S/S 2023 is the season of dramatic silhouettes

Woman in S/S 2023 black hood and woman in ruffled black dress — Left, dress, £8,400, by Valentino. Hood; top, both price on request, by Haider Ackermann + Fila. Shoes, €499, by Givenchy. Right, dress, £6,250, by Roksanda. Hood, price on request, by Haider Ackermann + Fila. Shoes, €499, by Givenchy. Tights, £26, by Wolford

(Image credit: Photography by Lara Angelil, fashion by Jason Hughes)

Millefeuilles of ruffles, jutting waistlines, slick-to-the-body silhouettes – the S/S 2023 collections offered a study of form, from the voluminous to the streamlined.

Here, the season’s most dramatic silhouettes are captured in a series of images by Germany-born photographer Lara Angelil and styled by Wallpaper* fashion director Jason Hughes, as seen in the Wallpaper* April 2023 Global Interiors issue (on international newsstands now).

The dramatic silhouettes of S/S 2023

Woman in white dress on red plinth with spraypainted arrows — Top; dress, both price on request, by Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood. Shoes, €499, by Givenchy

Angelil, whose parents were both trained in classical theatre and ballet, draws on ideas of performance and the body in her work. In particular, she has noted inspiration from the ‘poise and sculptural silhouettes’ of ballet dancers, first discovered in the black-and-white photographs collected by her father, something she credits with developing her distinct eye.

Here, featuring Japanese model Amane Taniguchi, a series of the season’s most dramatic looks are placed on a pedestal – from Christopher Kane’s sliced-away lace dress with flared pannier waist, to a bodysuit by Pieter Mulier at Alaïa, adorned with a trompe l’oeil pearl necklace – for a reflection of S/S 2023’s theatrical mood.

Close up of woman in chanel skirt on red plinth — Dress; pants, both price on request, by Chanel. Shoes, €499, by Givenchy. Tights, £26, by Wolford

Woman in black Chanel dress — Dress, £3,500, by Prada. Tights, £26, by Wolford

Woman in hood — Hood; top, both price on request, by Haider Ackermann + Fila

Woman standing on box in black bodysuit and pearl necklace — Bodysuit, £1,670; necklace, £13,250; gloves, price on request, all by Alaïa. Shoes, €499, by Givenchy. Tights, £25, by Wolford

Woman in black dress and wrapped black hat — Skirt (worn as top), £780, by Issey Miyake. Hat, price on request, by Noel Stewart

Woman in lace dress facing red wall — Dress, price on request, by Christopher Kane. Skirt, £450, by Raey

Woman in black dress with hood — Dress, £2,950, by Celine by Hedi Slimane. Hood, price on request, by Haider Ackermann + Fila. Shoes, €499, by Givenchy. Tights, £23, by Falke

Woman standing on plinth in Louis Vuitton dress — Dress, £4,335, by Louis Vuitton. Dress (worn underneath), £1,140; top (worn underneath), £180, both by Max Mara. Hood, price on request, by Haider Ackermann + Fila. Shoes, €499, by Givenchy

Woman in black outfit holding up ball — Jacket, €2,490; gloves, €890, both by Givenchy

Model: Amane Taniguchi at Elite Model Management Casting: William Lhoest. Hair: Mike O’Gorman at Saint Luke Artists. Make-up: Jimmy Owen Jones at Julian Watson Agency using Chanel S/S23 make-up collection and No.1 de Chanel Revitalizing Cream Fashion assistant: Kris Bergfeldt Photography assistants: Callum Su, Luke Gooden, Grace Taselli.

A version of this story appears in the April 2023 Global Interiors issue of Wallpaper*, available now in print, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.

Jack Moss is the Fashion & Beauty Features Director at Wallpaper*, having joined the team in 2022 as Fashion Features Editor. Previously the digital features editor at AnOther and digital editor at 10 Magazine, he has also contributed to numerous international publications and featured in ‘Dazed: 32 Years Confused: The Covers’, published by Rizzoli. He is particularly interested in the moments when fashion intersects with other creative disciplines – notably art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and reporting from international fashion weeks. Across his career, he has interviewed the fashion industry’s leading figures, including Rick Owens, Pieter Mulier, Jonathan Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner, Christian Lacroix, Kate Moss and Manolo Blahnik.