Photo Credit: Dior/Adrien Dirand
Every fashionable woman turns to the runways at the bi-annual Paris Fashion Week as the definitive source on upcoming trends. No one knows style like Chanel, Valentino, Balenciaga and Dior. While PFW definitely sets itself apart when it comes to design and innovation, this season proved that trends were moving collectively across the board as highlights from NYFW, LFW and MFW were seen at the presentations in Paris.
Designers were still looking to the past, but Paris focused on the punk and rock ’n’ roll vibes from the ‘80s with exaggerated silhouettes and garnished cuts that looked like they were pulled from Cyndi Lauper’s closet. Miuccia Prada sent out some looks straight from an ‘80s pop album with stretch-waist, bleach jeans, oversized pompadours and double belts, while Nina Ricci focused on professional wear, with billowing blouses and latex skirts.
Photo Credit: Yohji Yamamoto
For fashion-savvy women who prefer a more glamorous look, sequins, rhinestones and metallics were seen everywhere. Spotted at Saint Laurent, Paco Rabanne, Chanel and Dior, it was most prolific on the Balmain runway where Olivier Rousteing created a collection of dresses in prismatic fringes, holographic sequins, metallic leathers and opalescent PVC. The runways seemed to scream “More is more!” pairing glittering dresses with iridescent pants, sparkling skirts layered under metal shirts, and metallic coats topping matching golden, knee-high boots.
In fact, layers were seen all over PFW—the more fabric the better. Oversized blankets were back and were paired with overcoats and hats—Stella McCartney doubled these over matching print dresses to give the illusion of even more fabric. For some names like Maison Margiela and Chanel, one coat wasn’t enough, and the puffier the coat the better. For more avant grade designers like Yohji Yamamoto fabric was added until the models were buried under piles of warm, but undeniably dramatic, layers.
