Who is Nehera? A group of women emerged after the final runway roundabout wearing white T-shirts that read We Are on the front and Nehera on the back. Together, they represented the Bratislava-based brand’s design team and, aside from the strong female message, there was the secondary message of the collective “we” in the wake of artistic director Samuel Drira’s departure back in June.
Without him, the brand risked losing focus and possibly a forward thrust. But this collection proved that the gals are doing just fine, upholding self-assured femininity expressed through airy, natural fabrics and thoughtful layers. Their creations were presented slowly, with models circling a pitch of stylized soil at close range, which allowed us a few extra seconds to observe the relaxed tailoring marked with laces or knots—and to also to process the myriad straps and elaborate draping. A pocketed gilet and cropped blouson signaled that the team was treating this collection in a functional, relevant way despite an obvious Central European–countryside-shepherd reference (if any label showing in Paris can claim this authentically, it’s Nehera). But chalk it up to a sign of the times—and an inkling for edge—new military-inspired, wearable bags have replaced the artisanal accessories of previous collections.
The casting was reasonably diverse, underscoring that white linen shirtdresses and deconstructed jackets do not speak to a demographic so much as a mindset. Yet it’s reasonable to believe these women might also want to express their sensuality, and this didn’t come across the same way as it did when Drira was at the helm. All well-proportioned, the looks were not a disservice to the body, they just so rarely suggested it. A trench worn déshabillé and a black elongated coat with upper-arm cut-outs seemed like small concessions.
Not visible in these photos are the two women who played fujara flutes from high on scaffolds. Their atonal music spoke perfectly for the meditative clothes, because for any extra effort required to figure out how to best button up or wrap, one imagines that being dressed this way has a calming effect on the soul.
