When the going gets tough, the tough get going. In a season dogged by intrigue, this could be a mantra, both on the catwalk and beyond it.
There’s an elegant – even uptight – sensibility across the board. “Sophisto-slut,” said Giles Deacon of his collection for Ungaro, neatly nailing a mood where the appeal of the archetypal sexually repressed grande bourgeoisie, Belle de Jour, continues to resonate. It’s a cliché, but the way designers reinvent it speaks volumes.
More than any of his contemporaries, Marc Jacobs captures the zeitgeist and his show for Louis Vuitton was an extraordinary display of virtuosity and power. The Night Porter, Allen Jones, Yves Saint Laurent, and, of course, the high-camp posturing that is all this designer’s own, were on display and so were the trends: the moulded, predominantly patent, leather (gleaming corsetry); the rubber (stack-heeled rainboots); the colours (Gothic); the silhouette (skinny on the bottom half, voluminous on the top). And the respect for pioneering technique and hand-craftsmanship, which were everywhere in the French fashion capital, all came together here. While more than a few designers keep accessories to a minimum on the catwalk, feeling, somehow, that they detract from the importance of their designs, Jacobs bombards his followers with them, safe in the knowledge they form the backbone of an overcrowded market and, for this particular brand, are of vital importance.
If audacity is key here, then a more discrete opulence was on display at Dries Van Noten, where the silhouette remained, for the most part, strict and narrow but fabric and print – all exclusive to the label – ensure the loyal customer knows she is in possession of something extremely special. Starting quietly and building up to ever more intricate and lovely effect, this show also pulled in a masculine tailoring influence that is overarching and which Van Noten does very well. As far as mixing different weights, weaves and prints together, often in a single garment, he is a master. Sarah Burton’s second collection for Alexander McQueen demonstrated a similar attention to surface detail and workmanship – fabrics were handwoven and engineered to suit just a single garment.
