While our collective future continues to feel uncertain on many levels, Isabel Marant is pretty much keeping to business as usual. Her showroom was open and filled with buyers—a promising sign, especially if, a few months from now, things have improved to the point that we are ready for a wardrobe refresh. With this collection, the designer is betting that we will gravitate toward statement pieces that last beyond a single season. “It’s more sophisticated, but not complicated,” she said of the lineup, citing midcentury-modern artists such as Miró and Calder as well as her intention to convey a slightly androgynous feminine persona.
Accordingly, shoulders and sleeves are sculpted with unmistakable ’80s exaggeration—classic Marant by way of Saint Laurent—but the overall construction of each piece is deliberately minimal and easy to wear. Reworked men’s shirts will prove particularly useful if work life remains relegated to waist-up Zoom meetings. Yet the designer still cares what you might want to wear from the waist down and has stayed faithful to the ’80s referencing with acid-washed denim skirts and stirrup pants in the palest pink.
The palette duality between light and soothing shades and assertive tones of green, red, and navy felt like a good instinct; we will not want to be spending the winter months enveloped in black. As for the dresses—in draped velour or fluid Tencel with cut-outs, take your pick—one can only look longingly and hope there will be occasions on the horizon to justify them and their edgy metal-capped boots. Otherwise, Marant’s quilted layers look more relevant than ever. “The confinement forced me to be very pragmatic,” she said, having spent the period surrounded by the forest of Fontainebleau. “This was not a moment for being superficial.”
