We just returned from Paris where we visited the recently opened Le Musée Yves Saint Laurent and felt a renewed appreciation for the venerable designer. Apparently, we are not the only ones. Marc Jacobs, in particular, celebrated YSL’s generous volumes, dramatic bows — and most of all — his glorious sense of color. There was even a harlequin print dress, in direct homage. Stay tuned for more influences from the late 70s to 80s this season.
Time was, wearing a bra in public was either the stuff of fantasy (vintage Maidenform ads) or a signal that the wearer is engaged in the oldest profession (as shown in the new HBO series “Deuce”, about the porn industry in the 1970s). Now the bra is fully out from under, whether it’s delicate lingerie styles for evening or modest knitted versions for day. Shiny fabrics and elasticized edges give the piece a sporty spin. In real life, these pieces will be worn showing though openwork knits or sheer tops, peeking out under jackets, or layered on top of shirts and dresses. Of course, for customers who can carry the look, they will simply be worn as tops.
Smocking, the technique usually associated with baby clothes and folkloric peasant blouses, is bringing fresh appeal to tops and dresses for next fall. The shirred-and-stitched handicraft has been around since the Renaissance, when it was used to shape and provide stretch long before there was such a thing as elastic. Perhaps the latest craze began last spring when Miuccia Prada used smocked bodices throughout her Miu Miu collection. Whether it signals a yearning for a more innocent time, a renewed appreciation for the dressmaking crafts, or just as a way to add dimension and control to fall’s voluminous silhouettes, the detail seems to have taken hold.
The beloved YSL motif is back, heralding a return to logomania. Logos appear in fanciful applications in Paris this season — beaded, bejeweled, as ironic logo-tape or cleverly fashioned into a signature heel.
Paris designers seem to have fallen under the spell of Vetements’ designer Demna Gvasalia and his radically roomy broad-shouldered silhouette.