Valentino Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

After succeeding sir Valentino Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli did a wonderful design job at the luxurious Italian fashion house for years. So when news reached us that Chiuri would leave Valentino for Dior we were all a little worried. Would the Valentino fairytale the designduo had been writing for so many seasons all of a sudden be over?
Turns out it didn’t. Pierpaolo Piccioli made sure his first solo collection for the brand was beautiful and commercially smart. In a new show area, Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, his solo story inspired by medieval art unraveled. Away from the countless maxi dresses of previous collections Piccoli presented a fair amount of daywear. Red brocade velvet pants paired with a crispy white shirt and the tiniest cross body bag you’d ever seen. A patent leather (Valentino)red coat worn over an airy burgundy jumpsuit. A pink layered sweater tossed over another white shirt and loose brocade pink trousers. And let’s not forget to mention that highly admirable trenchcoat inspired cape combined with a pair of royal pants embroidered with patterns of birds and fantasy vegetation. It seems like Piccioli is giving us more dresscode options for SS2017. Which means more reasons to incorporate Valentino into our daily leaves. A smart strategic move for the brand and who could not love that idea?

Balenciaga Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

Oversized, strong shoulder outfits and bare faced models welcomed us at Balenciaga today. Powerdressing with some intensely colored spandex underneath. The kind of dressing consumers will not immediately jump onto. Silhouettes and materials to get used to before becoming totally obsessed with them. Well, for SS2017 Demna Gvasalia planted that seed. Oversize floral dresses, body warmers, some jump- and playsuits boxy tops, tight stretchy leggings and a patent rain coat together formed an odd summer wardrobe, fashion professionals are already drooling over. And might you thing a bag with the looks of a puff might never end up on your summer wish list. Just wait it out and we’ll talk again in six months or so.

Esther DorhoutMees Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

Her Paris Haute Couture debut asked for a follow up. So today Esther Louise Dorhout Mees was back in Paris to present her SS17 collection ‘Orphic’. Inspired by lightning, which is beautiful (to watch) and horrifying at the same time, the talented Dutch designer came up with a feminine collection filled with layered elegance. A line up that really spoke to the audience as soon as the first model (with the frizziest, struck-by-lightning-hair) appeared.

‘‘ORPHIC’ (adj.) Mysterious and entrancing; beyond ordinary understanding’ was about thunder and the designer’s fascination with what happens when someone survives a lightning strike. An exceptional (and rather dreadful) starting point that lead to some exquisite and surprisingly lighthearted looks. Prints referred to both the movement of electricity and the fading it causes as well as scars on a skin.

Fabrics both airy and nacre shiny beautifully worked together in some of the esthetic and arty couture looks as tight corsets, countlessly tied at the back (resembling scars) played a crucial part. Whites, nudes, red and touches of mint formed a graceful pallet, no doubt linked to all things human like skin, veins and blood. And not just the fabrics, but the jewelry and the sneakers too matched the show’s engrossing theme.

Something to think about next time you’re witnessing a thunderstorm..

Comme des Garcons Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

Hours after having witnessed the Comme des Garcons show we’re still confused about what we saw. With invisible clothes as a starting point Rei Kawakubo came up with a series (just twenty looks to be exact – see how that’s possible Rousteing?) of extreme outfits. Sculptural larger than life looks in which the model’s bodies completely disappeared. Heart shaped, polka dot and tartan prints made an extra statement as the materials were dark and heavy especially for a summer collection. But why would Kawakubo be concerned with seasons when she’s not even worried about making true clothing. You can even wonder if this line up is still to be called fashion rather than just art. No one (other than Gaga, who should really retire her freak show sooner than later) would leave the house in round pillow with Peter Pan collar. There’s not a woman out there who would really benefit from that large tartan blanket. And that black pleated elephant(ish) creation hardly does anything good for your body. Yet it’s that non fashion touch that seems to keep Comme des Garcons fans excited. Let’s elaborate a little more, while we wait for more wearable pieces to hit the stores.

Haider Ackermann Fashion Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

Haider Ackermann recently became Berluti’s new menswear designer, but that didn’t stop him from delivering a remarkable collection for his own brand today. His models – with spiky hair and yellow eye make-up – looked cool and collected in his fresh creations. Specificly in some purple metallic trousers and leopard printed blouse. Or in a lilac hoody matched with a white frilly skirt. Not to mention that green lures suit. All three wearable and youthful ensembles the cool kids would love to work. Some of the strapless tops, colourful maxi dresses and tight leather jackets looked promising too for next summer in the city. Yet it’s hard to picture those blood spatter outfits on a hot day in August. Other than that Ackermann didn’t seem to have let his new job distract him.

Christian Dior Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

Maria Grazia Chiuri’s debut at Christian Dior had the likes of Kate Moss, Rihanna and Jennifer Lawrence taking their front row seat. And as the first woman to fulfil the role of creative director of the house of Dior Chiuri decided her first chapter should be about femininity. “The message, really, is that there is not one kind of woman,” she stated as her black and white (with a splash of red) Dior story unfolded. Tule and leather; SS2017 will be a mix of tough and delicate, ballerina gowns and leather biker jackets (a trenchcoat, a couple of sweaters, some bodices and quite te remarkable summer boots) Familiair ingredients given a contemporary touch in the shape of emoji’s (bee embroideries anyone?) and written words (dio( r )evolution). Nothing too shockingly different, but just enough baby steps into a new di(o)rection and with that a younger target audience.

WE ARE MUZE presentation Paris SS2017

WE ARE MUZE is a collective of four individual labels that took its name from a whimsical persona that the designers have sculpted together, their muse, who allows them to showcase their individuality and strength. WE ARE MUZE functions as a platform that offers possibilities to share experience and knowledge and invite upcoming designers to join forces. This season the designers that presented themselves are: BYBROWN from designer Melanie Brown, who is driven by technical tailored design combining engineered craftsmanship with contemporary, raw elegance.
JESSICA JOYCE, whose clothes portray the designer’s fascination with modern angular and geometric shapes, which have been influential in the development of her signature abstract style.
LOVELUHA – designer Natascha Nedoluha – celebrates the creative power of nature. All her jewellery are a reminder of our long-lasting connection with this phenomenon, lovingly laid bare to adorn a woman’s expression and beauty.
ELECTRIC CO from designers Conny Groenewegen unravels the essence of each gesture, utilizing fibres and threads to reassemble the narrative to reach a point where the material starts to create a path that follows its own rules

WE ARE MUZE has a fluid construction allowing it to work with artists in photography, film, dance, graphic design and other fields. The designers aspire to touch the senses, spark the imagination and use their muse as a language to develop new dialogues.
The collective is supported by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency through the Partners for International Business Programme, promoting Dutch fashion in France.

Balmain Fashion Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

As the complete Kardashian clan seemed to have gathered front row Olivier Rousting presented his army of amazons. A spring summer story that took no less than 80 looks to be told. A story on glitz and glam, unfortunately without the detailed handwork we’d gotten so used to see at Balmain. No beading, no crystal embroideries, no thread work; Rousting must have needed all his time to finish of those eighty looks. A pity. Instead of the pieces of art from his former collections we were presented with seductive and powerful ensembles. Endless palazzo pants, floor sweeping snake print coats and maxi bandage dresses gave the models legs for days. Legs that were just as much on display as anything else, due to those thigh high slits. Cut-outs in all kind of places gave the looks a little more air and the models even more of a sexy feel. A collection that truly fits Kim Kardashians (who was by the way not wearing any underwear to the event) fashion needs. Yet perhaps Rousting is designing with the Kardashians on his mind a little too much instead of his actual customer.

Chloé Fashion Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

Chloé felt fresh and vivid as Clare Waight Keller explained she wanted to bring the brand back to the city. And we kind of got that feeling as Martyna Budna appeared in a pair of high waisted pants combined with a striped V-neck. That perfectly fresh and frill free city feel was visible in a jumpsuit worn by Dutch Marte Mei van Haaster and a light pink dress with bows on both shoulders too. Portraying the image of an independent women with an elegant touch. Of course the airy, playful A-line hippie dresses were spot on too. Yet they seemed a better fit for fashion festivals and luxury beaches. On trend touches like long sleeves, underboob potential and pleats probably scored some extra coverage on the magazine trend pages. And in terms of color we loved the yellow and pink in one collection’s palette. Lots to look forward to for next season.

Dries van Noten Fashion Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

“You only see what your eyes want to see..” As an acapella version of Madonna’s Frozen hit began Dries van Noten’s fairytale came to life. Inspired by night frost the Belgium designer showed us a spring collection with a frozen focus. Large ice cubes melting away on the runway had the loveliest of floral ensembles inside of them, created by Japanese flower artist Azuma Makoto. All true pieces of art for which Azuma used nearly a hundred types of rare flowers into 23 different arrangements. An astonishing spectacle on it’s own. Then the SS2017 story began to unravel. Starting off light with a series of white look, followed by a focus on yellow and ending with a line up of dark, black evening looks. All decorated by the loveliest of floral prints from a wide range of exotic flower species. Quite te dressed up spring/summer collection. So if spring is indeed to going to get frosty we’ll be in good hands with Dries van Noten. His patent leather coats, rain jackets, Edwardian blouses, wide-leg jeans, balloon sleeves and camel colored double breasted suit seem perfectly appropriate for a summer in Holland. It’s the kind of sophisticated chic we could really pull of without being extremely uncomfortable. And who could fall in love with such a blooming collection.

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