Making the cut
The latest in tailoring comes simple, chic and supermodel-approved.
The rules of supermodeldom haven’t changed much since the pre-noughties: long legs, sharp cheekbones, party-girl personality and a catchy first name. These days it’s Kendall, Gigi and Bella, but back then it was Amber, Carolyn, Nadja and Liya ruling the runway. For his AW17-18 collection – his 100th show – Belgian designer Dries Van Noten celebrated by getting the band back together. This age-defying posse of iconic models, along with Malgosia Bela, Kirsten Owen and Australian Emma Balfour, had been mainstays of the designer’s collections throughout the ’90s, and returned to stalk down the Paris runway for the ultimate reunion show.
The collection was a retrospective of sorts, with the designer also bringing back some of his most iconic prints via signature slouchy pants and boxy dresses. A master of androgyny, Van Noten’s take on precision-cut tailoring has always read effortless, but this season it was another comeback, the oversized blazer, that had us itching to tweak a collar and push up a cuff. Worn with fluid slips over knitted rollnecks, cuffed jeans, starchy white shirts and heavy loafers, Van Noten constructed a sharp look that was all modern glamour without the glitz. As he told
The New York Times: “It’s our past, but rethought for the future.”
It’s a loosening of dress codes, for sure. Because who wants to be stuck with stiff power suits and fussy layering? Today’s tailoring has a distinct French feel with its simple elegance and chic understatement. Case in point: fresh-faced a day after the Dries Van Noten show, Amber Valletta and Carolyn Murphy were again called upon to power down the runway for Isabel Marant. The designer’s take on cool-girl suiting saw Annie crossed with Jerry... Hall, that is – aka tomboy geek meets sultry seductress. Then there was Clare Waight Keller’s final show for Chloé, where fitted knits topped draped trousers that hung oh-so low. And over at Christian Dior, a utilitarian approach saw patch pockets and slouchy denim overalls rule.
Pulling off the look IRL is a cinch, literally. Moving bulky winter shapes into spring requires a new-found respect for the waist. Strap yourself into oversized trousers with metallic studded belts, tuck an abstract-print knit into high-waisted jeans or add shape to striped shirts with a knitted bodice for a defined middle. Then throw a rhinestone-encrusted tassel earring or metallic shoe into the mix – because this supermodel-stamped look is all about making it your own.