Taking a look at recent FW Ready-to-Wear collections, one thing can be certainly remarked – the effort some big houses decided to put into the level of scenography a great fashion show could embody – and the contrary perspective of the others – who settled, for certain reasons, for a lookbook shooting or publicly available exhibition at a fancy location (honourable mentioning of Loewe)
Amongst those who strived for more this time, allowing for an endless flow of creativity and subsequent budget to predict a show-stopping experience – were the exquisite designer minds of Dean & Dan Caten at Dsquared2, the latest Alessandro Michele at Valentino, Nicolas Di Felice at Courrèges, Sébastien Meyer & Arnaud Vaillant at Coperni and Nicolas Ghesquière at Louis Vuitton.
- Dsquared2 – An obsession with fashion and eroticism
Born in Canada, made in Italy – the founding Caten twins fortified through their 30th brand anniversary at Milan FW, intitled Obsessed2, that overt showmanship was an evergreen attribute, synonymous with the house – made to be first and foremost remembered for their audacious and sensual looks, unafraid of scandalous viralization.
The set was designed to resemble a New York street, with a continuous stream of vintage limos, pickup trucks, yellow cabs, and patrol cars pulling up one after another, considering multiple inspirations taken from the American lifestyle, that founded their rebellious aesthetic. Each vehicle dropped off models who stepped straight into the runway aka – a buzzing, nightclub-like scene, creating a fast-paced, energetic spectacle.
The runway has been gradually transformed into a vibrant parade of flamboyant personas—showgirls, leather-clad men, cowboys, sultry cops, gym enthusiasts, adult film stars, and BDSM lovers—all capturing Dsquared2’s bold and uninhibited take on sex-appeal.
Among famous supermodels and iconic pop-stars casted for the event, that engulfed most of the attention were Irina Shayk, dressed in fish-net, beaded black dress, paired with a khaki puffer, bomber jacket and furry hat, Naomi Campbell – in a lion-maned hair repertoire and leather bodysuit, along the star-of-the-night Doechii, the recent Best Rap Album Grammy winner, who managed to maintain the heated atmosphere throughout, with an electrifying – not less lascivious performance, to be honest.
The finale did not disappoint either, with Brigitte Nielsen (famous Danish actress and television figure) breaking in, dressed as a police officer, “arresting” the Catens—who, installed in their perfect tuxedos and towering platforms, eventually broke free from their cuffs, kicking off a raucous, culminating after-party. An eccentric scene close to a piece of wild cinematography, from beginning till end, that left the guests in consistent bewilderment of what to expect next. A successful recipe focusing on extravagance and unpredictability, whilst subordinating the garments as supporting accessories to the general amplitude of the experience. A show no one would have refused to attend or lurk into.
- Valentino – ‘’ Le Méta-Théâtre Des Intimités.’’
For his second collection as creative director at the house of Valentino, the ex-Gucci designer unsurfaced the inciting contradiction contained within the ubiquitous phrase of public restrooms – a public space, however open to anyone to hide their most intimate, private aspects. He referred to it as ‘’the meta-theatre of intimacies’’.
The runway, therefore imagined a gender-neutral bathroom, that welcomed models out of separate toilets, engulfed in a lurid, red light, as in a direct homage to the grand and late American director David Lynch’s universe – shaped by bizarre movie scenes, including the renowned Red room from Twin Peaks – from which Michele took obvious inspiration. Although, some expressed their partial discontent with the grandiosity of the set and the signalized topic favoring a bigger, more profound statement from the house’ genius, regarding current anti-trans laws and gender-fluidity impediments – the hypnotic absolute redness was there for a reason. An alertness of the mind to see beyond clothes and absorb them in semantic proximity to the context, perhaps.
Making use of the contrast between nakedness and coverage, Valentino emphasized once again his distinct styling and developed a space that will make his delectable artistry stand out.
Was it a way to announce his starting era at Valentino as one full of meanings and various interpretations, or asserting just that his undeniable creative vision has a place and can be masterfully integrated into any maison?
- Coperni – Plugged in to good fashion
Continuing to showcase their already affirmed connectedness to the digital world, revealing that their craft is inseparable from the latest technology advancements, Coperni, for once looked into the past of what was bound to dictate the future. Another experiment in their portfolio, still.
Intriguing was the interchangeability of physicality and virtuality, as rows of gamers with plugged in computers, placed in the centre of the runway and deeply focused on their job, made place between them for the invitees, welcomed to assist to the physical display of looks – still embedded with futuristic elements.
By organizing a LAN party (the title of the show), the leading designers searched to capture the togetherness within social encounters once practiced by gamers, who would get together to connect their PCs through a local area network and play multiplayer games. Moreover, they tended to transfer that particular sensation into the realm of fashion, being influenced by the passion of next-sitting streamers – or in other words – to be absorbed by clothes as by video games.
Their signature sportsy-meets-chicness style, infused with covetable futurism, launched also a new item, meant to become the new IT-accessory of the tech culture – a collaboration manifested through Coperni x Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses.
Metallic, neutral tones, ski jackets and unordinary shoes, belts and miniature bags, the sleeping-bag dress and upgraded Lara Croft’s thigh holsters with cargo-pockets inserted to the models hosiery for caring multiple devices – all were assigned to the brand’s DNA in being always plugged into the present realities and trends – and attempting to anticipate the future ones.
- Courrèges – The fête of conceptual fashion
Marketing its normal shows as celebrations of great craft and storytelling, Courrèges certainly knows how to achieve a special fashion moment, instilled in the memory of Paris guests. Thousands of particles of colorful confetti enveloped the runway, without simply falling to the ground and producing a momentous feeling of happiness, but dancing and filling the air by raising to the rhythm of a catchy soundtrack.
The confetti concept, taken further, apart from a celebratory cliché-ritual, personally inspired by an art book by Dan Colen – offered the runway the precious quality of a significant human experience, that will not go soon forgotten.
From the before planned, coordinated repetitive movements of the flowing little paper omens of indisputable joy, created with scenographer Remy Briere’s input – to the promoted space-age minimalism in sartorial terms, Nicolas Di Felice proved conceptuality and ingenuity as some of his most admirable assets as a creator.
Wrap skirts, connected to wrapping-around the body and neck scarfs, interestingly draped leather jackets, tube dresses and vertically ostrich-feathered tops – speak of the items that could easily dominate or substitute the codes of your usual party dressing in the proximate future.
- Louis Vuitton – High-placed Ready-to-Wear
Come in anticipation to the concluding of Paris FW, Louis Vuitton opted for something prominently unordinary, despite previous times when choosing an expected, refined and luxurious location – which did not constitute the case for L’Étoile du Nord, the headquarters of a train station.
It seems Nicolas Ghesquiere has gotten emotional by deciding to focus more on the power of a place that implicitly influences the looks – appropriate to that kind of circumstance, than vice versa.
Starting off with something as collective as a platform station, quoting the creative director himself, he seems to have found the ideal venue to convey a message of unity and humanity, that transcends clothes. According to his words, a train station is “where people meet, where people separate, where people are happy to be together again, where people are sad to leave each other’’ and where what you wear comes secondary, I further presume.
Be it an acute sensitivity to the outer events of the world or a recent engrossment by the movies that involve train experiences – Louis Vuitton has let the ambiance speak for its looks, mostly comprising hats, scarfs and bags – the essentials entitled to a trip.
Consolidating his empowerment of community and the concept of collectiveness, the designer ended his show in a non-less impressive manner than the site choice – by putting the models up onto the balconies above the runway – as in a bizarre position of equality, with the rest of the viewers.
Despite the presence of a deeper – either concealed or vivid meaning as well as an intended reputation-boosting marketing strategy, oriented towards gaining popularity and visibility – the spectacularity entitled to a fashion show, is what makes it instilled into the long-term collective memory of fashion. Not to deny the significance of the actual items, but the experience, the feelings is what people will cherish and recall – things some decided to hold onto.
Written by Daniela Croitoru
