PFW SS15: Day 2

I wore: Sandro dress, Whistles bomber jacket, Kite sunglasses, Mulberry bag & Gianvanito Rossi boots
Image by David Naynzi

PFW SS15 dawned gloriously sunny and bright and despite having caroused until the wee hours at the Balmain bash, I felt surprisingly sprightly. I told you I’d be spending the week upsetting understated Parisians with various colourful and/or sparkly get up and sure enough, day two saw me donning purple leopard print once again, this time accompanied by a sequin collar and pink bomber. Foolishly I decided to walk to my first show while wearing the most ankle breaking Gianvanito Rossi boots imaginable. I arrived slightly traumatised but in just about one piece and my attentions swiftly turned to the Chalayan show I was about to see, intriguingly entitled “Moor’s Gaze”…

Chalayan SS15

Melody struck up and the first models wandered dreamily out sporting deconstructed monochrome tailoring and headscarves that merged into their round, dark sunglasses. The garments themselves devolved from sharply suited to almost déshabillé, appearing as if they were almost falling away, elegantly dissolving from the model’s frames. Chalayan is a true master of material manipulation and folding, pleating and contrast textural layering all came into play alongside sculpted woven fabrics in a fresh pastel palette and opalescent pleated plissé confections in abstract leafy prints. The construction behind and level of skill involved in each garment really was extraordinary to behold with ethnic textiles contorted and reworked into silhouettes that managed to be simultaneously fluid and sculpted. The collection encompassed both the most avant guard of garments and almost 50s style silhouettes with richly embroidered tree motifs in vivid emerald green – I fell hard for those – but all were held together both by the techniques of their creator and the show’s agenda. Of course, while these were beautiful clothes, a Chalayan collection is always about more than just aesthetics. For SS15 he explored the concept of the “gaze” in Moorish environments, a fascinating and hugely loaded subject, especially right now. Alongside prints depicting Moorish scenery, the theme came through in hidden fastenings, fabrics and features, secrets that only the wearer knows exist; trademark Chalayan and a subtle nod to the culture by which he was inspired. Less subtle, but by no means less elegant, was the designer’s final line up of dresses embroidered with images of burka clad women peeking from beneath their folds. It was a powerful show and a stunning collection, one I won’t be forgetting anytime soon.

Chalayan SS15

It was certainly a stimulating morning, PFW day 2, as up next was Issey Miyake. While I may dress in sparkles and prints and all things mildly cartoony, that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the influence, importance and beauty of the work of more conceptual designers. As a key player in the rise of Japanese fashion that pioneered a new aesthetic which would forever change perceptions of style during the 1980s, Miyake is a fascinating figure and the chance to see his creations on the catwalk doesn’t come along every day. Based around the creative power of wind, his SS15 show was an incredibly feat of technology and technique in the hands of a true innovator. Issey Miyake employed the steam stretch technology he introduced last season, a complicated (at least to me) process that transforms flat fabric into 3D form and creates a brand new stretch material, described as being “neither knitwear not pleats” and “envelopes the body in a light-as-a cloud streamlined form that evokes an image of the wearer being clad in the wind itself.” This may sound fantastical and frankly confusing but the results are utterly stunning and rather surreal.

Issey Miyake SS15

The show began with installation of white balloons and machinery that allowed them to float up and then yanked them back down, operated by a white boiler suit clad technician. Models walked slowly out and lined up wearing sculptural all white looks formed from the aforementioned fabric before proceeding up and down the catwalk at a snails pace allowing a really good look at those textures. As the show and soundtrack gathered pace, we moved into putty hues, ice blues, crayons brights and panelled checks and stripes. Conceptual and incredible but for a large part, surprisingly wearable. Miyake’s been game changing for over 30 years now and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Now I told you Paris was wonderfully relaxed (at least compared to the others) and I found myself with enough time for a leisurely al fresco lunch accompanied by a glass of rosé before trotting on to the Delvaux presentation. Founded in 1829, Delvaux is the oldest fine leather luxury house in the world and they’ve made a big come back this year. Luxury was promised, and luxury was most certainly delivered. Think the finest leathers, no detail or expense spared and price tags to boot. The pieces range from haute elegance to moneyed opulence. No doubt destined to be a favourite for both jet setters and aristocrats. Plus Rhianna’s been spotted toting one already.

Delvaux SS15

My penultimate appointment of the day was the Isabel Marant show at Palais de Tokyo. Marant is another designer who’s customer is never far from her consciousness, she could design a hit collection in her sleep and is the embodiment of her brand’s nonchalant, cool girl DNA. Said cool girl tribe were out in force that afternoon and the venue was packed fit to burst with many “but I’m definitely, definitely on the guest list” squabbles going on at the door. Those that made it inside certainly wouldn’t have been disappointed.

Isabel Marant SS15

For SS15 Isabel delivered a show that incorporated new elements and influences but was unmistakably Marant through and through. Tribal inspiration by way of artists such as Joan Miró and Antoni Tàpies resulted in ikat esque prints, fringed leather belts, raw edges and an earthy palette. Flippy minis with hemlines so tiny they demanded rigorously toned pins, slouchy tailored trousers, pulled wool jackets and ruched chiffon numbers that had “sell out in seconds” written all over them all oozed carefree insouciance. It was Marant doing what she does best; a little bohemian, a lot left bank Parisian with heady undertones of Ibiza styled with flat leather sandals and natural beauty looks. The show finished with an array of oil slick glossy black dresses. Sexy, effortlessly wearable and oh so Isabel Marant.

Patricia Bonaldi SS15

By this point I was starting to feel a little fatigued, unsurprising really given that I’d been dancing at Hotel De Rothschild earlier that very day. Luckily my final port of call was the decadent surroundings of Hotel Le Bristol for a little champagne and a lot of admiring the Patricia Bonaldi collection. You all know how I feel about a fancy frock and there are few frocks fancier than those painstakingly constructed in Bonaldi’s atelier. The Brazilian designer is a master of exquisite embroidery, dazzling embellishment and all out dream gowns. Those I was lucky enough to see on this occasion got me day dreaming of black tie balls and suddenly feeling quite excited to hit the town once again. Funny how clothes can do that, eh?

Patricia Bonaldi SS15

Love Ella. X