Individuality is the mot d’ordre in fashion today—as it is in the world at large. We are all mini-universes unto ourselves, and we celebrate that constantly, in as many ways as possible, with as many self-expressive tools as possible—for better or worse. As far as designers are concerned, this mindset has given them freedom to go in as many creative directions as they like, often within the same collection. Coherence—or at least a certain cohesive style quality—has somehow become an overlooked thing of the past.
Alexandre Vauthier’s couture collection tapped right into this zeitgeist-y mood. “It’s almost a story of personnages,” he explained backstage before today’s show. “Women have very diverse horizons and their uniqueness is what constantly inspires me.” He worked on a rather extensive variety of shapes and volumes: Sharp tailoring and robes-boulle, ethereal flou and ultra-theatrical volumes, and goddess-like draping and profusions of ruffles all played against strong-shouldered ’80s minidresses.
“I imagined the show as the famous surrealist diner-de-tête Rothschild at the Château de Ferrières in 1972,” he explained, pointing out the incredible headdresses created by Philip Treacy. Hyperboles of sky-high exotic plumages or flame-shaped fascinators dripped in red glitter that you could’ve easily imagined in a Jean-Paul Goude photograph of Grace Jones. A “Le Palace in the 1980s” mood was also very much on Vauthier’s mind. The first look on Vittoria Ceretti was an homage to the sharp yet sensuous elegance favored by Paloma Picasso at that time: a black tuxedo worn on bare skin, paired with gray harem pants in wool gabardine.
Throughout the collection, references to the ’80s alternated with more classic tributes to the savoir faire of couture ateliers. A sensational pouf minidress was made of concentric swirls of feathers, courtesy of plumassier par excellence Lemarié. An austere white-tie tailcoat with ample trousers gathered at the ankles could’ve suited the ambiguous charm of Tamara de Lempicka. A vast meringue of a dress was made with ribbons of plissé ruches in cerulean organza, its aristocratic debutante flair twisted by a pair of high-heel boots dripping in silver glitter.
The mash-up of über-chic disco queens and extravagant French princesses was definitely what the collection was about. Vauthier knows pretty well that the essence of couture lies in the unlikely marriage of extravagance and chic—a pretty fabulous union indeed.