Maison Margiela
Usually a vibrant and dynamic affair, Paris Fashion Week was decidedly quieter this year because of the increasing numbers of confirmed Corona cases in Europe. Hand-sanitiser and face-masks became ‘must-have’ accessories at the event, and many of the shows and parties were cancelled, including the Agnès B catwalk and the hugely hyped LVMH cocktail reception for its Young Fashion Designers prize. And the Courreges show was not on schedule and just shown locally due to their creative designer Yolanda Zobel leaving in January this year.
Maison Margiela
Others went ahead with planned events, including Chanel (although definitely more paired back then usual), Louis Vuitton, who is sponsoring the Costume Institute exhibition this year `About Time: Fashion and Duration´. Took it as this seasons theme and did a collection juxtaposing fast car and biker looks with favourite vintage looks inclusive of some froufrou which I fought a little to understand. Kanye West – who presented an evolved, more raw and texturised collection, while maintaining the typically Yeezy neutral nude colour palette came back to Paris after a two year break.
Louis Vuitton
Trends du-jour included a propensity towards unisex, as well as a further rise sustainability in some shape or form – oh, and everyone seems to be doing a trench coat!
Haider Ackermann
Talking of gorgeous coats, Haider Ackermann showed a beautiful, sartorial collection of pieces for both men and women, which reimagined tailoring by focusing on avant-garde cuts and high-quality fabrics such as velvet, wool and satin. Blazers and tops were upgraded with geometric cut-outs, while elsewhere tradition was maintained such as the gorgeous double-breasted overcoats in green wool and grey satin.
Marine Serré
On the sustainability front, Marine Serré continued her legacy as the poster girl for up-cycling. A fashion buzzword nowadays, Serré has been up-cycling long before it became fashionable. Around 50% of her latest collection was created from up-cycled materials and was still fabulously post-apocalyptic.
Leandro Cano
Taking recycling to new levels, John Galliano introduced his latest collection for Maison Margiela called ‘Recicla’, integrating vintage pieces which the team hand sourced, either as stand-alone pieces or incorporated into other looks.
Arturo Obegero
As for the Spanish crowd in Paris, Arturo Obegero delved again into the world of performing arts in his theatrical collection, which imagined a universe based on a fictional dance company. The collection was inspired by Obegero’s five favourite classical ballet plays and pieces speak both emotionally and visually. Spanish designer Leandro Cano romanticised classic Spanish looks and costumes, with a modern feminist bridal vibe in his Frida Kahlo meets Flamenco dancer collection at his installation presentation which always precedes his ready to wear collection. I look forward to seeing this soon