Scene setting: There was a mild mod attitude to the look – jeans were flat blue, and just wide enough to be special, red and black check-lined macs worn with long, calf leather boots. The models walked the entire length of a carpark in the 15th arrondissement of the city to the bustling sounds of Iggy Pop’s Lust For Life. A lust for roomy, double-breasted coats and smart shoes.
Mood board: The cerebral, discreet Dries Van Noten is something of a refreshing oddity in our speed-obsessed times. Since starting his label in 1986, its head quarters have remained in his native Antwerp, showing both its mens and womenswear in Paris. Totally independent and with no advertising campaigns, the label never shouts. Its clothes are time-honoured and familiar, as season after season, Van Noten tweaks and re-presents what he is good at. We greeted the opening look of the show – a long, double-breasted tailored coat – like an old friend. So, too, the fabulous embellished wool bombers and diamond quilted sweatshirts. The bold floral printed shirt. The long duffle coat. There’s no shame in knowing where your strengths lie.
Best in show: This collection celebrated its suppliers. Sweaters came printed with the logo of Jamieson & Smith, suppliers of Shetland wool. The front of a padded sweatshirt bore the logo of Lovat Mill, makers of Scottish tweed. In the days running up to the show, the label’s sleepy Instagram account flurried into action as cropped photographs detailing the machinery and manufacturing process of cloth were shared, along with the hashtags #craftsmanship and #tradition.
