The tension between function and fiction ran through collections from Gabriela Hearst, Chanel and more on the eighth day of Paris Fashion Week, reports Angelo Flacaavento.
PARIS — The tension between function and fiction ran through the collections on the second to last day of Paris fashion week.
Chanel
The first impression one got from the Chanel show, staged on a set populated by colourful cranes was: Which fashion season is this? The lightness, which was missing from Matthieu Blazy’s debut, was in full effect. This was a winter collection that did not feel like winter. But Blazy’s sense of lightness was perhaps strongest in the simplicity of his overall approach: designing clothes meant to make women look and feel beautiful — no heavy concepts weighed down by overly intellectual rationale. His straightforwardness is an accomplishment, and stems from the principles on which the house of Chanel was built: function and fiction, as Blazy said backstage quoting Gabrielle herself from an interview published in the 1950s.
Function and fiction: That’s what the act of dressing is all about, after all. The collection did have a concept: the dialogue, not the dichotomy, between caterpillar and butterfly, dresses that crawl and dresses that fly, complete with plenty of iridescence. The results were a visual feast (though it must be said that one of the passages recalled his heavier days at Bottega Veneta, which in turn echoed the Brassaï-inspired dresses of a seminal Celine collection designed while he worked under Phoebe Philo).
Blazy is at his best when he purifies: when he leads with function, then infuses it with fiction. But perhaps what’s most convincing about this project is how the variety of the offer services clients but cements, not dilutes, the message. Compared to Blazy’s previous Chanel outings, this show was less focused on addressing individual personalities, and felt slightly formulaic as a result, but the substance was there.
Gabriela Hearst’s show is never really a fashion proposal, even though the tailoring is immaculate, the crocheting and knitwear lush, the leathers plush. Her approach is evolutionary, not revolutionary. What comes across is the attitude of Hearst’s woman, the assertiveness of her stance, her mannish way with femininity, all very much a reflection of the designer herself. Her latest show was fascinating in this sense: Hearst claimed inspiration from philanthropist and Save The Children founder Eglantyne Jebb, who had a fierce red mane of hair that suddenly turned white. This all made for a vertical, flowy silhouette grounded on sturdy cowboy boots and topped by unruly hair. A simple velvet slip dress and a coat entirely edged in dancing fringes were the standouts.
Zimmermann is all about fierce femininity, too, but with a sun-drenched, physical Australian vibe. This time inspiration came from the 1920s, which was translated into a series of killer foulard dresses that had the spirit of a trip to the grand bazaar. Mixed with some mannish pieces, they made for an interesting addition to the wardrobe of the Zimmermann woman. The garter bustiers, a little less so, but this was Zimmermann moving forward in a good direction.
The lighter mood at Kiko Kostadinov’s menswear show carried through to the womenswear, at least in part. Designers Lara and Deanna Fanning took the theme of looking and being looked at as a jumping off point to explore the world of birds and feathers: iridescence, deep colours, shine. They did it by playing with tropes of fluid dressing and pragmatic gear for birdwatchers. It was thought-provoking if a tad tacky.
Matthieu Blazy’s never-ending research into Gabrielle Chanel’s words and deeds powered another spectacular, varied collection of looks that both “crawl” and “fly.”
On the seventh day of Paris Fashion Week, Duran Lantink’s Jean Paul Gaultier revamp delivered the sense of playfulness that was missing from Seán McGirr’s McQueen a few hours later, reports Angelo Flaccavento.
From Junya Watanabe and Celine to Hermès and Balenciaga, a duel between instinct and planning played out on the runways on the sixth day of Paris fashion week, writes Angelo Flacccavento.
Matthieu Blazy’s never-ending research into Gabrielle Chanel’s words and deeds powered another spectacular, varied collection of looks that both ‘crawl’ and ‘fly.’
The tension between function and fiction ran through collections from Gabriela Hearst, Chanel and more on the eighth day of Paris Fashion Week, reports Angelo Flacaavento.
