The McQueen woman was an “ice queen”, according to the designer, regal and untouchable in highly structured designs, which degraded into feathers, fur and fine wool tufts from the waist down. Gleaming zips, horse harnessing and an ultra-high heel finished with a vicious metal spike ensured this collection upheld the values of the McQueen name and the play between hard and soft, power and vulnerability, in particular. There was nothing much vulnerable about Karl Lagerfeld’s woman at Chanel.
The same might be said of leather were it not for designers’ more imaginative treatment of that skin. Junya Watanabe, in particular, moulded brown and black hide in ever more inventive ways – padded, moulded, heavy as an authentic biker but with a wasp waist or light as a feather in the form of draped skirts and dresses. The woman here, too, was an impressively worldly figure, one who can run in her pointed boots should she so desire. “Tradition, technology, technique – three Ts,” was how Alber Elbaz summed up his collection for Lanvin, where, with its metal edges, play between matte fabrics and high shine, and exploration of volume, were high points.
The designer’s treatment of the notoriously difficult couture fabric, gazar, stood out – it has a life of its own and is as light as it is subtly luxurious and lovely to wear. There are few viewpoints as contemporary as Nicolas Ghesquière’s. The Balenciaga designer is as interested in moving fashion forward technically – chubby plaited leather and the standout print of the season – as he is in creating a contemporary wardrobe for women that is at once pragmatic and individual.
This designer’s collection for Miu Miu featured jackets the breadth of which would make it a struggle to fit through the average doorway. These came alongside feminine tea dresses embroidered with sprigs of cherry blossom, daisies and birds. There were also sportswear-influences, strong-shouldered blouses with contrasting collars worn with tailored trousers and a jaunty, old-school baseball cap. The woman at Miu Miu is gentle but she’s also a playful, even mischievous soul and, here too, as always, was a much-welcome injection of wit.
Given her status as godmother of the avant-garde, it’s small wonder that the Comme des Garçons designer Rei Kawakubo is rarely credited with a sense of humour. She has one, though, and it was good to see in Shirley Temple wigs, encrusted with gold, in big frilly knickers (gold again or in felted wool) and dresses made out of vintage scarves (when they go into production no two will be the same).
