Clothing is an instrument of power. Has always been. An effective way to highlight social class, status or position in social gear. These early days of Paris Fashion Week reminded us precisely how women, historically far from power, have used clothing to imply that they have attained it.
The designer Maria Grazia Chiuri, openly feminist, has resorted to the character of Catherine de Médicis to sign one of the best collections of these six years working at the helm of Dior. Her inspiration: the powerful Italian noblewoman who became Queen Consort of France in the mid-16th century and brought to the country the fashions of the corset, crinoline and slit (which revealed white petticoats through cuts in the sleeves). Chiuri, another Italian in Paris, has imagined how Catalina would dress now: with corsets that are no longer tight, voluminous skirts reaching to the knees, floral dresses laced with training laces, or flowing coats to the knees Feet printed with the map of Paris on their already iconic Toile de Jouy fabric. As is so often the case in all of her collections, Chiuri has the talent to present clothes for all tastes in one and the same runway show. Last Tuesday, pants, tulle skirts, jackets, tailored jackets, tops, heels and military boot-soled Mary Janes told the same tale of feminine power and aesthetic daring.
Four Dior proposals for next spring presented last Tuesday at Paris Fashion Week YOAN VALAT (EFE/EPA)
In its Tuesday show, Saint Laurent built a plaza in the Trocadero, topped with a giant fountain and paved with aged-looking tiles. A taste of the power of the company – the stage, they have confirmed, will be reused on other occasions – to create a parade that also spoke of power, in this case dress of power, the masculinized aesthetic that some women wore in the past century followed when they reached relevant places. Anthony Vaccarello returned to this era to design long, blunt-shouldered structured coats (shoulder pads are perhaps the most classic symbol of power in clothing) and fitted drainpipe dresses inspired by those worn by dancer Martha Graham on stage . . The models on very high heels almost unanimously wore this uniform, which was only slightly varied to play with the transparencies in some of the garments.
Saint Laurent parade on September 27th during Paris Fashion Week showcasing the Spring 2023 collections. CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON (EFE)
Today’s power carries The Row. For example Shiv Roy’s wardrobe in the Succession series. The Olsen sisters’ brand, which has just turned 15, is something like the quintessence of exclusive basics and what they call discreet luxury. In fact, its name comes from Savile Row, the London street where the best British tailors are concentrated. After a few fatal years (they had to lay off a large part of their team during the pandemic), the Olsen twins once again have the highest quality fabrics in the perfect cuts in their second presentation in imposing halls near the Place Vendôme, in its neutral color palette and nuanced in its minimalist aesthetic, from crocheted dresses to structured blazers.
Wearing the same piece of clothing, Dries van Noten began his first physical parade since 2020 this Wednesday, with a voluminous black blazer followed by a dozen outfits of the same color. The Belgian designer, the king of prints, started his collection for next spring by going for black, showing that he not only handles colorism but is also a master at handling patterns. The armed and sober clothes gave way to light garments that played faded and in the last part Van Noten returned to his essence with dresses full of little ruffles and with hand-painted flowers. “Protection and vulnerability” is how the creator defined his collection, a kind of metaphor for thriving in dark times, more relevant than ever.
Three of the exits of the Dries van Noten parade on September 28 in Paris Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT (AFP) / Gonzalo Fuentes (Portal)
And the power was also noticeable in the Japanese undercover. Especially since he presented his proposal in the American Cathedral in Paris, and few places reflect this idea better than a church. A collection as celebratory as the stage: designer Jun Takahashi has set aside his usual commitment to the urban and has created an incredible collection of basics with asymmetrical and/or deconstructed patterns, from white to beige to fluoro, an idea that the new wardrobe which, with Bottega Veneta at the helm, has also flew over the recent catwalks in Milan and which now seems to have moved to the French capital. If post-pandemic companies opted for imaginative and expressive fashion, now they seem to have returned to the idea of the uniform, one of the most difficult to implement but one of the most successful in this industry. Few things speak of power (or lack thereof) more than a uniform.
Parade of Undercover’s spring/summer 2023 collection at the American Cathedral in Paris on September 28.Francois Mori (AP)
Subscribe to continue reading
read limitless