Metallics — an effect typically reserved for the wintry holiday season — are emerging as one of the big obsessions to come out of Paris Fashion Week so far for the Spring/Summer 14 season.
Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz set the tone with his opening party-chic ensemble, pairing a shiny purple silk pencil skirt with a flirty hem with a rock ‘n’ roll metallic pink tuxedo jacket, worn over the shoulders to reveal a gleaming silk t-shirt marked with the slogan: Dream. He continued with an army of metallic mavens, from model Grace Bol in a metallic red shirt paired with a metallic fuschia skirt, to a full-on silver jumpsuit worn by Saskia de Brauw.
Balmain’s Christophe Decarnin, whose decision to send out models au naturel (as in, sans makeup) caused a buzz this week, crafted tops and skirts from latticeworks of silver beading embroidery that served as windows for flesh (Balmain is all about sexy dressing). The collection focused on mash-ups of classic “Madame” fabrics, however, with skirt suits in oversized houndstooth, and Chanel-esque quilted jackets.
Dries Van Noten, who will be the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris next February, struck gold with his collection, layering a gold leather waistcoat under an organic cotton cream trench, using black ruffles and pleated gold discs as exotic decoration on skirts, edging sporty cream dresses with fringed gold trims or working them entirely out of gleaming golden guipure lace.
Tokyo-based French designer Julien David, whose wave-themed collection — entitled The Tribe of the Seven Seas— played out as a mesmerizing volley of innovative textiles, opted for glitter and hologram effects: the former used on oversized silk nylon waffle hoodies and stadium jackets embroidered with pixellated buoys; the latter trend surfacing on blue thermoplastic holographic polyurethane skirts, and dresses that gleamed like a dolphin emerging from the sea.
Treading a destroyed lingerie theme, dull jewel-tone metallics shimmered across Sharon Wauchob’s poetic yet grungy collection, which also centred on textile effects. The designer tacked fluffy white feathers onto a black satin deconstructed dress, or black feathers onto a black lapel-free coat — resulting in a textured tone-on-tone effect — and peppered smocked chiffon dresses with crystals.
At Rochas, dresses and coats were made of metallic floral jacquard for a retro fifties feel, with an oversized coat in pastel yellow lurex and a dull silver dress in sun pleats among the highlights.
Avant-garde British designer Gareth Pugh used silver latex to heighten the futuristic feel of his sculptural collection, including one "beam-me-up" look of skinny silver pants, an architectural coat riding up in an arc at the shoulders and a shiny gray plastic bustier — not one many earthlings could pull off.
For his debut collection for Paco Rabanne, Julien Dossena deftly reworked the house’s signature medium — chainmail — and sent out slinky vest tops and minidresses, as well as silver pants with zips running all the way up the leg,
Cédric Charlier tested daring color combinations, pairing a red sequined t-shirt top with an iridescent pistachio-hued skirt, breaking up a collection otherwise centered on Japanese-inspired tailoring and pure kimono forms, in a classic palette of black, white, and navy.
