In keeping with tradition, the French capital closed the womenswear prêt-à-porter season for spring/summer 2016, with Paris Fashion Week completing the “big four” shows, following London, New York and Milan.
The October PFW schedule was a tight one, with more than 80 back-to-back presentations from iconic maisons, including Chanel, Christian Dior, Saint Laurent and Hermès. Journalists, celebrities, clients and buyers zoomed up and down the city’s cobbled streets to perch prettily at shows staged in 16th-century gardens, opera houses and convent schools.
Creations paraded on the catwalk in Paris will trickle down to the UAE’s malls in the coming months.
Chanel
One of the biggest shows from the closing days came courtesy of Chanel. Karl Lagerfeld took prêt à porter to new heights this season with the launch of Chanel Airlines. The historical Grand Palais in central Paris was transformed into Paris Cambon Airport, with Terminal 2C as the departure lounge for VIP passengers, including Vanessa Paradis and her daughter, Lily-Rose Depp.
Lagerfeld’s flight of fancy was realised in feminine silhouettes of silk, guipure, tulle and lace in rich cobalt blue, pillar-box red and platinum white. Dresses were breezy, their sunray pleats making them easily airborne. Equally feminine and fun, pieces bore arrow signage and departure-board data. Aeronautical-inspired jackets were intricately embroidered, while suits, sans collars, pockets, braiding and buttons, reinvented Chanel’s soft-tweed classic.
Accessory triumphs were what Lagerfeld dubs the “Coco Case” trolley and the “Absolute” bag with its chic, sharp lines.
As for footwear trends for spring and summer next year, Kendall Jenner showed off Lagerfeld’s wedge sandals with luminous soles and open-toed booties to best effect.
From sporty to tribal
Sportswear was a major trend this season in Paris and Chloé hit the ball out of the park with flared jogging pants and wispy tanks. The extensive collection by Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski for Hermès featured models wearing trainers in crisp white and the maison’s signature orange. While Stella McCartney pleased the crowds with sporty mesh-dresses, polo tops and swirly patterned sweats.
Valentino took a walk on the wild side with an African tribal-themed show that earned Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri a standing ovation. Highlights included ethnic leather separates, fringed-collared jupes, gowns with exquisite ethnic beadwork and batik-print pants.
Cut-out shoulders and exposed tums played out in many shows, serving to add peek-a-boo elements to strictly tailored coats and allure to androgynous jackets.
Frills, ruffles and pretty pleats in the sheerest of fabrics were omnipresent at PFW, implying that appetites for ethereal maxis and flirty micro-minis will be sated in the coming months.
rduane@thenational.ae
