If you laid out the looks from Alexandre Vauthier’s Fall haute couture collection alongside those he proposed for Spring ready-to-wear, you’d very quickly have a stack of matching pairs—right down to the shoes, produced by Sebastian. Of course, nothing would be identical; for ready-to-wear, Maison Lesage hand-embroidery became mechanical and the leather fringes now appeared in jersey. But the gist was there. Even Daria Strokus, who closed Vauthier’s couture show, returned as his ready-to-wear leading lady (looking particularly femme fatale in the Oscar Niemeyer–designed French Communist Party Headquarters).
The temptation to declare déjà vu lessens once you take the holistic view that a designer needs a top-notch testing ground to breed the best ideas (and for what it’s worth, Raf does the same over at Dior). Plus, Vauthier upholds his fixation with fit—the body-grazing blazers and body-con laced bias dresses revealed curves, not compromises. He took pride in showing how he turned an obscenely expensive lace-encrusted dress into a generally expensive lace-encrusted dress without a noticeable difference. And the “opium” red leather biker dress was basically a dead ringer. In fact, the biggest difference with Vauthier’s ready-to-wear offering was the injection of filler pieces: sexy bodysuits, tailored vests, and an LBD that can be worn loose and poncho-style or sleekly belted.
Within the past two weeks, Aubrey Plaza, Suki Waterhouse, and Vauthier’s loyal patroness Carine have all furthered his red carpet visibility. But while this may be prime advertising, the introduction of a dressed-down linen grouping suggested it’s not his sole focus. Each of the pieces—be it a jumpsuit or a shirtdress—received some sort of Vauthier golden touch. Maybe they’ll prove the launchpad for his Spring couture.
