Kenzo Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2015

Humberto Leon and Carol Lim of Kenzo were inspired by the forest. Models were dressed in protective ponchos and capes in shadowy blue, deep purple and forest green — some in camouflage-style floral patterns spliced with contrasting stripes. Oversize shearling jackets were slung over pleated chiffon dresses in a nod to the volatile climate that has wrong-footed retailers in recent seasons.
The duo worked two main silhouettes: top-heavy layers over ample skirts and less-cluttered looks that paired structured jackets or draped jerseys with skirts and pants in satin, georgette or fil coupé, reminiscent of kimono fabrics.

Céline Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2015

Designer Phoebe Philo tried to explore the fine line between the idea of sexuality and sensuality and translated that into the Céline-style. She opened with a sweater with belled cuffs covering the hand over wide pants in what looked like embroidered crocheted lace. The fabric would recur in a jacket over pants and a dress, all chaste of silhouette but revealing of skin via random devoré windows. Philo also did a turn with lingerie, corsets undone and deconstructed over slipdresses and deliberately ill-fitting conical bras. Sweater dresses covered up in front flashed circular, open portholes in back.
Besides that there were shirts in charming animal prints over roomy skirts or loose plunging-neck onesies with polite underpinnings and enormous, colorful totes.

Comme des Garcons Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2015

The fall-collection of Comme des Garcons was a mix of elaborate constructions, some soft, some structured, all out there, most in piles, drapes, wraps of laces in whites, blacks, a tinge or two in gold. Ridiculous by standard measure — sure; they always are. But even on Kawakubo’s lofty scale, a wonderment pervaded this collection. With her every choice, her fabrics, her configurations, the way she instructed her models, their points of connection, Kawakubo determined to make the audience feel the beauty and wistfulness of her strangely personal ceremony of loss and progress.

Haider Ackermann Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2015

Beyond his consistent way with silhouette and proportion, there’s another thing that has defined Haider Ackermann’s work: his mastery of color. He tends not to emphasize print on the runway, but it came to the fore in his fall collection yesterday. Leopard spots decorated a tie-neck blouse; graphic black and white checks appeared on slim tapering pants; a polka-dot scarf was tied at the neck of a maxi coat. Topping it all off were fitted jackets and coats in glinting metallic tweed bouclé, the tweed simultaneously lending the collection a boyish and more sumptuous vibe.

Junya Watanabe Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2015

The story Junya Watanabe was trying to tell was that of algorithmic folds. The result: incredible shapes crafted out of the basic and commonplace, such as starched white shirts, cropped tailored black pants, capes, moto jackets and T-shirt dresses. Beginning with a plain white starched shirt and full, shiny black skirt in rounded pleats, Watanabe quickly built up the silhouettes into sculptures topped with exaggerated symmetrical headgear that made the models look vaguely like chess pieces. Skirts and capes came in precise honeycomb accordion folds that encased the body, some stiff, some structured but with a springy, elastic movement. A loose, lean jumpsuit had a spiky shrug around the shoulders.
Most of the clothes would satisfy conceptual fashion geeks and retailers alike. But some of it was just for fun: The round, red honeycomb neckline of a hot-pink dress looked like a modern geometric ruff; an even bigger version of it on a purple look had the shape of a grand, perfectly pruned topiary.

Balenciaga Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2015

With his fall Balenciaga collection, Alexander Wang made a bold, engaging move — or started to. “I want to approach design [with] something much more subversive and irreverent [in] looking at these classical notions,” he said during a preview to WWD. “I try to respect the heritage and the history, but also add a twist.”
And he did indeed. Out of the gate, mixing meaty fabrics — tweeds, windowpanes, bouclés — in looks grounded in the architectural curvature of the house founder, sometimes with heightened severity. And he piled on glamour jewelry derived from (without copying) the in-house heirloom loot, fastening a sexy wrap skirt with a flower brooch; closing a coat with a dramatic diamanté dagger. Between silhouette and sparkle, there was a lot of lady going on.

Christian Dior Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2015

For fall, Raf Simons wanted to explore the more sexual side of the Dior-woman by taking her natural urges out of the garden, to a place where more primal instincts dominate: the animal world. The show’s sexual content proved more discreet than Simons’ idea would suggest. The show opened with a pair of short black cutaway dresses with colorful facings and pointy metal mesh collars. Both were worn with second-skin Lucite-heel boots in a blown-up, blue-and-red animal pattern. Such abstracted skin motifs would prove a recurring theme, two or three thick, wavy stripes undulating across a coat or making a splash on a swingy minidress, and, several times, on flashy bodysuits. Often they formed the underpinnings for an impressive lineup of coats.
Tweeds from his Simons’ collaboration with the fabric firm Kvadrat and other substantive materials, including multitone pastel furs, were a core of the collection. A woman in touch with her masculine side looks sexy. Simons dressed her with chic authority in pantsuits with trim, double-breasted jackets over slim cropped pants.

ArtEZ Masters presentation/show Paris

Five master design students of ArtEZ institute of the Arts Arnhem presented their highly personal visions on fashion in an intimate presentation yesterday at the Atelier Néerlandais. Labelled “Arnhem Masters in Fashion”, the 16th generation of the institute proved that an impactful presentation is not reserved for big catwalk shows.

In a small-scale and multidisciplinary presentation, fashion designers Haesung Bong, Anja Dragan, Nathalie de Koning, Sunanda Koning and shoe designer Chrissie Houtkooper deployed innovative ideas for the future of fashion. In the corridors of the Atelier Néerlandais, the audience was served new flavors of the designer’s fashion propositions, with a strong emphasis on expressive handmade textile innovations and tactile qualities, in ongoing presentations ranging from group installations and a video projection to perpetuate catwalk movement.

Mark van Vorstenbos, head of the department: “We’re proud to present a new generation of fashion designers in Paris, historically considered the heart of the fashion industry, in a refreshing way. The current system is in need of more personal visions, so we chose to show the collections in an intimate way. Up-close, personal, inviting visitors to give the garments a second or third look.”

The ArtEZ fashion design master aspires to educate fashion professionals who from a highly personal fascination, critically interrogate their own unique handwriting as fashion makers in relationship to the current design discourse to seek out both their relevance and their additional value through research and design. With Arnhem Fashion being founded over 60 years ago, the cultural heritage is enormous. Being positioned outside the fashion establishment, each student is offered a wide open space to explore and develop his or her own refreshing idiosyncrasy.

Balmain Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2015

One high end brand inspired by another? It might occur, yet they’ll never expose it. Although Olivier Rousteing mentioned the roaring seventies, in which YSL reigned supreme, were his source of inspiration. Loulou de la Falaise, YSL muse in particular. Her abundant style of dressing and her vibrant color palette of orange, yellow, purple and green was all over Balmain’s runway. Most pieces were taken to the extreme. Palazzo pants and overcoats slightly drowned the fragile models. Although fringe jackets (already worn by Kim Kardashian, fresh off the runway), body con dresses and big waist belts perfectly accentuated their bodies. The embroidered bodies that used to breathe hours and hours of work were missing for the most part. In stead Rousteing delivered fringes, pleats and fur. Glitters and metallic made the collection 100% party proof. Festive? Absolutely! Yet the collection seemed to lack some of Balmain’s signature craftsmanship.

Rick Owens Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2015

Luckily Rick Owens´ menswear shocker was no longer talk of the town today. And luckily the designer didn´t pull that stunt again during his womenswear presentation. No instead he gave some of his models gold and silver foiled faces. Metallic masks to match his structured collection that combined glam with Owens signature rawness. Sober shades, but there was more enough excitement to observe. Sequins, fringes and glitter in the mix with heavy winter fabrics like suede, fur and the thickest wool. Techniques of draping and layering made every look appear like outerwear even when bare arms were revealed. Quilted coats, 7/8 skirts, woolen tunics and asymmetric overcoats, that definitely deserved a closer look, seemed futuristic. Not one to set trends or appeal to a mass market Rick Owens created absolute stand out pieces. Pieces that, when styled differently, can be the conspicuous pieces of our everyday wardrobe. Saving those masks for extra special occasions.

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