PFW

  Paris Fashion Week. PFW is the jewel in the crown that is fashion month. It attracts the largest crowds of the fashion forward as well as the designers they pander to. Paris is a city that is immediately associated with the fashion world, which it has been enveloped by since the decadent rococo era, and reinforced by the emergence of industry giants such as Chanel and Dior (and many, many more). Nowadays, it’s a melting point of different aesthetics and trains of thought, tied in by the individual love of fashion. Here are my favorite shows this season.

I’m not going to lie, I was a big fan of Formichetti for Mugler. His dark aesthetic paired with dangerous sex appeal is something that has vastly influenced my taste. However, David Koma has brought something new to Mugler. Out with the dark and sexy, in with the bright and sporty. Sleek tailoring and monochrome colours (barring the occasional burst of orange or baby blue) were evident throughout. Metallic edges accented the almost Bond-like swimsuits. Although this collection isn’t the best Koma could have done, it’s a step in the right direction. 

Sex is back at Givenchy. What Tisci once saw in streetwear he has come to rediscover in pure, unadulterated sex appeal. The clothes were extremely detailed, evident in the lace appliqués and daintily spun sheer tops. Although the show could have easily gone towards (dare I say it) costume land, it teetered just on the edge, giving us a hint of the medieval while keeping the modern (mostly in the footwear!). Tisci’s Givenchy has long been associated with a tougher woman, but this was a different kind of tough. No longer is it the basketball playing girl in the hoody, it’s the sword brandishing warrior woman in the metal mesh. With so much of fashion turning to boho nowadays, it looks like a good move.

Stella McCartney on the other hand, believes in a completely different type of sex appeal. For her, it’s all about the easy, breezy, I-just-threw-this-on kind of sexy. Although a Brit, it’s an extremely Parisian viewpoint. I mean seriously, is there anything more chic than the girl who quickly pulls her hair into a pony in the morning and throws on a designer dress, no makeup, no bag, no accessories, no worries? That’s exactly the type of girl Stella designs for. Everything seemed comfortable, with tailoring just skimming the edge of the models bodies, and little lace inserts and cutouts adding a bit of flirty detail. Black was punctured with pale pinks, blues and violets, like spring flowers poking out of the darkened ground. A beautiful collection, as always. 

Nobody makes dresses like Elie Saab. Yes, I mean that, there is not one designer on earth that can make a dress as stunningly glamorous as Elie Saab. This runway was no exception. Inspired by the ocean, the clothes flowed in a current of monochrome, blue and the orange. Although there was intense detailing (as always) there was also a true easiness, one that you can only really find at a Saab show. These are the clothes you’ll be seeing on every A-lister from Jolie to Bey on the red carpets. Shoutout also goes to fav model of the moment Mijo Mihaljcic (pictured right), a Belgrade girl who’s making waves (get it) in the modeling world.

 Iris Van Herpen is somebody who’s living 10 years ahead of all of us. Her collection entitled Magnetic Motion was evidence of this, and wouldn’t be out of place in a far off future wear people travel in magnetically powered vehicles in the sky. The collection was spawned by a visit to the CERN collider, and the clothes were a collision of classic silhouettes with modern silicone enhancements attached. It seemed at some points as if the models themselves were emanating a magnetic field. She’s at the forefront of technology in clothing, and is defining fashion as we see it with every laser cut piece of leather and meticulously applied strip of silicone.

My favorite collection ever (and I’m not alone), was Plato’s Atlantis. McQueen inspired a generation and his death was one of the saddest events the industry has ever seen. So it’s not a surprise that people were hesitant when Sarah Burton took over the collection, she had very big shoes to fill. However, instead of trying to replicate Lee’s genius, she took a different root. While staying true to the avant-garde nature of the McQueen brand, she’s brought something it was lacking, femininity. This time around the femininity was echoed in effervescent orchids, yet restrained with (almost fetishistic) black belts and harnesses. The collection was highly influenced by Japan, shown in the kimonos, and samurai like feel that shined through the models. It was the perfect middle point between the dark and edgy Lee and the feminine Burton. He would be proud. 

I’m a sucker for a fairytale. And Takahashi at Undercover showed exactly that. The theme was the loss of innocence with winged beauties in girly dresses, alongside those covered by a print lifted from Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights” were followed by femme fatales in all black, covering the transition from childlike to dark. It could have looked like 3 different shows summarized in one, but there was a cohesiveness that is rare to see in shows with such a fantastical scene. The complete standout look for me was the biker jacket accessorized with black wings. It was like Maleficent in the 21^st century. As was fiting for the entire collection, it was Disney yet edgy and modern. 

I became a Barrett groupie after seeing one of his men’s collections a while back. His clothes are absolutely everything I want to wear. They’re cool and edgy, yet have a story behind them and a classic feel. His last men’s show was inspired by Apollo, so it only followed this one would be inspired by Aphrodite. Barrett has a critical eye, and as such he doesn’t usually offer too many pieces that are off track, which showed in the offering of similar silhouettes with plays in print, color and length. The intriguing moment was the camo print which at first seems self-explanatory, but is actually compiled by tiny pieces of sculpture.  The personal standout was the black bomber jacket with digital Aphrodite print, it’s everything you could ever want in outerwear. Barrett is definitely one of my favorite designers and one to follow in the years to come. 

-Till this weekends outfit post, Alex