is here and these warrior women are brazenly fierce.
Dior
Dior upped their game this year by creating a man-made hill in the centre of the Louvre’s Cour Carrée covered in 400,000 delphiniums. It was a magnificent sight and Dior model, Sofia Mechetner, who is an Israeli teen Raf Simons met by chance at a Dior boutique opened the show. Every look that came down the runway was carried by the same shoe silhouette, an ankle strap mule with a pointed toe and accentuated buckle detailing. The standout pieces were the cropped sweaters with scalloped edging and the models’ neck were adorned with Baroque style chokers and scarf-like chokers hung with numerical charms. The Dior beauties walked down the runway in candy tinted sheer dresses and elaborate embroidery, all never underdressed.
Valentino
Spring/Summer 2016 has been quite interesting for Valentino as the collection was inspired by the theme “wild, tribal Africa”, but controversy arose when the runway featured mostly white models sporting cornrows. There was a lot of surface treatment and movement, but it came together seamlessly with fragile Masai-style beadwork, needlework, leatherwork, batik-printed parkas, primitive terracotta chokers, and feathery embellishments. Overall, Valentino delivered stunning dresses with rich cultural history.
by: Adeline Tan