Huge excitement has surrounded some key changes this season in the big fashion houses in Paris.
Maria Grazia Chiuri became the first female creative director in Christian Dior’s history. She departed from Valentino after the haute couture show in July, leaving behind her co-design director, Pierpaolo Piccioli, to present his first solo collection for the Rome-based house two days after her Dior debut.
There was also the first collection by couturier Bouchra Jarrar for Lanvin after the shock dismissal of Alber Elbaz last year. And at Saint Laurent, Anthony Vaccarello – known for his leather, steamy corsetry and supershort skirts for Versace’s Versus label – took up Hedi Slimane’s mantle in what was widely regarded as the most daring appointment of all the houses.
So anticipation ahead of Paris Fashion Week was stratospheric. Anthony Vaccarello made his debut on the opening night, unveiling a summer collection full of black leather, puffed up 1980s-style sleeves and teensy skirts. There was reference to Saint Laurent’s signature le smoking tuxedo, but redolent of Hedi Slimane’s super-skinny style.
Bouchra Jarrar’s Lanvin debut was one of the week’s highlights, particularly strong on glamorous fluid tuxedo and dinner-dress looks. Her own label, which she closed to take on this role, was known for meticulous tailoring, and these sensuous looks in a typically Parisian black-and-white palette identified with her, but there was also reference to Elbaz’s drapery and cocktail dresses in black lace, silk crepe or old gold lamé.
Piccioli made an equally powerful debut as solo designer. His Valentino collection remained true to the aesthetic we have come to recognise, although he described it as a new beginning.
Certainly he was the one with the romantic, historical flair. From a palette of pinks, with a shot of sour green, emerged a series of lovely “Garden of Earthly Delights” prints and embroideries on diaphanous dresses, created in collaboration with Zandra Rhodes, the British fashion and textiles designer of the 1970s and 80s. There was also a glimpse of his daywear, such as brocade trousers and jackets, crisp cotton shirts (a key daywear trend for summer) and a red-leather coat, that hint at future collections.
Maria Grazia Chiuri has the weighty role of reviving the fortunes of one of the most storied and powerful luxury brands in the world. It is a big challenge that she clearly will grow into at Dior. She started by referencing to some of her predecessors, such as a frothy lace shirt by Gianfranco Ferre; a tutu tulle dress and polka dot dress by Yves Saint Laurent and an updated version of the Bar jacket by Dior, but without the hip padding. The fencing jackets that dominated the opening gave an injection of sportiness into what is the intensely feminine aesthetic of her house.
Femininity is a powerful theme, with Bill Gaytten reviving the whimsical 1930s-style bias-cut dresses for which John Galliano was famed in a lovely collection of ruffled lingerie dresses for the brand. Similarly, Giambattista Valli raided lingerie drawers for pretty black-lace pieces under ditsy floral dresses and slick black pants with voluminous boleros.
Paris was a wealth of ideas but the debuts were the big story.
artslife@thenational.ae
