Day 4 PFW is all about the quirkiness factor. The designers who showed their Spring collections Saturday morning are known for extravagance and personal style. (Except for Cacharel which is Parisian simplicity in a brightly colored nutshell).
There were surprises in store for us. With designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and Viktor & Rolf, it is basically a given, but I don’t think anyone expected plus plus size singer Beth Ditto opening the JPG show. But she did, and also in the show were two other plus size models, Crystal Renn and Marquita Pring. Gaultier’s eccentric designs don’t really translate to me, but the craftsmanship and layering is quite impressive.
Cacharel and Sonia Rykiel are classic French designers, they both love bright pinks and oranges, colors which scream spring/summer and they take simple designs and make them fascinating.
Loewe, a predominantly leather goods company, has had a new British Creative Director, Stuart Vevers, since 2008 and I am absolutely in love with his new designs. The clothing that I was drawn to the most was made of leather, which makes sense because of the company’s history. He took simple pencil skirts and shift dresses and made them so luxurious by doing them in a soft leather or suede.
And then there is Viktor & Rolf. They are the masters of twisting and deforming clothing, but still making it beautiful. One of their signature moves is to add more collars or cuffs than necessary, and it was definitely not left out of this collection. The white (wedding?) dresses at the end were actually quite beautiful and not so avant garde that they couldn’t be worn.
Over all I am more a fan of Cacharel, Loewe, and Sonia Rykiel for their amazing colors and simpler designs, but fashion would be so boring without Mr. Gaultier and Viktor & Rolf.
Jean Paul Gaultier
Beth Ditto, lead singer of The Gossip
Beth Ditto closing the show with Gaultier
Marquita Pring
Crystal Renn
Cacharel
Sonia Rykiel
Loewe
Viktor & Rolf
but according to fashion 