This is the kind of technical problem that can give the most seasoned CEOs a cold sweat during fashion week. Monday evening October 4, social networks Instagram and Facebook stopped working for several hours. Tuesday, October 5, things were back to normal for the 10 a.m. Chanel show, much to the relief of Bruno Pavlovsky, president of the fashion house: “ We can clearly see the role of social networks today, it gives a much greater amplification to what we do. I reassured myself by telling myself that we would be present on Chanel.com, even if it does not have the same power. “
It is in the ephemeral Grand Palais of Champ-de-Mars that Virginie Viard presented her spring-summer 2022 collection, on a podium dominating the assembly, the photographers being seated all around, with the duo of photographers Inez & Vinoodh in end of the podium, reminiscent of the parades of yesteryear. “ I loved the sound of flashes crackling at shows in the 1980s, when models paraded on an elevated catwalk. I wanted to rediscover this emotion “, details the artistic director of Chanel in her note of intent.
The joyful collection, led by smiling models, summons high summer: brassiere swimsuits and large tote bags, tulle petticoats worn over bodysuits, large loose jackets worn close to the skin or small sets in pink knit cleverly accessorized. of costume jewelry. The explorations of the material reveal the richness of the vocabulary of the house. The swimsuits are trimmed with golden threads, the jackets and short dresses are embroidered like hooks, the tweed of the jackets is adorned with multicolored sequins, pearl sleeves accompany buttoned sailor tops when the mesh of skirts and sweaters -Short covers is worked at different points.
At Maison Margiela, there is not a texture that John Galliano does not explore. From the denim of trench coats to the wool of berets, from the silk of a slip to the suede of a bag, from the wood of the soles of the clogs to the shearling of a waistcoat, to the embroidery on the knits, the feathers stitched on the coats, the flights of tulle, the cardboard of the crowns and the broken ceramic to make jewels… Certain materials have been “wrung out”, gone through washes and treatments to give them a more marked patina. All this gear is revealed in a video of young people in make-up having fun handling fishing rods, listening to pop, playing rock-paper-scissors. “A utopian youth”, explains the note of intent, sensitive to nature and human conditions.
Presented in the entrance of the Palais Galliera, the 22 superb tapered dresses in patchwork of recovered fabrics imagined by Olivier Theyskens favor the sometimes transparent finesse of satin, silk or lace, awakened by a crumpled effect. Conversely, it is the indestructible and thick black, white and gray cotton canvas that dominates at Ann Demeulemeester, for romantic ample and heady silhouettes, à la Patti Smith, enhanced with games of ties and loaded with fresh flowers. in the back pockets.
At Vivienne Westwood, where a suit, satin XXXL boots, improvised dresses and a pajama style explode, it is also where the material is absent that counts. The artistic director, Andreas Kronthaler can send a mannequin, the turbaned head, in a black double-breasted suit covering which, when looked at from the back, reveals an opening in his pants, right at the level of the left buttock!
Stella McCartney, who decided to present her collection in the form of a parade only ten days ago, has turned to… the mushroom. “ You saw the movie Fantastic Fungi on the power of mushrooms? Look at it, this is my gift to you! “ she confides behind the scenes to a handful of amused journalists. A surprising recommendation that is expressed through a mushroom print in a toile de Jouy style on very summery slit dresses or another very psychedelic on a dress with a suggestive cut.
The English designer also unveiled the first mushroom mycelium bag to be presented on a catwalk. “ Mushrooms are produced in the laboratory, they do not consume water and almost no electricity. They are then compressed to create faux leather. “ She has been working on this project with the Bolt Threads laboratory since 2017.
At Schiaparelli, the mood is just as mischievous. But it is towards another kind of matter that Daniel Roseberry turned. Here, the spectacular comes through the gilded metal inserts inlaid in the corset belts taking the shape of an ear, the buttons of the long evening coats in the shape of eyes, the golden nipples placed at the level of the chest on the jackets in sequins or even a sensational plastron necklace molded from the abdominals of a model, to be worn next to the skin, under a suit jacket. “ The idea of the collection was to reinvent the classics, the coat, the evening dress, the white shirt, the T-shirt, but to add another dimension to them, more humorous and bombastic ”, comments Daniel Roseberry.
Louise Trotter at Lacoste has combined as many sports as possible in her new collection. “ I cycle more and more in the city, and this made me realize that sports are everywhere. Sports codes form a culture. So I incorporated them into the collection – basketball, baseball, tennis, golf – so that they become almost one and the same. “ The result is a clash of technical materials, from the rubber of pleated skirts to the mesh of jackets, including the mesh of polo shirts and long shorts. They often merge into one and the same piece, creating an optical effect of assumed modernity.
Faithful to her favorite place, the Economic and Social Council of the Place d’Iéna, Miuccia Prada presented a collection structured around the basics of the wardrobe. But with Miu Miu, the classic never really is. The trench coats are cut with raw edges, letting cotton threads escape, the skirt suits are embroidered with draped satin flowers or shiny sequins, the shirts and jackets are cropped to the extreme, ending under the bust . Faded, cable-knit sweaters are worn loose while the cotton of the lingerie escapes from the skirts worn low on the waist. The classic has never been so unusual.
Finally, Louis Vuitton offered a grandiose collection, in three galleries in the square courtyard of the Louvre. As detailed in the intent note, its beginnings come from the upcoming series Irma Vep with the Swedish actress – and house muse – Alicia Vikander, for whom the designer has designed costumes. The series is itself inspired by the very first silent film soap opera, The vampires, produced by Louis Feuillade in 1915.
“ In this series from the beginning of the XXe century, there is a ball. I continued on to the ball and the phantasmagoria it involves. The ceremonial, the intrigues, the sidelong glances, the whispers, the sensual disturbance “, says Nicolas Ghesquière. Here, magic is everywhere. In large petticoats with oversized hips, in lace dresses punctuated with fishnet, or even in jeans accompanied by small spencer jackets from which slips of lace escape.
Smooth leather of long coats, embroidery of little dresses, velvet of long and vaporous capes and skirts, looped wool of skirts… the assemblies of materials accentuate the grandiloquent effect of the whole. Nicolas Ghesquière continues to conceptualize fashion. And he is doing it well.