PARIS FASHION WEEK:UNDER A graffiti-sprayed underpass by the banks of the river Seine, the Belgian designer Dries Van Noten staged Paris Fashion Week's first major show yesterday, sending out a soft new spin on modern androgyny.
Not one to set trends, every season the 52-year-old designer remains true to a mix of ethnic-inspired textures, patterns and shapes that appeal to more artistic sensibilities. “A handsome woman” was the idea behind this collection.
Though not particularly new, it was a crisp, easy-going take on menswear, (maybe because the designer has just opened his first men’s boutique in Paris) focusing on everyday utilitarian shirts, jackets and more formal tuxedos, reworked in a playful, assured way. The key shape was an oversized jacket of the “boyfriend” variety, with sloping shoulders, worn with white shirts and even whiter baggy builder jeans, with everything looking deliberately a few sizes too big for the models. We’ve seen this before, but the summer sorbet shades were fresh and light and the inkjet effects on a white canvas coat painterly.
Skirt lengths tended to be longer, while shirtwaister dresses were softened with gauzy veils of coloured chiffon or shots of indigo trimming. The best ensembles were tight cream waistcoats worn with white shirts and high-waisted flares, pristine urban dressing for the modern female – dandy and murderous to keep clean.
Ann Valerie Hash, one of the few independent female designers on the official schedule, made no concessions to menswear for her collection which was soft and ultra-feminine with airy mousseline jackets in dusty shades of pink or beige, complementing high-waisted slouchy cigar pants. Skirts had hanging draped fronts and there was a preoccupation with details like seams, ragged edges and flounces; one long chiffon dress with an asymmetrical hem looked oddly inside out.
The little layered skirts in metallic tulle sparkled and the show had an offhand, almost throwaway, French elegance.
THE Aviva stadium in Ballsbridge, Dublin, was the venue last night for Marks & Spencer’s autumn/winter fashion show, the first fashion event in the stadium.
More than 200 guests attended, including Marc O Neill, the London-based Irish designer of the Autograph range.
An assortment of trench coats in bright colours at €54 opened the show, styled by Catherine Condell. The line-up covered some of the key looks for the season: faux furs, chunky knits, tunic-style dresses and camel coats. Clean-cut coats such as a powdery grey flared number from Per Una with tiny pleating detail and military styles in khaki played to MS strengths.
The faux shearing flying jackets were a nod to Burberry along with versions of the mini-trench teamed with every type of trouser, from flared ladylike tweeds to stretch black skinny numbers. There were printed day dresses that owed their look to Prada, others in jersey that evoked Diane Von Furstenburg and softly draped two-tone silk jumpsuits that for once made this difficult garment look inviting.
Knitwear was noteworthy too, from sporty Fair Isle dresses and cashmere polos to chunky cabled ponchos and cute butterfly motif sweaters. Layering was key and some items were styled in different ways showing how a gold brocade skirt, for instance, could look if dressed down for day or dressed up for evening.