At first glance, one might wonder why Alexandre Vauthier put faux furs in his summer couture collection. Those pieces came about because he noticed that clients were talking more and more not of cruises along the French or the Italian Riviera, but of heading north—way north—to steer clear of crowds and experience something new. Those customers still want to wear Vauthier’s hot little minis, but they need something to stay warm, too. The hunt for a suitable material turned up what the designer calls the most convincing, plush faux fur he has ever used, and he worked it in black, acid or bottle green, and hot pink, mounting the fabric upside down for volume, but also for fun.
“We’re living at a crossroads which makes for anxious times, so with this collection I wanted to really play and show something very strong, with radical colors,” he offered during a backstage preview. This being the last time Vauthier was showing in a venue he loves—a former state bunker and future record company on the southern fringe of Paris—he wanted to go big.
The faux fur was one of several twists in a collection that revisited signatures like razor-sharp tailored jackets or bombers, second-skin pants with quicksilver shine, and ultra-sassy hemlines. The designer put an explosion of hot pink flounces on two black velvet bustier dresses, giving one a modernized version of the pouf skirt, and the other a sensual, almost organic outgrowth of pink lamé. Teal sequins twinkled from hood to matching boots, an homage to Grace Jones. A tuxedo jacket dress was paired with an asymmetrical underskirt of hand-cut mirror-lacquered rhodoid, one of several pieces that put a couture spin on next season’s dominant motif—the diamond—while also breaking with traditional codes. (“I don’t want something officially royal,” he quipped).
That thinking applied, too, to more quietly complicated constructions. A lean pair of trousers whose shape echoed the diamond theme via ever-so slightly slouchy, draped hips took 12 tries to get right. Extra-large puffed sleeves are, in fact, gloves. A black sequined bomber, shown short on the runway, can be loosened, unsnapped in the back, and worn long.
Vauthier believes that couture should be “contemporary and forward-looking.” With this collection, his growing base is spoiled for choice.
