A.T.S.H.C Trend...The Structured and the Deconstructed...

I've already posted about the brights and florals in Milan. On the other hand, there is a much more neutral, minimal, structured trend happening in the collections I like in Paris. I like my drape, but there are some interesting structured and deconstructed tailored pieces going on, from designers like Balenciaga, Ann Demeulmeester and Pedro Lourenco. Rick Owens collection of muted beige, grey and black were really beautiful. Dresses were extreme in length and I liked the horn combs in the hair, giving the models an otherworldly feel, almost alien, changing the feel of the otherwise elegant pieces.

I read an interesting interview, where Owens felt that longer lengths were more associated with occasionwear, which I tend to agree with. By doing them in elegant, muted tones, they have been supposedly made more accessible to wear; not just to the odd occasion. I identified with the draped pieces more and felt these were probably more wearable, but nonetheless, I felt this was a thoughful collection.

A.F Vandevorst presented a collection of metallic. I feel a bit dubious when I hear the word armoury mentioned, as it does remind me of when I did my Art Foundation! But they did something really quite stunning with actual metal, liquid metal over knitted, metal plating and sequins to create something feminine and desirable.

The inspiration was the mystere of combat elephants that were never really publicised. They wore metal sheet panels for protection.

This has been translated by developing their own armoury into, I guess to create something, dare I say, glamourous!! I think its the silhouettes I am drawn to, not as much the metalllic thing.

Probably my favourite piece; nothing groundbreaking, but wearable and love the twist/knot detailing.

Balenciaga has been a collection that has been growing on me, but I am still not overly impressed with the beginning. This idea of protection and structure was seen here, in a different way, through shiny PVC, houndstooth structures. Somehow writing this, shiny, plastic dogtooth seems like it shouldn't work, but somehow it does.
The silhouettes are interesting and there are some breathtaking pieces at the end, but the dogtooth....?

The cocoon silhouette made reference to Cristobal Balenciaga's past. There was a masculinity to it, in a punky way and the models, minus a couple of known faces, were cast off the street, adding to the grungey, street image.

Pedro Lourenco is another designer who has gone for the structured, protected, armour type look, through using leather. He made it more feminine by adding sheer panels that were almost invisible to create really interesting garments. Writing this, I am still slightly baffled at the fact he is 19 and showing for his second season...in Paris.....

These panelled, illusional pieces were probably the strongest in my opinion. This is someone I will be looking out for in the future, to see where he takes the leather.

'Graphic abstraction' is the catchphrase for Ann Demeulmeester this Spring/Summer who gave us cocooned, padded and quilted jackets, funnel collars and voluminous parkas. The pieces had a sculptural quality to them, making them highly modern, and fresh, especially for the label. The colour palette, like the other collections I have discussed in this post was monochromatic and therefore muted, lending itself more to the silent movie, dark mood of the show, with the thick black eyebrows finishing the look. Some highlights.....

And again, more white........

Photos from style.com, Dazed Digital and AnOther magazine