Paris is always brimming with out-of-towners during Fashion Week, among them many CFDA Members. There are those who show their collections on the runway here and others who present it in showrooms or at trade shows. Some are in Paris just to soak in the scene.
This season, the week had an addition in the form of The Row. Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen decamped from New York to show Spring-Summer 2016 here. I didn’t make it to Wednesday night’s intimate presentation and dinner at the Chateau de Courances an hour outside the city center – my flight touched down the morning after – but judging from the photos, the duo beautifully evolved their luxurious, purist ethos with fluid touches.
By now, any fashion follower on Instagram will have seen shots from Rick Owens’ stunning show – stunning in how Owens had women carry other women like a human accessory: upside down, like a backpack or, in one instance, strapped on in a way that read fetal position. Owens elaborated on his “Cyclops” theme in the show notes: “a mythological creature, formidable, with focused vision;” “nourishment, sisterhood/motherhood and regeneration,” and “women raising women, women becoming women, and women supporting women.” Eska performed “This Land,” the theme of the movie “Exodus,” which Owens pointed out is “a song I use here as a reflection on timelessly female way of protecting and nurturing a tribe.” The overall effect: powerful and memorable.
Immediately after Rick Owens, I headed to Talbot Runhof. Though the label is Munich-based, Johnny Talbot, who designs the collection with Adrian Runhof, hails from Nashville and became a CFDA Member in 2014. The collection was inspired by Marella Agnelli and her lifestyle via “The Last Swan,” Rizzoli’s tome devoted to the Italian style icon and wife of the late Gianni Agnelli of Fiat. The clothes had an effortless ease — a “lived in” vibe, the show notes stated, as if the wearer had woken up “at her home in Portofino, throwing a tunic top over her husband’s tuxedo shirt.”
Tom Ford nixed the traditional runway show — which he usually shows during London Fashion Week – for a high-jinx video with unveiled online right in the middle of the Paris Collections.
Ford tapped photographer Nick Knight to shoot the Spring-Summer 2016 collection with Lady Gaga and models like Aymeline Valade and Lucky Blue Smith (though Ford favorite Gigi Hadid is notably absent). The vibe is fun—and so is the music. Lady Gaga recorded a version of Chic’s cult disco tune “I Want Your Love.” You wouldn’t want to miss this party.
On Sunday, two CFDA accessory designers had their Paris Fashion Week turn: Tabitha Simmons and Dana Lorenz.
Like last season, Simmons, the winner of the 2015 Accessory Designer of the Year award, showed her new shoes in a stunning private apartment facing the Tuileries Gardens, which played nicely into the theme of her collection: “The English Countryside,” she told CFDA.com. “So it’s obviously very floral, using wool fabrics, raffia that’s a little bit more naïve, and we did tweed in that English way.”
Earlier in the day, Dana Lorenz showed her new Fallon collection of cool pearl leather wrap chokers and waterfall pendants in a temporary showroom off the Champs-Elysees. Lorenz said it was important to her to also present the collection in the French capital; she also likes to spend time here. Her favorite hangout is the the Georges V Four Seasons hotel; for dinner, she prefers Hanawa for Japanese (29, rue de Bayard, www.hanawa.fr), Ratn for Indian (9 Rue de la Tremoille, www.restaurantratn.com), and Diep for Chinese (55 Rue Pierre Charron, www.diep.fr). Note the absence of French cuisine on her list. “I am vegan so the French Bistro Entrecote situation is not for me,” she said.
Lorenz shared the space with up-and-coming designer Brandon Maxwell. Maxwell hails from Texas, and focuses on strong tailoring for designs that veer evening. The conversation went from food options in the Garment District – I told him I had heard the pizza in Penn Station is outstanding – to his admiration for Houston matron Lynn Wyatt, who inspired an evening look with exaggerated sleeves for Spring. “She is genius,” he said.
Giving further credence to Paris as as the most international of fashion weeks, Miroslava Duma and Natalia Vodianova – both friends of the CFDA – co-hosted the Buro 24/7 Fashion Forward Initiative in a salon at the Bristol Hotel on Sunday evening. There, they showcased nine emerging talents from Russia, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan, among them Ruban, Jenia Kim, Vita Kin, and Poustovit. The event had a charitable element: proceeds from sales of a limited collection created by the designers will benefit the Naked Heart Foundation.
Many came out to show their support for Duma and Vodianova, including Jennifer Meyer, Jason Wu, Zendaya, Claire Distenfeld, Mario Testino, Carine Roitfeld, Hamish Bowles and Giancarlo Giammetti.
Keep checking for more updates from Paris Fashion Week.
