On the continuum of Isabel Marant pre-collections, this one ranks right up there. Occasionally, these lineups can feel a little predictable, which is understandable given the commercial imperative. But this collection conveyed a degree of desirability that could hold its own relative to her runway shows.
For one thing, looks attained the ideal balance of sophistication and comfort. Knits with statement shoulders; soft top layers that could be thrown over anything; flattering cropped, high-waisted jeans; and shapely yet unstructured dresses would all be appreciated as wardrobe updates. In these looks, there was less dependence on surface detail and more emphasis on monochromatic directness. “In pre-collections, there can be a lot of layering, but here, I wanted to be very pure,” she confirmed. Compare the black leather quilted vest-shirt-trouser combination at the very end to her days of Parisian-inflected American tropes and it’s actually astounding the degree to which her vision has evolved.
As an authority on je ne sais pas, Marant is never quite able to pinpoint how she arrives at the minutiae of these decisions, but she was able to weigh in on the collection’s tight edit. “The idea is real clothes that you want to keep—beautiful architectures that give style without being complicated.”
