Catwalk meets school run in Stella McCartney’s new collection

Stella McCartney’s morning show yesterday at the Opera Garnier in Paris (which is undergoing a vast restoration project) was, in her words, “an accent on understated seduction”.

What that meant was a procession of exquisite racerback lace dresses, short overlaid with longer lengths, keeping transparency and opacity in check. Others in satin and silk organza concealed as much as they revealed through discreet slashes.

Counterbalancing this sophisticated femininity were athletic but fluid trouser suits in easy-to-wear colours such as terracotta, ink and neutral tones, some with zippered blouson jackets, their supple masculine tailoring offset by sporty crop tops and knits. Utilitarian shapes – drop-waisted navy trousers with silk shirts – looked both practical and handsome, the sort of clothes for working mums on school runs.

The prints – croc and daisy motifs – in slim dresses and shifts will be recognisably hers next summer. Suits were good too, particularly the black and white floral jacquards which, worn with cat-eyed sunglasses and chunky stilettos, drove home the collection’s urban sharpness.

Awards
The designer is on a high at the moment with last year being a money spinner for her brand, which notched up a 19 per cent rise in profits to £3.4 million (€4 million). It also saw her dress Britain's Olympic athletes, receive two British fashion awards and an OBE from Queen Elizabeth. A second Hong Kong store is due to open shortly and there are plans for stores in Istanbul and Moscow.

Elsewhere, lace was also central, but in a very different way, in Collette Dinnigan’s collection yesterday, staged in a mirrored arcade in Montmartre. The Australian designer (of Irish ancestry) is known for luxury lingerie and bridal wear, but her lace dresses with their back lacing and peekaboo silk bras were, unlike McCartney, more flirtatious in spirit.