It will be a season full of blooming flowers next winter. Personalizing the theme and adapting the intricate prints to a Balenciaga identity, designer Nicolas Ghesquière zoomed them in and showed the colourful petals and leafy stems up close on asymmetrically cut dresses. They were paired with bulky jackets, knitted in faux leather to give them a softer structure, a smoother finish than the real skin would be able to provide; strong looks as openers. The second part of the show was more on the graphic side. Sharp tunic dresses resembling intersecting panels and tight trousers as colour blocks balanced the collection.
At Givenchy, Riccardo Tisci took on the flower theme with violet orchids. They framed the catwalk of the show, came in prints on short jackets and pencil skirts, and were also sewn onto a shirt as crystal embellishments. It reminded of a tropical jungle, with the Black Panther, this mystical creature, as fitting motif referenced throughout for a dark collection, which was brooding with nocturnal energy.
Graphic and masculine was the leitmotif of Phoebe Philo’s no nonsense show for Céline. Long straight coats, slim high-waisted trousers spoke for the liberated women. Just occasionally, a flash of girly pink or a slightly flared skirt brought in a more feminine playfulness.
Stefano Pilati opened Yves Saint Laurent in grey woollen checks. A jacket, double breasted and elongated into a skirt bottom, a fitted pantsuit, or an o-shaped coatdress made those grainy fabrics available for the female silhouette, but they added a boyish touch nonetheless. Only at the end it became a bit more fluid and light in white silks, finishing in skirts just below the knee or in trousers right above the ankle.
Text by George Ghon
