Paris Fashion Week: Luxury houses debut new designers

Paris fashion week is full of debuts this season, with all eyes on those bringing change to a series of luxury brands we have come to know so well. Natacha Ramsay-Levi succeeds Clare Waight Keller at Chloe; Olivier Lapidus has taken over the reigns from Bouchra Jarrar at Lanvin; Clare Waight Keller replaces Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy, and Olivier Theyskens is back to his own label after a hiatus post Theory and Rochas.

But not all that is new will be equally great. The shuffling of designers at the leading fashion houses has been a bitter pill to swallow for the creative community, which sees its designers being taken as commodity; as quickly eaten up and spewed out as they are lauded and embraced. Fast fashion no longer only refers to the immediacy at which collections are dropped and available, it is also the breakneck speed at which brands replace their creative heads.

Lanvin’s collection was designed in just a few weeks

The announcement that Olivier Lapidus would be the second incoming designer for Lanvin womenswear in just 16 months was made only in July, giving Lapidus less than 6 weeks to create his first catwalk collection.

Perhaps that is why his runway debut received less than lukewarm reviews. It didn’t help that nearly half of the 34 looks shown were top to toe black, or that garments covered in Lanvin logos were executed without irony (see Balenciaga) or sense of chic (see Gucci). In fact, it was a rather dull affair with little of the emotion or genius seen from Alber Elbaz, who designed the collection up until three seasons ago.

It was a different debut at Chloe, where Natacha Ramsay-Levi turned a confident corner, upholding the codes of the house but at the same time assertively putting her own stamp on the label.

Chloe's proposal for next season featured embroidered bibs, prairie dresses, splendid velvets, painted dresses in crisp cottons and plenty of accessories that will become instantly recognizable, like the python booties and multi-strap bags where no logo was necessary.

Oliver Theyskens was another confident debut. The opening look saw a diaphanous lingerie dress that exuded something liquidy, but the biker boot worn underneath toughened up an otherwise serene ensemble. This was a collection of sumptuous dresses, created by a hand which understands how fabric responds to cut. No wonder the designer is being celebrated with a retrospective. Theyskens' exhibition, “She Walks in Beauty,” is set to open at the fashion museum in Antwerp on Oct. 12.

On Saturday Clare Waight Keller is set to unveil her first collection at Givency. Will Riccardo Tisci be a tough act to follow? A pre-show interview in the New York Times suggest Waight Keller may well win the house even greater successes.

Givenchy’s first female artistic director

As the brand’s first ever female artistic director, Waight Keller is clear on her ambitions. “I want to build an entirely new story,” she said. “I want people to think that was completely unexpected,” she told the New York Times. “Givenchy gives me the opportunity to focus on something the complete opposite of what I have done before,” Ms. Waight Keller continued. “It’s got a very different undercurrent. It’s really what people don’t know about me.”

Photo credit: Chloe SS18, source Chloe official FaceBook page; Lanvin SS18, source Lanvin official Facebook page; Olivier Theyskens, source MoMu Facebook page