From Milan to Paris, LVMH Fashion Maisons unveil women’s silhouettes for Spring/Summer 2020
Fashion & Leather Goods
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© Louis Vuitton
Following Marc Jacobs in New York, Fendi kicked off Milan’s Spring/Summer 2020 Fashion Week for the LVMH Group. Dior, Loewe, Celine, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton will present their takes on women’s wardrobes for the coming summer season when Paris Fashion Week debuts on September 24th.
Louis Vuitton: revisiting the Belle Époque wardrobe with a touch of dandyism
Presented in the Cour Carré of the Louvre in Paris, the Louis Vuitton Spring-Summer 2020 Women’s collection played on gender fluidity. Artistic Director for women’s collections Nicolas Ghesquière conceived a singular show defined by a mix of styles and codes. Against the backdrop of a sleek wood set with a giant screen playing a version of “It’s Okay To Cry” by Sophie, the creations revived memories of the Belle Époque, when romanticism and Art Nouveau influenced the dandy’s wardrobe. Checked blouses with bell sleeves were paired with sequined jackets, and oversize round or pointed collars were worn with layered skater skirts. Motifs, stripes, florals and scarf prints were superposed. In a final refined touch, a cattleya orchid was worn on the label of all the silhouettes in the collection. The show was about sustainability too, as all the wood used for the décor will be donated to ArtStock, which recycles and upcycles elements from artistic productions.
For the Celine Spring Summer 2020 collection, Artistic Director Hedi Slimane presented a summery version of the silhouette he designed for the Fall Winter collection, a vibrant tribute to the casual chic style of the 1970s. The Celine Woman on the runway was a subtle mix of bourgeois allure and bohemian spirit, evoking fashion figures from the era such as Brigitte Bardot or Jane Birkin. At the same time, it was clearly founder of the couture house, Céline Vipiana, to whom Hedi Slimane paid homage, delving into the Celine heritage, especially with the double C monogram and emblematic culottes. Flared jeans are joined by flowing dresses with lavallière collars and Provençal floral prints. Denim and suede materials dominated the collection. With aviator glasses, head scarves and narrow belts, the Celine silhouette is continually reinvented with fresh elegance.
Givenchy, sophisticated contrasts
For the Givenchy Spring Summer 2020 collection, Artistic Director Clare Waight Keller explored the striking contrasts she found in the 1990s between the chic, urban simplicity of New York style and the extreme sophistication that defined Paris fashion at the time. With a tough, urban energy softened by poetic lightness, the show evoked summertime memories of liberated femininity. Silhouettes featured pieces with floral motifs in a palette inspired by a universe of abstract flora – magenta, cerulean and emerald. Elegant contrasts included a suit with a long slim jacket over Bermuda shorts, and upcycled denim paired with silky blouses with architectural volumes. Long evening gowns unfurled with opulent elegance. Givenchy silhouettes were set off by accessories such as two-tone leather mules and wooden block heel calf boots.
Loewe, extremes of femininity
Jonathan Anderson, Creative Director of Loewe, once again chose the Maison de l’UNESCO as the set to show his Spring Summer 2020 collection. In a décor like a pristine sanctuary, the silhouettes in the show featured creations alluding to a femininity with refined, sophisticated elegance. Deconstructing elements from boudoir vocabulary, the pieces proposed new pannier shapes with ornamental details, plays on suspension and materials that invite intimacy. Precious Chantilly, guipure and marguerite lace in geometric forms are the fruit of meticulous artisanal craft. Japanese satin, organdie and voile create delicately ethereal transparencies, with volume expressed in structured cuts at the hips or overlay voile bell bottoms. Accessories introduced the new Balloon bag in canvas, crochet raffia or calfskin, joining iconic Loewe models.
Dior, an ode to nature
A lush garden in the heart of the Paris-Longchamp racecourse provided the backdrop for the Dior Spring-Summer 2020 ready-to-wear show. Inspired by Christian Dior’s sister Catherine Dior and her love of flowers and plants, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Artistic Director of the Maison, designed a collection that celebrates nature. Delicate motifs, embroidery and textures evoke a vision of luxuriant vegetation, presented like a herbarium awash in luminous colors. Though the runway show questioned the relationship in which man attempts to rule nature, balance and harmony emerged from the “inclusive garden” created by the Maison’s Artistic Director in collaboration with the Coloco collective of gardeners and botanists. More than simply an ephemeral backdrop, the trees in the Dior garden are to be replanted in wooded areas and green spaces after the show, an action that symbolizes the importance of preserving nature’s beauty and future.
Silvia Venturini Fendi, who marked the last men’s Fashion Week with a poetic collection inspired by nature, once again celebrates warm Roman sensibilities in her women’s ready-to-wear collection. Drenched in the warmth of an Italian sunrise, the Fendi Women’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection presented at Milan Fashion Week charts a path of playful opulence through a summer’s day. Floral prints and ethereal textures intertwine to trick the eye with creations that showcase inimitable Fendi craftsmanship in a palette of earthy ochres and pastels. From plush checked robe-jackets to quilted fabrics, glazed floral coats, exquisite knits and beachwear with vintage accents referencing the 1960s, the collection is a kaleidoscope of texture that remixes Fendi tradition with a streak of summer rebellion.