Demna will no longer describe or explain his collections and garments, Demna (he no longer uses his last name) said in the press release of the show of the ready-to-wear collection for spring 2023 from Balenciaga, the house of which he is creative director. is. Nevertheless, he added that the setting – a gigantic mud landscape designed by artist Santiago Sierra with a deep pit in the center – was a metaphor for down to earth being and digging for the truth.
The whole thing felt mostly post-apocalyptic, a sequel to his previous ready-to-wear show, in which models plowed through an artificial snowstorm as refugees. Demna feels very involved in the war in Ukraine: more than twenty years ago he fled with his family from Georgia to Germany.
The show, which featured both women’s and men’s fashion, was opened by Ye (formerly Kanye), a Balenciagagrill in his mouth, wearing a survival jacket and leather pants. A day later, Ye himself would put on a show in Paris with his brand YZY (formerly Yeezy) and cause a big riot by having a (black) model wear a T-shirt with ‘White Lives Matter’ on the back and then go to war. to declare to a vogueemployee who let us know on Instagram how hurtful she found that.
A total of 75 models plowed through the mud on Sunday morning, wearing hoodies, large jackets, leather jackets, wide jeans and party dresses that often had extra mud splashes on them. But it was the lovely details that made the show so grim: bags shaped like worn-out stuffed animals, lifelike baby dolls in baby carriers; it was hard not to think of survivors of a nuclear attack.
At the same time, there were plenty of things that raised a smile: glitter clogs, in Dutch model. Flat bags with long gloves/sleeves on them, scarves that looked like huge strings of pipes. For fans there were shirts and underpants with logo. Decadent, to present expensive fashion like this? The designer, who doesn’t want to explain more, had something to say about that too in his press statement: “Luxury in the box of slick, exclusive and chic places is limited and quite old-fashioned.”
There was nowhere as explicit ‘doom’ as Balenciaga, but war clearly played a role in the Paris women’s fashion week for spring 2023. Although it was usually not translated into gloom, but cheerfulness. Offering hope is what is called in fashion.
black rectangle
For his first women’s show since the beginning of 2020, Dries Van Noten sent invitations with a black rectangle on it. A scratch plate, under which flowers appeared.
His show was constructed almost exactly like that. It started with a series of black, rather strict outfits. Just when you started to think that Van Noten, known for designs and color, had made a black collection – an exciting thing in itself – color took over; a soft yellow shirt with rosettes at the collar over wide patina green trousers, a powder pink dress with one shoulder and ruffles – ending in an explosion of exuberant floral designs. During the final, all models wore a floral outfit, often a dress in which several designs were incorporated. That combination of designs, the asymmetrical cut and the wrinkled fabric never made it sweet. In addition to oversized shirts, the show also featured much narrower cut blouses (which could be a sign that clothing is slowly getting closer to the body) and many accents and pieces of macramé, along with crochet, a big trend during the Paris shows. In uncertain times, handicrafts do well.
At Hermès, for example, there were crochet waistcoats and crop tops. A rave in the desert was the theme of the show. Not something you immediately think of when you think of the chic fashion house, and also not something that spoke directly from the collection. The models who walked around a psychedelically lit ‘sand mountain’ wore modest, chic clothing in soft browns, light blues and combinations of red and pink. Only a single glance at the belly, the caftans or a long, unbuttoned dress over wide trousers had something festival-like. But Hermès hasn’t been a statement piece for years: it bets, with success, on quiet luxury.
Shang Xia once started as a Chinese sub-brand of Hermès, but now also has another shareholder. In his second Paris show, designer Yang Li, who has now been at the helm for a year, showed bold yet minimalist dresses in combinations of black and white with pastel shades. Constructed from different color areas, or with two abstract, rounded decorations on top of tulle or leather.
The old-fashioned corset
Like Dries Van Noten, Jonathan Anderson, the British designer behind the Spanish Loewe, focused on flowers. Central to the collection was the Anthurium (flamingo plant), a plant whose flower evokes associations with both the male and female genitals. The flower was sent as an invitation, a gigantic fake copy was the center of the show, and the flower was also incorporated into the clothing: as the top of a short dress, or as a cover for the breast of a dress whose fabric only covered the other . The flower also returned in a more abstract way: in short draped dresses the shape of the flower could be recognized and ultra-long sleeves seemed to represent growth. Also of interest were the strapless, knee-length dresses with widely widened hips, a reference to eighteenth-century fashion.
Yohji Yamamoto has been making references to historical, western clothing for decades. In the tops closed with hooks and laces you could see the old-fashioned corset, the cut-outs in the clothing were mainly contemporary. Yamamoto, who sang on the show’s soundtrack, turned 79 during fashion week. But his designs have never lost their power: each piece was different, each piece was equally intricately cut, full of loose flaps that were all perfectly in place. .
In March, just as the war in Ukraine had just broken out, Rick Owens had put on a moody show, featuring a number of yellow-and-blue outfits. Now he too chose cheerfulness, with lots of pink and yellow between his signature black and off-white. As with his last men’s show, this collection also featured transparent leather made from leftovers from the food industry. The tulle from which the enormous ball gowns were made was also sustainable, because it was made from recycled polyester.
There is currently no luxury brand that prides itself on sustainability more than Chloé. The cashmere in the collection was recycled, the denim largely made from recycled cotton, wool came from designer Gabriela Hearst’s own farm. What remains a bit uncomfortable is the large amount of leather the brand uses.
The collection consisted largely of simple, long, sleeveless dresses, often crocheted, or otherwise partially transparent. A leather example was decorated with oval shapes, leather jackets and jackets referred to motorsport.
A slightly larger size
Inclusiveness is still an important theme in fashion, and for good reason. In terms of color, things are going well, at least in the choice of models; no more show without quite a few models of color. But on the catwalk you rarely see models with a slightly larger size – with Chloé one walked along, at many shows not one. Exception: Ester Manas, a Belgian brand that specializes in plus size fashion. The few slim models that walked along were suddenly the exceptions. Ester Manas also showed the cut-outs that are now so fashionable, worked in knitted dresses with a thigh-high split and transparent pieces in bright pastels, often wrinkled like a typical Jordanian lace curtain, under which the underwear was loud and clear. Sexy, tough and fashionable clothing is not only for slim bodies. More fashion brands should show that.
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