PFW DAY IIIIIII/RECAP

Stella McCartney, Saint Laurent, and Giambattista Valli were some of brands who showed during the seventh day of Paris Fashion Week. Here are some of the highlights.

”An accent on understated seduction” was what Stella McCartney went for with her SS14 collection. And surely there was a sense of understatement to the collection’s slouchy silhouettes, fluid materials, and sober monochrome palette, but it also carried Stella McCartney’s usual air of effortless elegance. Sleek suits, flowy trousers, and neat v-neck lined tops were some of the key looks, rendered in a neutral palette of nudes, dusty pink, marine, and rusty red, punctuated by metal croco structured fabrics and small floral prints. The seduction came with a series of wonderfully sheer lace slip dresses that ended the show.

With inspiration from filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini and Arte Poevra artist Alighiero Boetti, Giambattista Valli showed a sober, yet highly artistic collection for SS14. With simple silhouettes and largely monochrome looks, the real excitement was to be found in the juxtaposition of materials, where sheer chiffon and embroidered organza were contrasted with fluffy fur, structured silk, and heavy jacquard.

During the recent fashion week in Milan, Fausto Puglisi showed his first runway show for his signature label, where, as he himself described it, “Carolina Herrera met Axl Rose”. The same juxtaposition could be seen in his spring collection for Emanuel Ungaro, where ladylike pieces were given a youthful and fierce edge. A mishmash of patchworks, ruffles, polka dots, stripes, slits, and straps, the collection was both playful and seductive, even though the best looks were the simplest ones; a pair of sleek, black trousers, lined with a single sculpted ruffle, matched with a simple top and a tailored suit jacket, or a black and green dotted shirt tucked into a pair of leather shorts.

Elie Saab’s spring show was all about flowers. Dresses and blouses were decorated with flower appliqués, sheer lace was came with subtle floral patterns, and multicoloured floral prints punctuated the otherwise monochrome palette. Even the colours were taken from the garden, with camellia white, rosy pink, bright bougainvillea, and leafy green as the most striking examples.

There were a lot of references to the 80s in Heidi Slimane’s SS14 collection for Saint Laurent, from the bold mismatched prints and puffy dresses to the short leather skirts and slouchy socks tucked into pointy pumps. With sharply tailored suit and tie looks, edgy leather pieces, and exquisitely ruffled skirts and dresses, the collection payed homage to androgynous 80s icons such as David Bowie and Madonna, as well as to Yves Saint Laurent himself.

Photos courtesy of Style.com

By Sonja Nettelbladt