Karl Lagerfeld presented his Spring couture show in a hothouse, specially erected in the heart of the Tuilleries gardens. It turned out to be the perfect setting for the designer’s fresh-as-a-flower pink and black collection.
Lagerfeld opened with a deluge of black coat-dresses—asymmetrically buttoned, scoop-necked or with velvet-ribbon ties—with pale-pink petticoats peeping out here and there. Then came camellia-colored flared bouclé coats worn with knee-length tunics, and rose and cream herringbone coat-dresses. One flesh-pink dress was embroidered with big sequined flowers. Another, in lightweight crepe, featured a simple crossover closure.
Standard-issue pretty-in-pink, classic Chanel? No, thanks to a series of clever twists that Lagerfeld called “double takes.” A tight-fitting, long-sleeved redingote concealed a sleeveless dress whose pleated chiffon bib melded seamlessly with the lining of the coat. A deep silk-and-lace décolleté “siren” dress took on a demure dimension with the addition of a black smock-like organza jacket. The wedding dress was a spun-sugar confection: a bodice of finely pleated chiffon over a frothy skirt featuring a cascade of pink chiffon petals down the back, the whole thing coated with a light-as-air organza veil.
The season’s surefire hit, though, has to be the witty detached-heel shoes, in a classic T-bar sandal or slingback, with a space between the metal heel and the back of the sole, leaving the foot floating several centimeters in the air.
“Amusant, non?” the reed-thin couturier said with a smile backstage, before heading off to hold court with Madames Chirac and Pompidou.
