PARIS (AP) – Their musical styles couldn’t be further apart, but that didn’t stop rapper Kanye West and former-Beatle and fashion dad Paul McCartney arriving at the Stella McCartney show buddy-buddy to join actor Woody Harrelson on the front row.
But the strong celebrity presence wasn’t needed to attract attention to the 43-year-old’s designs.
Here are the highlights of Monday’s fall-winter 2015 ready-to-wear collections, including show reports for Hermes and Giambattista Valli:
STELLA MCCARTNEY
It was a stellar collection.
Hitting the on-trend spot, Stella McCartney sensually explored styles of undressing for fall-winter 2015, with a hint of the corset.
Gone were many of the sporty shapes that are now associated with her aesthetic – and in their place were silhouettes, cinched chicly with a belt at the waist or bustier-shaped. Elsewhere there were voluminous “comfort” shapes on beautiful loose knit sweater-dresses in earth tones, which would fall nonchalantly off one arm – as if in a state of undress.
Then, in a fabulous series of yeti-style “Fur Free Fur” looks -shimmying past stylishly – McCartney evoked the spirit of her late animal rights activist mother, Linda. They were so well crafted, that even the most knowledgeable fashion editor might not have been able to spot the difference between this fake fur and the real deal – had they not known who had designed them.
They were twinned with great ’70s kick flare pants – which together with flashes of eclectic metallic panels – gave the collection a real disco lift.
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GIAMBATTISTA VALLI’S INTENTIONAL CONTRASTS
Giambattista Valli combined the sweet scent of the 60s with a play on wildly contrasting patterns for a vibrant and highly original ready-to-wear display.
Starting off with A-line mini-dresses – one with bell (bishop’s) sleeves and blocked monochrome, and another with black knee-high lace up boots – the collection blossomed into floral motifs, retro zigzag and check prints on pants and the odd peplum.
Clothes were light, airy with flashes of vivid color and prints.
But the creative fun really went full throttle on looks that combined contrasting patterns. A monochrome check fitted sleeveless top and pants were worn with an undergarment that peeped out like a peplum in a vivid floral print in black, pink and yellow.
What made the ensemble work was that the diagonal movement in the check was also reflected in a subtle diagonal movement in the floral print. Detail like this is the sign of a true fashion artist, as Valli is.
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HERMES’ DESIGNER UNVEILS DEBUT COLLECTION
For her debut collection at powerhouse Hermes, new designer Nadege Vanhee-Cybulski pared down the house aesthetic, to subtle, yet powerful, results.
Narrowing down the palette to navy, cobalt blue, ivory, carmine red and flashes of sunshine yellow, the 36-year-old French designer used simple minimalist shapes that drew from Oriental styles to bold effect.
The collection was all about gentle contradictions. The austerity of shiny navy leather coats was broken up with a disc panel, or a large soft leather collar.
Elsewhere, a Western-looking sweater sported a Siamese-style split skirt with colored panels, or a shirt in carmine red – associated with the Far East – came on a button-up shirt and was twinned with high sartorial pants. It was a nice mix.
There were also cavalry or equestrian references fused with this creative musing, like a quilted leather coat with large saddle pockets that cleverly resembled a sort of peplum.
Other looks were simply beautiful like an ivory silk split dress with a band on the midriff, that gently swayed as the model walked.
It was a promising start.
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Thomas Adamson can be followed at http://Twitter.com/ThomasAdamsonAP