Finding inspiration to create a new collection two, four, or even six times a year is not easy. To achieve this, designers often use characters and imagine the ideal wardrobe of a historical figure or an archetype (the bourgeoisie, the adventurer, etc.). This is still the case this spring-summer 2024 season, presented in Paris from September 25 to October 3.
At Vuitton, the starting point for this collection is a traveler facing her suitcase and the constraints that small luggage imposes. The idea was suggested to Nicolas Ghesquière by the location of the fashion show, the construction site at 103, avenue des Champs-Elysées, which will house a Vuitton complex in a few years, at the same time store, restaurant, museum and even hotel, returning thus to the initial function of the building, which, at its inauguration in 1898, was a palace. “The hotel has an inspiring, enigmatic atmosphere and also a way of traveling around Paris”enthuses the artistic director of the brand’s women’s collections, who covered the fashion show space with an orange tarpaulin made of recycled polyethylene, to “give the impression of being in a hot air balloon”.
According to Nicolas Ghesquière, the traveler’s wardrobe must be as light as possible, and her appearance can take a singular turn since she does not have everything at her disposal. The fabrics have therefore been worked to be as light as possible: silk chiffon in all its forms (smooth, crepe or satin), superfine waterproof cashmere, nylon woven like tweed but thin like a windbreaker… A jacket with puffed sleeves is associated with a long and frilly dress, all in slightly dissonant colored stripes. Tops hand-draped by tailor-made workshops are constrained by high-waisted pants supported by straps, just like peplum dresses whose fullness is restricted by a belt.
Within this abundant proposition, a few simpler silhouettes hit the mark, like a pencil skirt from which the sides of a vanishing blouse protrude, or a bathrobe-style coat revealing a short dress and shapely legs with twisted leather pumps. From conceptual to elegant, Nicolas Ghesquière can do it all. But he is never more relevant than when he is not demonstrating the extent of his talent.
Majestic and cinematic appearance
John Galliano, who has worked at Maison Margiela for almost ten years, has no equal when it comes to bringing characters to life on the catwalk, always perfectly embodied. It’s easy to imagine him behind the scenes, whispering in the ears of his models the story he has imagined for them, and the attitude they must then adopt, alternately frightened or rebellious. This season, Galliano continues to unfold the story of his loving couple, Count and Hen, taken from his imagination and whom he introduced for the first time in his artisanal fall-winter 2022 collection, through the short film Cinema Inferno.
It is a question here of heritage, of the wardrobe of one’s ancestors that one takes with one during travels and exiles, and which one modifies over time. The large masculine coats are tight to the body, the bustiers of the dresses are as if torn off and then reveal their interior construction and the sewing threads, the soft petticoats are as if patched while the evening dresses are held at the shoulders or at the bottom hems with sections of adhesive tape. The appearance is majestic and cinematic as possible, even if it deserves a staging other than a soulless white room, with harsh and blinding light.
At Chanel, Virginie Viard looked towards the artist and patron Marie-Laure de Noailles, owner of a modernist villa designed by the architect Robert Mallet-Stevens (1886-1945) in 1923, planted on the heights of Hyères. “This collection is an ode to freedom and movement, it tells a story that takes its source in the gardens of Villa Noailles”, explains the designer. The sober lines of the Var house, its cubist garden and its flower bed are the key elements of a chic but relaxed wardrobe: jeans and tweed jacket for the day, multi-colored indoor bathrobe for indoors, leather suits. Neoprene, floral patterned dresses… The puffed sleeves, a coat thrown over the shoulders, the geometric patterned jackets recall the archive photos of Marie-Laure de Noailles, always elegant but never stilted.
“The tweed which runs through the entire collection, the sportswear and the lace: I sought to bring together one thing and its opposite around the coolest spirit possible”, explains Virginie Viard. The clothes here are emancipated from their structure, the waists are low, the heels are flat; light suits, without shoulder pads or lining. The evening is materialized by sets in black organza, the transparency of which is attenuated by the overlays. “Villa Noailles was Karl’s passion [Lagerfeld], recalls Bruno Pavlovsky, president of fashion activities. Chanel is a French brand with a strong history, and it’s good to remember that, just as it’s important to see what’s happening elsewhere” – an allusion to the house’s next crafts show which will take place in December in Manchester. Enough to imagine even new characters.