Although I adore Dries Van Noten, this new collection feels tired. So many themes at one time, so incoherent. Feathers, satin, brocade, flower, brrr. A Belle Epoque mash with all Van Noten archive collections. Of course, there were some good looks – the dandy girl, the military coats – but it all looked too crap in one collection. Even these velvet shoes which are art didn’t win me over. But because it’s Dries Van Noten, I won’t cross-out this collection off my list.
Sweet love. Pastels. Silent and sexy at the same time. Christophe Lemaire nailed it this season (as usual). The master of Parisian chic told us, how to look stylish with a bit of sex-appeal. Fluffy sweaters showing some nipples, wooden bags in the shape of female breasts, exposure of shoulders – and all layered up by chic capes and warm pencil skirts. If Lemaire’s AW15 would be a dessert, it would taste like macarons from Parisian Laduree patisserie. Or like a chocolate croissant with a cup of coffee. I am simply drooling over the styling, the models and the overall mood – sensual, eponymous and utterly simple. A definition of Parisian woman from Le Marais.
What’s Coperni Femme? Whether or not you accept the conncetion of Copernicus to womenswear, this latest collection from Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant made a strong case for exploiting an idea of pure forms. A bit scientific, a bit cosmic (the name of the label isn’t lying), a bit feminine – Coperni Femme duo’s integration of circles were very literal (disks of leather, suede, and papery metal patched together with “topstitched” crosses). Even the shoes – with these circles! – talked geometry. Also, a lot of genuine ways of wearing the clothes appeared: a detachable ruffled cuff in blue could be “twisted around the wrist, extended up the sleeve, and affixed to the shoulder, or left to dangle like an architectural tail.” Genius.
In the meantime, as winners of ANDAM’s First Collections Prize and among the short list for the LVMH Prize, Meyer and Vaillant already gained the status of new era designers – they think through the future perspective. Although their AW15 clothes look simple at first sight, they are ultra-sophisticated and smart in the detail.
Consuelo Castiglioni went samurai this seaon, just like for SS15 – belted vests and sharp, Japanese silhouettes. But this time, Marni sees the world in brown and other warm, earthy colours. A lot of fur was used as application for pockets and stole; the skirts had this “not so perfect” attitude with threads projecting from the surface of wool-blended textile. Textiles. Consuelo mastered layering to perfection – the clothes look so real and casual, that you just start to dream of snowy December mornings. But, you know, the ones like in Milan. The last outfit worn by Julia Nobis, the Victorian blouse with turtleneck and embroidery is everything.
