Photography by Peter Stigter
Photos from Paris Fashion Week Spring 2014 »
Dries Van Noten did a very smart thing here on day one of Paris Fashion Week Spring 2014. At the end of his show, the models lined up across the hall, facing the bleachers like a firing squad. After the music died down, guests climbed down and rushed toward the girls, so they could snap, tweet and gram them, of course.
It must have felt a bit creepy to be standing with your back to a wall as a stampede of phone-wielding fashion fiends came running toward you for a close-up. But no one said modeling was easy on the nerves.
Dries loves florals. These have a vague Asian whiff and came in shapes that still seem bedroom-y. Another theme were passementerie tassels that swung from tunics that looked homespun. But it was Dries’ perma-pleated ruffles that stole the show: gold foil ones snaked over hips, or were coiled into giant hip corsages.
Metal and high gloss shine, proved to be the story of the day. The sparkles at Rochas were blinding, even without the opera-length crystal necklaces. Shapes were relatively simple—polos, short-sleeved toppers, cropped pants—but the fabrics, wow. Silver jacquard florals, reflective nude lame, crystal embroidery, and what looked like helium-filled organza ruffles. Tassels showed up here from the ankles down, with ostrich feathers sweeping away the dust bunnies in style.
Maybe that was the first hint of the humour we are sure to see as designer Marco Zanini moves to the house of Schiaparelli, as just confirmed by Suzy Menkes.
From there it was on to Gareth Pugh who sculpted vinyl into breastplates and futuristic collars that fanned behind the models’ heads. Stiff, lacquered-looking tops were sometimes worn over floor-length bias dresses. Somewhere in the middle of all this drama Felipe Oliveira Baptista riffed on the trench, with lighthearted results.
