A.P.C.'s Jean Touitou doesn't lack for opinions. His Paris presentations are must-sees for the frank way in which he rails against the fashion system and current trends. People grab a coffee, plop themselves down on the couch, and settle in for some real talk, not to mention, of course, a chance to see the label's new clothes. Today, Touitou had two big gripes. To begin, designers are showing couture, not ready-to-wear. "Fashion is not only about celebrity and finance," he said, alluding to the big production shows for which Paris is famous and the front-row types whom they attract. "It's also about proportion and styling." His second point was about his distaste for extreme sexiness. "To be dressed, you don't need to be high in the sky in heels," he continued. "My whole purpose is to sex down things."
Put those ideas together and you'll get a pretty good picture of what A.P.C. has on tap for Spring. Dresses in chambray, denim, or broderie anglaise-trimmed white linen fell in A-line shapes to the mid-thigh, and there were shirtwaist styles in microprints. None were un-sexy, but they weren't obviously come-hither, either. A quartet of jumpsuits followed. Touitou called them "an obsession" on his part and that of his customers. The best came in a nice shade of cargo green. And for the beach, or those moments when you're returning home and don't want to kill your weekend buzz: easy separates like high-waisted shorts or a popover top with djellaba detailing from A.P.C.'s ongoing partnership with Vanessa Seward. All of it came out on flat vegetable-dyed leather sandals or very manageable heels. Touitou practices what he preaches. He also managed to deliver the feel-good moment of the week when three young kids danced out in pieces from a new A.P.C. collaboration with Bon-Ton.
