“The older I grow, the less subtle I want to be,” began Jean Touitou at his Spring A.P.C. show. He was speaking over a microphone in a courtyard on the Rue Cassette near his headquarters, with a 17-year-old DJ beside him and stalls debuting new collaborations with JJJJound, Carhartt WIP, and RTH around the perimeter. Some guests sipped A.P.C.-branded cold brew, others were corralled into blocked-off sections, and even more slouched on benches bobbing their heads and tapping their toes to the pop music playing. In its way, this was the A.P.C. equivalent of an experiential show—all the rage this season—but executed by someone more interested in community and joy than Insta-flash. After the show, Touitou said he was thinking about communist events in the ‘70s, raucous nighttime gatherings in city squares, and maybe about making a big joke about communists (and possibly capitalists too) along the way. But he promised that what ended up on the catwalk was not sinister but sincere.
It always is at A.P.C., but especially this season. Touitou wanted to make a rebuttal against the ugliness and aesthetic brutalism of today’s world. This played out in bold summer colors and flippant little silhouettes. A tangerine swing coat, a pastel paisley minidress, and grass green dinette dresses and knits were some of Touitou’s brightest moments in recent history. He clashed this all together with quirky styling tricks, like thick knit socks, backpacks worn on the chest, and A.P.C. quilts held up like banners. The cleverness on the catwalk, amplified by a perfect dance-party soundtrack of Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, and David Bowie, was in funny contrast to the khaki- and navy-clad guests in the audience. Minimalism and purity of form are dogma at A.P.C., but as Touitou ages, his gestures are becoming easier and more free. On the backs of some pieces he had written slogans in a thick, all-caps font: RADICALLY MINIMAL, POSITIVELY NORMAL. In the grand scheme of style, A.P.C. is still essential daywear—positively normal—but now less strict, less serious, and with a little more poetry.
