After 30 days of parades, open on the Bund of Shanghai with Tommy Hilfiger and closed by Louis Vuitton at the Louvre, in Paris, here is our list of the 12 Most Beautiful events of the international season. Those who, in our opinion, will have the most influence: some for inspiration or boldness, others for energy and pure beauty. But all had a common note : a way to celebrate diversity and the ability of fashion to express itself, even indirectly, on the deep divisions that we find today in so many countries and in particular in the four democracies where the greatest parades are always held: the United States, Great Britain, France, and Italy.
Alexander McQueen
Meeting between chivalrous spirit and sorority for the most beautiful collection of the season, presented by Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen. White, red or black molded leather Knight’s armor, painted or rebroadcast with bold scarlet flowers, deconstructed wedding dresses made of frayed silk taffetas, or flying rag dresses, worn with a series of smooth leather overcoats. A typical fashion from the heart of England, with the best workshop in London at the best of its form.
Marni
The Venus of Milo in the Internet age at Marni, where the Goddess appeared dressed in silks with weird prints, mixing photos of ancient architecture and statues and peas with ethnic inspiration. The creator Francesco Risso revolutionized the pleated dresses of the 18th century by adding to them bustiers made of unbleached leather or even carved dresses of a Greek goddess in disconcerting angles, before adorning them with small stones.
He also imagined the most evocative scenery of the Italian season, with hundreds of Art Deco beds coming from country houses, hospital services or school dormitories. “Frankenstein brings back the Venus de Milo to life: classicism and metamorphosis in real time”, explained Francesco Risso about his wonderful collection for Marni.
Prada
Fashion reacts to the opposing forces of reactionary conservatism on the one hand and liberal aspirations for emancipation and freedom on the other. Prada only presented clothing, but the message was clear: a reversal of the traditional fashion codes, with unlikely patterns, fabrics, imageries, and prints. The fusion of the tie & dye and psychedelic prints with photos of the campaign, but also naked men and women on rather decent tennis coats, dresses or skirts.
Her emblematic nylon looks were subverted by choice of color (sorbet, lime or copper) and combined with satin shorts, elastic Greek-style sports sandals, mini-tops corsets, and sheer nylon stockings, with large triangular Prada logos. Fashion as a battle of political ideologies.
Celine
Yes, we understand that Hedi Slimane’s first collection for Celine has pissed off our dear Anglo-Saxon cousins. But for those of us who have a little more sense, it was a great collection, embodying all the seductive power of Paris at night. Her dazzling metallic evening dresses and curled cowboy boots for Parisienne from the central districts have taken away two decades of client Celine. The brand’s first men’s collection included new pants with a perfect curved cut and superb long crossed jackets. Ironically, while Hedi Slimane had chosen to stage his business of demolishing the old regime at Celine in the shadow of Napoleon’s tomb in Les Invalides, a group of fashion royalists named the Philophiles organized a nostalgic gathering on the Île de la Cité, just behind the concierge. Our nostalgic friends may not have realized that this is precisely where people were imprisoned before they got to know Madame La Guillotine.
Paco Rabanne
Great show in the Seventies hippie style with prints of Rajasthan and Moorish motifs, mixed with high-tech finishes, that this show presented by Julien Dossena for Paco Rabanne. He finally installed a new and identifiable style for this historic house. All the pieces were patched, pasted and assembled with metal chains, chains and wire, or combined with silk tops and sarongs adorned with gold pieces. Paco Rabanne has been stuck for too long in a time fault based on metal mesh and mesh cotte, but this defile was innovative while maintaining just enough references to these materials to respect the DNA of the claw. Julien Dossena is Paris ‘ new favorite.