Debuts bookended the Paris shows today. Casey Cadwallader put on his first runway presentation for Mugler this morning, and Yolanda Zobel revealed her inaugural collection for Courrèges as the sun set. They’re both heritage houses with mega legacies, but neither one has a surfeit of cultural currency in 2018, despite the better than decent work produced by their respective former creative directors. Courrèges’s new hire, Zobel, may have the bigger challenge than her Mugler counterpart, if only because the house’s heyday is two decades further into the past than Mugler’s. Then again, Courrèges’s youthquake-y, space-agey miniskirts are bound to appeal to today’s millennials and Generation Z crowd.
Zobel’s debut, held at Courrèges’s Avenue François 1er flagship, had all the makings of a happening. Guests crowded into the store and models walked in and out of the doors; the photo pit spilled onto the street. And Miuccia Prada’s re-examination of Courrèges’s legacy on her Spring 2019 runway added to the anticipation. But while there were some viable pieces here (a khaki trench and poncho; a snap-front jacket in the house signature vinyl, abraded in places by age and wear; a drawstring-waist boilersuit), there were equally as many of dubious taste. The sheer body stockings with retro appliqués come to mind. Odd accessories—logoed stockings, daisy nipple pasties—didn’t help matters. Zobel is an idea person; the pop-up shop that recently opened next door to the flagship to sell off the house’s remaining unsustainable vinyl is super clever. Still, next season she’ll have to bring some order to her runway vision.
