SS14: Paris Fashion Week highlights in a nutshell!

 

It is safe to say that the SS14 fashion season has closed with a Big Bang!

This week in Paris has definitely been somewhat unusual. We had joy, we had drama, we had entertainment and, of course, we had beautiful clothes. All in all,it has really been a memorable showcase of mismatched emotions which can only be summarised as an ‘incredible adventure’.

Whether planned or unplanned, there has been plenty of action to keep the public engaged and on their toes this week.

The more unusual ones included topless Femen protesters taking over the Nina Ricci’s runway (right), causing all sort of stir and following on twitter. Jean Paul Gautier had a “Dancing with the Stars” setting for his show. Rick Owen promoted diversity in ethnic origins and body size by replacing size zero models with ‘angry models’ from step team. Givenchy crashed cars all over the runway and Kenzo touched on eco-friendly topics while crossing age and gender with his collection.

And last but not least, Marc Jacobs has officially announced leaving Louis Vuitton after a long 16 years of faithful representation; closing his service with a spectacular grand finale worth watching twice.

But the drama came with stunning fashion to match, and our ‘covet’ list kept growing with every show. Truly inspiring, original and of course ‘chic’, here are our highlight from Paris Fashion Week:

Evening Dresses

A constant item that has graced the stage has been the evening dress. What else do you expect from a glamorous city like Paris? Some of the pieces have been bordering Couture and have left a strong direction and influence towards Spring/Summer 2014.

Vivienne Westwood has presented an astonishing collection that included fairy tale evening dresses, Goth ball gowns and draping pink wonders.

Valentino’s evenings are a cross style between Italian medieval maiden dresses, ethnic patterns and intricate embroidery, which are sometimes layered on see-through lace.

Women come across strong and confident in their evening trousers and feminine, perfectly understated yet chic lace dressed at Stella McCartney.

Givenchy’s silhouettes are obtained by combining a somewhat not-unusual selective display of parts of the skin, combined with complex drapes, Swarovski tribal masks and comfortable flat sandals. Women emerge savage yet feminine; they wear monochromatic yet complex to wear and polymorphic en-wrapping clothing.

For dresses that are energetic, dynamic and, most of all, colourful and fun to wear, Céline has the key ingredient served on a palette of white and rich primary-coloured strokes.

Vionnet breaks the evening dress pattern by creating a ‘swimming-cum-dancing’ outfit that can be worn straight from the poolside and into the party. We like!

Asymmetry: cut off to get more!

Transgression takes many forms on the runway.

One way to convey transgression and to create a ‘rock chick’ look, keeps repeating itself this season and it is achieved by using asymmetry. A simple cut, a change or a subtraction of a symmetrical half gives us a lob sided effect and an immediate sense that something isn’t regular –in an intriguing way!

Prime example of this style is Jean Paul Gaultier and his asymmetrical biker dolls. Viktor & Rolf takes us on a trip to the UK, with traditional school uniforms, transformed just enough to convey a “schoolgirl gone wild” effect; something that some of us still remember well from those British cold summers when un-tucking the shirt and giving a personal touch to our blouse was all that was necessary to feel special, different and fashionable at school.

Flamboyant or bordering the theatrical?

And from transgression that is still borderline for attending class, we pass onto something else…

Each and every piece of Comme des Garçons’ collection has been given ample space to be displayed and with its own soundtrack. While excellently executed and part of the Parisians prêt-a-porter, these dresses aren’t what you would wear to go shopping at the supermarket, unless of course you lived in Camden, London or Harajuku, Tokyo.

You will definitely catch the attention of the crowd.

Same goes for Junya Watanabe and her detailed Shaman-meets-raver theme. The clothing is sliced and mostly fringed, accompanied by flamboyant headgear and deluxe-sized feathers. Possibly more suited for Burning Men Festival, than strolling through town; then again, we wanted to be surprised and this is a fresh visual we had been craving for.

Other Favourites

From Miu Miu‘s 60s coats, Chalayan’s genius hat umbrellas (right), to Chanel giving us more and more of what we crave for and Giambattista Valli’s feminine, tender and flower-like women – we just had too much too look at without touching this week.

Particular attention must be paid to Marc Jacobs bidding his goodbyes to Louis Vuitton and to Isabel Marant, who has received a great amount of publicity due to her H&M collection which was recently unveiled. Read more about it here.

Also keep an eye on Alexis Mabille, who is Singapore-bound to show unique pieces of his collection during Fide Fashion Weeks at MBS The Shoppes. Read all about it here.

Lilyth Compostella

* More SS14 Fashion Week reviews: New York  – London – Milan.