PFW DAY II/RECAP

The second day of Paris Fashion Week saw shows by amongst others Damir Doma, Dries van Noten, and Rochas. These are some of the highlights.

Staying true to his sharp silhouettes and minimalistic aesthetics, Damir Doma showed a crisp and clear-cut collection for SS14, interspersed with splashes of bright colours and playful laser-cut polka dot prints. Lustrous olive green, bright orange, and sunny yellow warmed up the subdued palette, while asymmetric shapes, stripes, and the just mentioned dots gave the collection a playful edge.

Dries van Noten’s spring show was an eclectic mix of patterns, shapes, materials, and decorations. Dramatic draping, tassels, ruffles, embroideries, and beads were intertwined with simple, sleek silhouettes and rough textures, such as raw cotton, poplin, linen, and calico. A yellow pleated skirt, decorated with a black barbed wire print, was matched with a delicately embroidered top, while a dramatic ruffled skirt in black, gold, and beige was combined with a simple grey melange sweater. Set in a spacious, golden venue, the show was a marvel of effortless extravagance.

With their classic cuts, pastel palette, and fluorescent materials, Rochas’ spring show was nothing but a fusion between the fifties and the future. The looks were all sheer and romantic, with brocade coats, long wide skirts, and airy dresses, embellished with ruffles, pleats and Swarovski crystals. Wanting to capture the ”translucent qualities of glass, frost, and crystals”, Rochas’ head designer Marco Zanini used materials all luminous and glistening, which together with the pastelle hues made the collection somewhat futuristic and fluorescent. The futuristic feeling also came through in the models slim cat-eye sunglasses, as if taken from Matrix, and their odd sling back shoes, embellished with brightly coloured ostrich plumes.

Also Gareth Pugh’s spring show conveyed an air of the future. The enormous pink feather headpiece opening the show was a recurring element throughout the collection, as was the mermaid skirts, the exaggerated round shoulders, and the sculptural, shiny corsets. The materials were all patent leather and gleaming plastics, in silver, white, black, and turquoise, all adding to the futuristic feel.

Photos courtesy of Style.com

By Sonja Nettelbladt