Design takeaways from the Paris Fashion Week 2019
The 2019 edition of Paris Fashion Week came to a close on 5 March. The nine-day fashion extravaganza, which began on 25 February, showcased designs by new labels, like France’s Jacquemus, as well as by established fashion houses, such as Chanel (whose Kar
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
Alexander Mcqueen’s fall 2019 collection had a story behind each outfit, behind the stage setting, and even behind the seating for the show. For this collection, Sarah Burton went to the cities north of Manchester—to Macclesfield, her home where she was raised, and nearby towns—for inspiration. Burton wanted to showcase the culture, tradition and products of England. From made-in-england wool to the local festive traditions, from the grey moors and seaside views to the mills with their bolts of fabric and machinery, all of it found its way into the collection. The collection featured tailored suits, white shirtdress. For the show, the audience sat on bolts of fabric from these mills.
LOUIS VUITTON
There’s been a lot of talk about designer Nicolas Ghesquière’s latest Louis Vuitton collection, which closed the Paris fashion week on Tuesday evening. The collection comprised quilted floral-print jackets, oversize vests, leather skullcaps, Pierrot collars, balloon-legged trousers and shark-fin lapels. There were slip dresses, huge padded motorcycle leathers, check pencil skirts, rakish jumbles of denim and tartan, florals and leopard print. Makeup gave the models deeply sculpted cheekbones and dark lips as if to emphasise the strangeness of their angular faces, rather than the beauty.
SAINT LAURENT
The designer’s collection this season was inspired by YSL’S perfume Opium Moment and the haute couture “Scandal” collection of spring 1971. For a long time, the label has been making ground-breaking collections celebrating female sexuality. The show featured beaded evening jackets paired with micro-shorts, Swiss-dot stockings, and knee boots for an electric vibe. Le Smoking tuxedos, corset-waisted pants, plunge-front tuxedo jumpsuit, rich velvet band-boy jackets, signature embellished minidresses, black tuxedo column gown and shorts in black or gold leather were also among the highlights of the YSL show.
CHRISTIAN DIOR
Christian Dior lit up the Paris catwalk with a celebration of 1950s youth culture. The luxury label’s latest offing comprised silkscreened t-shirts that paid tribute to the 78-year-old feminist poet Robin Morgan. The show referenced her three anthologies: Sisterhood is Powerful in 1970 (said to have helped spark the feminist movement in America), Sisterhood is Global in 1984, and Sisterhood is Forever in 2003. Designer Grazia Chiuri showcased brand signatures like bar jackets and new look skirts. Leather jackets paired with whispier, polkadotted skirts, ample skirts and chequered prints in red dominated the collection.