Paris Fashion Week A/W 2016 womenswear editor’s picks
Iris Van Herpen: Dutch designer Iris Van Herpen looked to lucid dreams for her eerie, intense and spectacularly conceived winter presentation. Rather than dull with another fashion runway, Van Herpen had her models set up against 17 optical light screens which multiplied their reflections and provided a moving visual backdrop for her tightly ruched, sculpted clothing. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Ellery: Australian brand Ellery is quickly developing a cool-girl following for its clean, low-key looks. Cue wide cuff pants, flippy edged dresses and sleek shearling jackets, which were all cut with a sharp street edge. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Chanel: Behind the scenes at Chanel’s all front row fashion show within Paris’ Grand Palais
Longchamp: For autumn Longchamp’s Sophie Delafontaine combined the brand’s city look with natural elements, which resulted in a selection of animal prints that have the look of an aquarelle painting
Yazbukey: The playful accessory brand’s film noir ’Dressed to Kill’ presentation took a theatric turn for A/W, with a provocative performance starring Anna Cleveland, Audrey Marnay, Eva Dolezalova and Suzanne von Aichinger in Paris. Photography: Paul Blind
Sonia Boyajian: Los Angeles-based jeweller Sonia Boyajian jetted into Paris to present her Peggy Guggenheim-inspired A/W 2016 collection
Saint Laurent: Every ball chair at Hedi Slimane’s haute couture show was engraved with the guest’s name. Photography: Antonio Camera
Nicholas Kirkwood: The London-based shoe designer dropped into Paris to stage a dark, sultry presentation of his directional footwear
Esteban Cortazar: Rappers Lil’ Kim and Missy Elliott gave Esteban Cortazar his launch pad this season, their inspiration adding a good dose of street smarts to his sculptural leather designs. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Maticevski: Melbourne designer Toni Maticevski sauntered into A/W 2016 with a seductive collection that fused a primal strength with soft, free-spirited ruffles. Working in a monochromatic palette the designer draped lacquered black patent as freely as he did organic silk and the effect was a synthesis of power and femininity
Thomasine: Parisian leather glover maker Thomasine presented a ‘garden of gloves’ that were as delicately hand crafted as they were beautiful on the eye
PRIM by Michelle Elie: For PRIM designer Michelle Elie took inspiration from painter Eileen Gray’s first architectural house E-1027 for these wooden, bucket shaped bags
Givenchy: Riccardo Tisci collaged more prints and patterns (from snake to leopard and paisley) than we’ve seen for some time at Givenchy, for an A/W collection that tapped into Egyptian symbolism, albeit remixed with an eye on current Pop culture. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Thomas Tait: The Londoner skipped LFW this season for a more intimate presentation at the Galerie Almine Rech in Paris. Eastern influences, from a recent trip to Japan, combined with his signature Western bravado, led to a wonderfully patchworked collection that was brimming with clever detailing from smocking to pleating at every turn
Barbara Casasola: This season was all about the finest cashmere coats and elegant yet powerful suiting. Barbara Casasola gives the modern woman all she needs
Kolor: Japanese label Kolor’s presentation toyed with the real and unreal. Pictures of living models were accompanied by mannequins, faux looking fur stood next to real looking fake fur and fun prints where patched with clean coloured fabrics
Chalayan: High tech digital dashboards beamed us up at Hussein Chalayan, in fact inspired by a Seventies pattern magazine Burda. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Pierre Hardy: We had a Mod moment at Pierre Hardy with his cubist satchel bag and white pant ankle boots jetting us into autumn
Yohji Yamamoto: Dark and deeply minimal, Yohji Yamamoto stayed on his monastic track for winter, delivering a collection of superbly crafted layers of black, black and more black. There were of course, the odd word or two, written in black and white that read like strips of torn newspaper headlines against this purist palette. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Issey Miyake: On the eve of founder Issey Miyake’s milestone exhibition in Japan, which opens next month and spans 45 years of design legacy, Technicolor optical illusionary pieces were the standouts on Yoshiyuki Miyamae’s winter runway. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Loewe: A lovely installation greeted guests at the Loewe showroom in Paris including the show’s transparent stools, filled with household paraphernalia
Mugler: Lashings of leather, leopard, croc and fringe made up David Koma’s sunny albeit sinuous winter collection. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Hillier Bartley: Their showroom may look calm and clean but Katie Hillier and Luella Bartley have been bombarded by a constant stream of female fashion editors clamoring to get their hands on the duo’s chic wearable designs from their Hillier Bartley label. Watch out for their mum jeans and covetable carpet coats this winter
Delvaux: Clean lines and beautiful camel tones summed up Delvaux’s autumnal clutches
Neil Barrett: Retro classics, high waisted leather trousers and graphic knits. A modern interpretations on the Seventies by Neil Barrett
Haider Ackermann: The designer stuck to his favourite formula for winter sending out skin-tight pants, atop needle thin stiletto heels and sweeping coats with sucked-in shoulders cut from rich velvet. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Ann Demeulemeester: Even Ann Demeulemeester creative director Sebastien Meunier was onboard Paris’ high shine invasion with pewter and silver long line jackets accompanying his twisted inky tailoring. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Roger Vivier: Bruno Frisoni looked to the rocking 1980s for his latest shoe and handbag collection for Roger Vivier
Charlotte Chesnais: The French jeweller presented her latest jewellery collection within the cool confines of Colette, however it was her new Ada bracelet that won all our attention for its fluid, sculptural weight
Vetements: Located within the America Cathedral in Paris, the fashion pack came to worship at the alter of Demna and Guram Gvasalia, ahead of the former’s first Balenciaga show as creative director on Sunday. The church’s narrow pews were rearranged to create an intimate catwalk, which was all the better to view their latest streetwear subversion – this season toying with prep school classics from pleated minis to Prince of Wales check, along with plenty of American Pop culture centric slogan tees. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Tomasini: Emmanuel Tomasini’s signature Porsche speed stripes were back for his fourth season adorning leopard and textured leather clutches for A/W 2016
Balmain: Olivier Rousteing dialled down the Baroque glitz with a predominately pastel collection built on a foundation of lace-up corsetry. That said, there were plenty of feminine ruffles and just a hint of Versailles-issue gold filigree thrown in for good measure. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Moynat: Creative director Ramesh Nair introduced us to his latest Moynat designs, including the softly rounded Paradis, Opera box, Rejane clutch and suede hand held Danse all of which are hand made in the maison’s workshop just a stone’s throw from its Paris flagship store
Vionnet: Best in show at Vionnet were the pleated metallic rib knit dresses, Grecian gowns with threaded shoulder straps and wide legged trousers that gave new meaning to the term voluminous. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Rochas: There was a vintage eccentricity to Rochas autumn show, which was doused with a soft femininity witnessed in Alessandro Dell’Acqua’s ruffled tea dresses, shimmering textural columns and lustrous Seventies super flares. All were accompanied by thigh high socks and extreme, satin or embroidered velvet platformed sandals that downplayed the collection’s uncontested prettiness. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Lancel: The Bianca de Lancel satchel bag gets a mini me reincarnation for autumn in a primary palette
Yang Li: Fluorescent tube lighting lit the runway of the Beijing-born, Perth raised designer who showed a deconstruction A/W collection of cocoon-shaped coats and plaid or corduroy tailoring pieces that were often fastened to one side with a raw-edged selvedge that also darted up a fraying central back seam. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Cedric Charlier: Working with a primary palette of mellow yellow, ruby red, navy and cream, Cedric Charlier’s preppy blazers, pinafore dresses teamed with sky blue shirts, toy soldier pea coats, sailor’s pants and striped turtlenecks, were imbued with a fresh collegic vibe. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Jacquemus: Titled ’La Reconstruction’, designer Simon Porte Jacquemus deconstructed and then reinforced his A/W 2016 collection, which saw rib knits padded with Gridiron-worthy shoulders, crop-tops suspended skywards and the classic pin striped suit slashed from the shoulder to thigh and then secured with ties. Even the show’s soundtrack skipped the usual beat, having been purposely cut in stop starts, which sounded as though the CD was severely scratched and asking to be binned. Stat. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Coach: The American brand took over the grandiose Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild to throw the class of Paris Fashion Week A/W 2016 Raf Simons and Edie Campbell included a prom party to remember. With corsages dutifully pinned, guests were then treated to a live performance by Prom Queen Debbie Harry
Y/Project: The Parisian brand helmed by Belgian Glenn Martens made its womenswear debut within the Marais’ somewhat ’derelique’ Lycée Charlemagne for A/W 2016. On the runway it was all about the dropped shoulder and a gathered, voluminous sleeve, but we couldn’t help looking up at the artfully peeling ceiling that was only outdone by the painted one we spotted on the staircase coming in. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans