Nina Ricci’s Pre-Fall collection was photographed by Estelle Hanania at the AccorHotels Arena, the Parisian equivalent to Madison Square Garden. She shot on film using the gelatin-silver process, so there was no digital, real-time screen for Guillaume Henry to see her vision until she turned over the final pictures. It wasn’t so long ago that photojournalists and roadies alike would capture music idols this way, and these are the images that usually saturate social media when a legend dies—the passing of French chanteuse France Gall a few days ago yet another reminder. Henry noted his fascination with this phenomenon; yet unlike the usual tribute collection, he said Hanania’s photos within the empty arena captured the onstage-backstage duality of glamour and reality that these clothes express—whether the women who will wear them are famous performers or not.
Rarely does rock come so refined. Consider the cable-knit bib held together by a handful of strass straps; Rihanna might sport it with little else than a pair of oversize pants; you, on the other hand, could layer it over a blouse as styled in the lookbook. In the showroom, mannequins dressed in variations of violet and red—a high-sheen corduroy smoking with a lace chemise, for example—made the type of loud color statement typically destined for a photo op; yet the collection actually yielded a fair amount of powdery and putty hues, along with inky green and black, to seduce more subtly. The robe coat that Henry revisits in every collection was shown this time over a long slip dress with high vents revealing a lace underlayer. It bordered on femme fatale even while projecting just enough tastefulness to befit a museum fundraiser. For every extra-sheer ruched and pleated chiffon blouse or shirtdress, there were flattering full-coverage pants and tailoring in patchwork tweeds that veered more retro in volume. And whereas he imagined the quilted caban with contrast stitching as a cozy layer for a star pre- or postshow, you would probably buy it as a chic upgrade from Uniqlo.
Interestingly, despite all the individual déshabillé pieces, they were shown discreetly or as finishing touches. And you wouldn’t guess from the glossy red cowboy heels, vinyl detailing, pink faux Mongolian fur, and strass embellishments that Henry wanted the collection to exude a sense of tenderness. But it was there in the floaty, feminine shapes and also in the season’s print motif: a pattern of lipstick kisses pursed by the women in his studio.
