WHAT GOES AROUND…
In the early 1900s, Paul Poiret was the king of Parisian fashion. He liberated women from corsets with draped gowns and then revolutionary harem trousers, costumed the Ballets Russes and carried on a bitter (if entertaining) rivalry with Coco Chanel.
On Sunday, Poiret got its second shot at glory with its first show in 90 years. “For me, Paul Poiret was really a revolutionary and forerunner in liberating the female form, and also the mind,” says Yiqing Yin, artistic director of the revitalised Poiret.
For her first collection Yin – a 32-year-old Chinese-born, Pariseducated couture designer – created looks that referenced their namesake obliquely, from cocoon-shaped coats and dresses to riffs on floral prints from the archives, all brought up to date with sharp mid-calf boots. Best were a series of “infinity dresses”: two long rectangles of fabric that Yin crossed in the front and brought to meet at a full-length zip in the back. They had Twenties grande-dame appeal in silk taffeta and became youthful in liquid silk jersey. Yin said they could be worn as shown, or turned back to front. “The piece is very versatile and malleable.”
Some flourishes – those zips, the shapes, the flashes of gold in the custom fabrics – brought to mind Lanvin under Alber Elbaz. Poiret executives are planning their accessory roll-out and a fragrance launch is on the horizon.
As for whether Yin plans to revive that feud: “It’s a good time to propose another definition of femininity and sensuality. Women are complex creatures and it’s OK for them to have Chanel and Poiret in the world.”