Powerful inspirations for AW15 collections
New York, Milan and Paris followed one another on the runway with women’s ready-to-wear collections for Fall-Winter 2015. LVMH Fashion Houses took creativity to the next level this season, sending out many of the boldest and most memorable looks. Here are some city-by-city highlights.
New York: masculine/feminine
The New York collections played on ambivalent seduction, blurring the lines between masculine and feminine. Marc Jacobs’ long jackets and dresses borrowed rigorous cuts from suits and ultra-glamour materials from the eccentric style of Diana Vreeland. At Edun, Danielle Sherman united traditions from across the globe, matching Moroccan embroidery and cashmere on straight men’s coats. Donna Karan continues to draw inspiration from New York’s inimitable eclecticism, designing architectural silhouettes that alternated between second skin tuxedos and clinging origami dresses.
Milan: insouciance
Milan fashion proclaimed a lively and colorful Fall-Winter 2015 season, playing off classics with a festive spirit. For Fendi, Karl Lagerfeld conceived a playful, structured collection with bold contrasting colors where red jumps against white. Fabrics, leather and fur were cut like panels and assembled to create frank and uncomplicated silhouettes. For his last collection at Emilio Pucci, Peter Dundas revisited the classics he’s created for the House. Evening gowns were high in color with pop or rock’n’roll prints covered in sequins, showing off the ultra-sexy elegance of the Milan nightlife the designer loves.
Paris: savage
The Paris shows featured powerful and proud silhouettes, exploring the themes of nature and instinct. At Dior, Raf Simons explored the idea of the primal woman, a counterpoint to the House’s iconic “femme-fleur”. Animal patterns turned up on knitted jacquard body suits and harness dresses, joined by camouflage details to express a primitive sensuality. Riccardo Tisci proposed another powerfully assertive wardrobe at Givenchy. Models came out with facial piercing of South American inspiration, dressed in black velvet embroidered Victorian dresses, exuding an instinctive, ferocious self-assurance. Kenzo creations were inspired by the theme of clan and refuge with fleece blanket jackets providing comfort and juxtaposed volumes in forest green and solar yellow.
Louis Vuitton experimented with animal themes as well, including long white brushed shearling coats accessorized with metallic or transparent fiberglass trunk-bags, blending technology and natural materials. Likewise, Jonathan Anderson showed off the infinite depth of leather savoir-faire at Loewe. Hides were cut, colored and reassembled in patchworks to create ultra-precise, structured silhouettes. For Céline, Phoebe Philo eschewed the conventional codes of sensuality, inventing a feminine eroticism by superposing fabrics and shapes to wrap sublime silhouettes.