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Textures and femininity at Paris Fashion Week

By Vivian Hendriksz

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Fashion |REVIEW

After the fashion weeks in New York, London and Milan, last week was it the French capital city's turn to take to the fashion spotlight. With a total of 92 shows, Paris rounded off the "month of fashion." At the opening of the fashion week, the city's mayor, Anna Hidalgo, made it clear that fashion is the city's future. She revealed that the government was to invest 57 million euros into the industry and that greater emphasis will be placed on young talent, who will bring established fashion houses and renowned couturiers new impetus.

"If fashion week in Paris is a thermometer, then things are pretty chilly at the moment within the fashion industry," wrote newspaper de Volkskrant. Retailers and buyers are struggling to offload their excess stock, whilst designers complain about the increasing pressures faced from large corporations. Show visitors complain that fashion catwalk shows present little challenge or innovation and the overkill of runway shows weighs down the entire week. The focus on figures and increasing work pressure from above results in rapidly assembled collections, which are designed to be portable as well commercially viable. There is hardly time in between for celebration of excess or a design splurge. But wearable collections are catching on. Pioneered by Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent, the designer took the first step for promoting wearability in 2012. The wearable collection, which was a shock at first to the fashion world, ultimately lead to a boost in turnover for the fashion house - from 353 million euros in 2011 to 707 million euros in 2014. Therefore it is understandable why some of the largest fashion houses in the industry are in search of a new look, one which is both wearable and will sell on.

Paris Fashion Week: 'New' names at old fashion houses

After John Galliano comeback during his couture show Artisanal in London, all eyes were on the ready-to-wear line show from Maison Margiela in Paris. Many fashion critics doubted beforehand if the flamboyant style from Galliano would make a happy marriage with the more subdued aesthetic from Maison Margiela, but the fashion house successfully celebrated the coupling with large coats, frayed details and visible linings in skirts. The knee pants, paired with a tight female silhouettes and striking makeup clearly came from Galliano's hand. The designers also had the model hunch down on the catwalk and choose not to appear at the end of the show.

At Hermès, designer Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski debut her first collection for the fashion house after taking over the baton from former creative director Christophe Lemaire. Previously holding design positions at the Row and Céline, Vanhee-Cybulski is known for her understated version of chic. At Hermès, the designer presented a refreshed feminine look, a remarkable move for the luxury fashion label. With blanket like coats, capes which were held shut by leather straps and quilted leather jackets, the resulting collection paid homage to the classic, luxurious Hermès, which began back in 1837 as a saddle maker. The woolen skirts and semi-adjacent dresses in ivory and dark blue crepe have clearly demonstrated the renewed female focus of the designer.

Although Nicolas Ghesquière is already into his third season as the head designer at Louis Vuitton, this week saw the designer being applauded by the industry and honoured as he has 'landed'. "The designer has finally struck upon that dream combination of invention and heritage. His clothes had the futuristic edge that has always been his strength," wrote Suzy Menkes for Vogue on the collection. Crafty details were mixed with sleek silhouettes, where the seams were reminiscent of the playful lines of a jellyfish. Most designs consisted of simple tops and skirts which bore intriguing textures, such as sculptural knits that had an silver glow.

The skirt worn over pants is back in fashion

The trend of layering was already spotted on the catwalks during the mens fashion weeks, which saw Giorgio Armani in Milan dabble in the skirt over pants combination. In Paris, fashion houses Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, Loewe and Kenzo sent their models in a skirt-pants combo down the catwalk. Dries van Noten gave the trend a special twist however, he combines tough combat trousers with romantic long wrap skis, which bunched up whilst walking. The designs where accompanied with brocade, lace and embroidery detailing, as well as more exotic, Asian motifs, glitter and sequins. The glamorous and rich collection remained exciting due to the tough edge through the designs.

Another new edge came from Stella McCartney, who showed a feminine collection which was clean, elegant and casual. What stood out the most were the long, asymmetrical turtleneck sweaters that were remarkably open cut. Additionally, there were green bustiers, shorts that reached up until just below the breasts and summer dresses with paisley patterns. The collection was complemented by oversized coats crafted from a very realistic looking faux fur, as the designer remains an avid animal lover and animal rights activist.

Dior's Raf Simons sent his models down the catwalk in classic long Dior gowns, although the main focus of the collection was the animal patterns which were magnified on numerous fabrics and dressed with kaleidoscopic patterns. Another item which caught the eye, where the patent leather boots with plexiglass heels that appeared far below the hems of the dresses. Just as feminine was the collection from Chloe, which embraced powerful silhouettes and elegant pleats which were paired with an antique color palette. The combination between the fashion houses jumpsuits and tough boots was in particular striking for the fashion house.

The collection from Saint Laurent was very typical of Hedi Slimane; rock & roll with a great wearability factor tossed in. The extra short tulle skirts, which were combined with tough leather jackets were innovative of the designer. However, fabric textures were given special attention at the catwalk shows from Iris van Herpen and Issey Miyake. Iris van Herpen experimented with a thin stainless steel material, which was worked into an overlay over a jacket, sleeveless top or raincoat. The wide transparent waistbands with distorting effect made the models even slimmer than they already were. Issey Miyake also played with innovative textures for his collection, although he opted for colored embossed fabrics, which were reminiscent of bubble wrap to create enlarged silhouettes. As the models were making their turns on the catwalks, the bundles around their hips unfolded into wide skirts.

Paris Fashion Week: having coffee at Cafe Chanel and Valentino meets Zoolander

Some fashion houses enjoy turning their catwalk shows into spectacles. Chanel, who is traditionally known for hosting the largest-scale shows during Paris Fashion Week, decided to try its hand at serving coffee this season. Following Karl Lagerfeld's vision of creating his own supermarket and flower garden in the Grand Palais, this time the designer went for a French brasserie as its show setting, complete with laid tables and model waiters serving coffee and croissants. The models, who acted as brasserie customers, showcased jackets covered in feathers, dresses with veils and slim jogging pants worn under glittery skirts, all crafted from striking textured fabrics and materials which gave the collection all the shine it needed.

Valentino's show made all the headlines by sending actors Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson down the catwalk at the end of its show, who were in character and promoting their new movie Zoolander 2, which led to amusement and applause among the audience.

Photos: New York Times, Style.com

Chanel
Dior
Hedi Slimane
Iris van Herpen
KarlLagerfeld
Louis Vuitton
Paris Fashion Week
Saint Laurent
Valentino