“Everyday femininity” were the two words Isabel Marant used to sum up the spirit of her show tonight. The Parisian designer is very fluent in the language of cool French girl dressing, generally drawing on the experiences she’s had in far-flung, exotic locations to add a twist of wanderlust to each new collection. There were no travel photos on her inspiration board, though, for Spring, or any of the historical muses she’s conjured in seasons past. In fact, the combo of sporty, utilitarian, and vaguely bohemian references was grounded in the way working women zip about a city like this one, moving between the office to the gym to cocktail hour and back again.
The shoes—a hybrid of a Pilates sock, kitten heel, and Japanese sandal—gave the clothes their footing in the most literal way, and replaced the tomboy boots she has previously favored. The designer admitted that she’d been feeling the idea of dresses more than usual, and the best of the lot were as romantic and flirty as the designer gets: replete with ruffles, covered in Liberty London-style floral prints, and finished with the billowing statement sleeves we’ve seen all over the runways for Spring. Don’t expect Marant to stop wearing her cool pants anytime soon, though; the high-waisted styles she presented today were cut with an appealing and familiar slouch—slightly pegged at the ankle and loose through the thigh. The workwear details—patch pockets, contrast stitching, exposed zippers, and such—were an added bonus. The silhouette had the ease of jeans, and looked especially good on Arizona Muse, who wore the pants with a crisp cotton peasant blouse. The designer loves a good boilersuit, too, and here, they were either rolled down to the waist or cinched with corsets.
Yes, Marant has always had a knack for styling, but she doesn’t lose sight of practicality in her clothes, either. As a veteran model and mom, Muse would appreciate that many of the cotton and linen pieces were just as machine-washable as her gym gear and baby clothes. Ready-to-wear in the truest sense.
