Kerry Washington at the Emmys, Zendaya at the after-party, and the evening before our appointment, Nicole Kidman in Monaco: Alexandre Vauthier is a red carpet dynamo. Following two successive eyewear campaigns with Alain Mikli featuring Christy Turlington and Kate Moss, Vauthier said this lookbook with Eva Herzigova was a continuation of that story—“but for the house”—and with its lens suitably widened to take in the clothes.
As ever, the clothes on offer for the season ahead were an adaptation, declination, and expansion of Vauthier’s couture ideas in ready-to-wear. There was a strong ‘masculine’ element: Vegas-cut tuxedo jackets with peak lapels widened and raised to the shoulder were cinched around color-edged ruffle shirts and worn over cigarette pants. Houndstooth, pinstripe, and textured tartan in black and white jacquards and weaves made for forgiving yet powerfully silhouetted tailoring and skirt suits. The oversize gabardine trench had Bogart cool.
Vauthier’s Mugler and Gaultier pedigree, combined with a deep knowledge of both his craft and client makes him, however, a designer who is strongest when working in the context of the ‘feminine.’ His black wet-look sequin backless orchid hemmed dresses and plunging neckline jumpsuits, his black sheaths set with arresting pink ruffle, and his layered and ruched peplummed corset top in pink silk were all efficiently impactful, like well-executed boxer’s jabs. A strong-shouldered long hemmed pistachio jersey dress with a fulcrum of gather at the midriff was Bacall beguiling. These clothes were ample demonstration of this designer’s simultaneously impactful and fuss-free approach to statement dressing.
