One might be hard pressed to imagine Lucas Bravo, who plays wholesome-enough heartthrob Gabriel in “Emily in Paris,” as a chilling doppelgänger for Christian Bale in the 2000 film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ “American Psycho.”
But the French actor had the silver screen psychopath spot on as he strode forward to open Louis Gabriel Nouchi’s fall show, all negative energy, icy blue eyes and simmering violence.
Later appearances by Stefano Gianino, the hunky dealer from “White Lotus,” and “Fire Island” breakout star Zane Philipps amped up the hot creep factor.
Nouchi picked Patrick Bateman, a “character [who] hates everyone — women, homosexuals, fat people, homeless people,” as a conduit to unpick toxic masculinity.
The shoulder line — “actually not a big shoulder but a work on the shoulder head,” Nouchi pointed out — and marked waist defined the seasonal silhouette and referenced the lavish yuppie wardrobe.
Into his terrific tailoring, the designer injected elements that served as the “revenge dress” of the categories Bateman hates. There were draping lifted from the couture glossary, for the feminine touch; sensual textures but covered skin, as an antidote to the character’s debauched sexuality, and a range of body shapes, as ever.
New for fall is leather, through a partnership with specialists Ecco Leathers, with Nouchi opting for machine washable and transparent parchment-like versions, the latter used for silhouettes riffing off Bateman’s murder coat.
By reining in the overt displays of skin of seasons past, the season offered a reminder of Nouchi’s range, in techniques and ability to successfully dress clients in all shapes, sizes and ages.
Backstage, the designer said the overarching ’80s reference felt relevant as it mirrored the present day with “a huge crisis, socially and in the world in general.”
Case in point: “Stop executions in Iran” read a handwritten note one model unfolded as he neared the photography pit. The idea that there are still plenty of Bateman types — be they individuals or regimes — out there went without saying.
