Isabel Marant pulled together a thumping ’80s hip-hop soundtrack for her show today, even though the influences on her new collection skewed more North India than South Bronx. The Parisian designer has made a name for herself by filtering that elusive French girl cool through a distinctly global lens: She was a seasoned traveler from an early age, thanks to her bohemian upbringing, and has a knack for cherry-picking, and then deftly reconfiguring, dress codes and traditions from all four corners of the planet. For Spring, Marant’s divining stick led her to the rich, colorful textiles of Rajasthan. It’s a place the designer has visited for inspiration in the past, but given the free-spirited, eccentric ’70s moods that seems to be lingering in the air on the runways, that milieu still feels relevant.
That being said, the silhouettes recalled the rounded, billowy shapes of the ’80s overall. Style-conscious festival girls who have spent the summer in breezy, vintage-inspired peasant blouses will be swapping out their skinny jeans for harem pants come spring if Marant has her way. The MC Hammer favorite isn’t exactly the easiest look to pull off, but in this case the styling was right: Layered up with sequined leggings and elevated with Gorky-style heels, the look took on a new vibe.
What with all the sparkling textiles that have been around in the collections, somehow a Lurex gold jumpsuit gathered at the ankle, rolled down to the waist, and worn with a lightweight sweater felt right for now. The global nomad hand of the clothes might have been familiar territory for Marant, but it’s still likely to give her fans a reason to revisit her store.
