Ahhhhh....PARIS!!!!! This is not the place to seek superficial trends. Paris is the capital of fashion where talent from all over the world come to display their own ideas, their own distinct identity. Though there are lots of "safe" clothes at all price points, Paris is generally known as the place where designers take chances with their creative energy and ideas are born. True to form, this market is a monster to watch, dissect, digest and then interpret!
Long Night's Day
In this the first of two parts, we take a look at the more fashion forward aspect to what happened in Paris last week. In a word, fashion is BIG! There is lots of volume, from looser silhouettes softly draping over the body to much longer hemlines that drop straight down to the ankles. In some ways, this is a look that mimics the Japanese movement of the early 1980's when silhouettes shifted from "girly" to androgynous. This time around, there are more feminine touches thanks to belts and long gloves.
The sweater dress is taken to the extreme as hemlines drop to the ankles. Note the super wide corset belt which helps pull off the look!
The Style That Shagged Me
Frayed edges, fringe..shaggy looks are all over the catwalks from sweater dresses to skirts. For the dolly version of the Damir Doma dress (featured in the first photo up top), I used a small bit of men's thermal underwear and sweat socks to concoct the look.
Downtown Abbey
This is a look reminiscent of Manhattan fashion of the 1970's when free and easy silhouettes had lots of richly toned fabric that swirled around a woman's calves as she made it down the street. One of the most important accessories of this season....the belt! (In fact, I'm working on a post on belts!)
The New Dandy
Pant suits are back. But this time around, the mid-section is pulled tight into the body, releasing lots of volume around the shoulders as well as below the belt. Normally, I don't feature clothes so complicated, but I thought this look was so elegant, it was worth exploring. The key here....fit the jacket or coat to the waist and put lots of flare and material into the skirt. As far as the "complicated structure around the shoulders...take a tip from our dolly version.... attach a matching "scarf" to the neckline of the jacket and drape it around the shoulders!
Make Your Point
We also noticed garments that came to a point! Pointed hemlines, collars with exaggerated edges, asymmetrical jackets. It's a detail that adds a strong element of drama even to the simplest of looks.
Poncho Villa
Adding to the swashbuckling looks of dandies and fluid damsel dresses....look for the poncho to make a grand entrance. Looking for an easy way to make a poncho or shawl...
click here.
Urban Warrior
Completely covered, think leather skinny pants, quilted swing jackets or even a simple coat cut from a bright, ethnic patterned fabric.
Mixed Media
The silhouettes here are all pretty simple, but really the news here is the mixture of pattern and print and sometimes texture. There is a underlying color that ties the two different patterns together. The message is....don't think matchy-matchy all the time. Have fun. Cut the coat out of one pattern and the pants in another!
Bad Girls
A flash back to the transition between the sexy 1980s and the grunge that prevailed in the 90's. These are for those of you with rebellious dolls who, well......don't do elegant. Take a closer look at those slashed pants on the Saint Laurent girl. It's the feminine version of those we saw in the menswear collection last month!!!
Pants Story
Speaking of pants......skinny is no longer the only to go. Next fall there is a wide range of trouser widths and looks to chose from. What is really happening here is that the market is transitioning to broader pant silhouettes. You'll still find skinny jeans...at least for the moment. But if you make only one pair of trousers... add more width when drafting your
pants pattern.
These weren't the only trends we saw in Paris. There were many more interesting as well as elegant looks which we'll feature in our next (and final) Paris Part II report, coming up shortly.
Stay tuned!
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Great post! Your dollwear interpretations were fabulous. I like a lot of the Paris trends, but in some cases it seems like the excess fabric would overwhelm the dolls and the people. Very inspiring, though. I drafted a larger silhouette pant last month. Haven't sewn it yet. Maybe this is the week it will finally get made.
ReplyDeleteHi Vanessa. Usually I don't show clothes I think are overly complicated for the doll. However, there were some really intriguing styles that are so different from today's "skinny" clothes that I couldn't resist. That's why I like to take one of those more complicated looks and interpret it as a way of showing it can be done. The trick is to play with the proportions so that it works. Maybe shorter hemline, less wide pants. A little later, I'll use this as a talking point as to the considerations I make when interpreting full scale fashions. Also, for Paris, I also wanted to feature "radical" styles to drive home the point that, first and foremost Paris is about creativity. Big hugs!!!
DeleteHi April, great fashions! The Aganovitch suit is amazing, I like a lot the Vivienne Westwood burgundy suit and the Barbara Bui dress, maybe I've got a fabric that I should use for the latter....
ReplyDeleteI really love the volumes and creativity of these collections
Thank you Billa. I was really mesmerized by the Aganovitch collection with their use of pinstripe, draping and handkerchief pointed hemlines. I love the idea of taking a menswear fabric then draping it in the same way as a luxury fabric. I also really loved the Ann Demeulemeester collection which is essentially quite simple but made dramatic with those corset belts. I agree with you...after all of the skinny clothes we've seen over the past couple decades, it's nice to see a nice change in volume. It's also interesting me to see how these new silhouettes translate to the doll!
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