SPRING-SUMMER 2020 NO MORE SEASONS

During Paris Fashion Week, as if by a cruel climatic joke, rain poured down on the open-air runway shows. Marine Serre, Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Burberry… all had to make do with a sky that seemed hellbent on playing with their nerves. A perfect echo to these repeated downpours, the Spring-Summer 2020 collections were very covered-up, very warm, as if seasons no longer existed. There were coats and chunky sweaters (Michael Kors Collection, Victoria Beckham, Fendi, Miu Miu…), trench-coats as well (N°21, Burberry, Balenciaga…). Heads were covered with straw hats and rain hats in equal measure (Prada, Lanvin). Many women slipped socks under their sandals, or even more radical leather boots (Celine, Saint Laurent, Fendi, Lacoste). Even shorts grew several centimeters, mutating into boyish bermudas (Chanel, Chloé, Paul Smith, Max Mara). Seasons have gone mad, and our planet is suffering. While the youth has taken to the streets, all around the world, to express their fear about the earth’s future, designers in New York, London, Milan and Paris were turning their minds to natural elements. Figurehead Stella McCartney, the eco-sustainable fashion pioneer, created the greenest collection in her whole career. Dior and Marni built sets made of recycled cardboard benches and trees that were to be replanted. Everywhere, organic fibers (raffia, rope, straw, organic cotton…), embroideries and crocheted pieces, to signify a return to artisanal work and clothes made to last. Coming from the street, the awareness wave seems to finally have reached the fashion world, as it ever more obviously follows the precautionary principle.

Anne-Sophie Thomas, Marie Claire Fashion Editor-in-Chief