Paris Fashion Week: Day 3

Roland Mouret is not a label that will propose an exciting new movement in
fashion. But not every designer needs to chart of path of distinctiveness,
sometimes it’s about knowing what works, who the customer is and what
flatters a women’s body. And that applies to Mouret. Best known for his
dresses, this season’s presentation may not have the complexity of Rick
Owens or fluidity of Dries van Noten, but they deserve their own
recognition. The show opened with a coat and skirt in a double sided print,
but it wasn’t until the 6th look when evidence of Mouret’s expert cutting
came to life in a lilac front fold skirt and panelled 3/4 sleeve top. The
majority of dresses were sleeveless or had fitted, strappy bodices that
exposed sheer, textured knits underneath, confirming the sporty and
wearability of the collection.

Balmain looked to the eighties for its autumn winter collection, all power
shoulders and nipped in waists. The art of power dressing is not novel to
the house, but this season it came injected with clashing bright hues of
orange, purple and magenta. Lace catsuits with flared legs and
Mondrian-esque cage pieces provided the signature sex appeal, while models
wore oversized earrings, throwing it back to the era where bigger was
always better. The 80s was also the start of the supermodel era, so
Balmain’s casting was fittingly high profile with Kendall Jenner, Jourdan
Dunn, Jessica Stam, Karlie Kloss, Lily Donaldson, Anna Ewers and Gigi Hadid
all on the runway.

Rick Owens’ titled his womens collection Sphinx, the same name he gave to
his mens’s presentation in Paris back in January. Featuring draped robes,
sculpted wool felt silhouettes and exquisite clarity of line and shape.
Finding inspiration in architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s recently restored
Hollyhock House we saw angular lines, tone-on-tone twists of fabric and
flora motifs. Only the reflection of gold and silver square sequins took
from this controlled and understand presentation. Elsewhere patched
embroidery, monochrome furs, windbreakers, gave way to the final looks,
which returned to the Sphinx. Owens himself stated after the show: “I’ve
been so linear for so long, so I thought let’s just fall apart and
collapse. And as long as I was doing that I thought let’s indulge in
sequins; I’ve always wanted to do sequins. I just knew it would take some
time to figure out how to fit it in to my universe and so I had a minute
this time and I’m glad I did – I just love them.”

Christian Wijnants has been going from strength to strength since launched
his label in 2003. This season Wijnants was inspired by the work of Irish
photographer Jackie Nickerson’s Farm series and opened the show with
abstract banana leaf motif monochromes printed, bonded and flocked onto
fabrics. Print and texture were central to his collection of mohair kit
shorts, tank tops, crisp graphic silhouettes that explored fabric
techniques, then led to feather like appliques, blanket wraps and distorted
plaids to ginghams.This collection hit its stride when he was experimenting
with patchwork, stitch and a topography of textures that made it innovative
yet intuitively commercial, a plus for his clients and all his stockists.

Bohemian luxury was the vibe at Lanvin’s AW15 presentation. The show opened
with a series of utilitarian looks with panel detailing on a trouser, dress
and skirt, worn with tasselled boots. But then clothes gave way to more
deconstruction, more fluidity and more seventies. Fringing on a red coat,
frayed edges on a fur trimmed dresses and coats, this was all about the way
a hem was finished. And then came the layering, shaggy furs, and a tribal
Sahara vibe. Creative director Alber Albaz found intarsia furs in the
Lanvin archives, made up of 4,000 pieces that took 250 hours to put
together. The labor of which he called “the essence of luxury.” The show
closed with densely embroidered flower pieces, which perhaps reminded of
Casablanca, Albaz’ birthplace.