8/14/2019 A child & a woman in fashion

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10International Herald Tribune

 Monday,O ctober 9, 2006 Fashion

ContinuedfromPage9

By Jessica Michault

 T he Martin Grant show opened with a shortand sweet cartoon vignette of a fashionable young womanwalking her dog. What it hadto dowith the

collectionis anyone’s guess but it did set the tonefor the youthful, sporty anddress-filled collection that followed.

The designer began with two versions of a drop-waisted sleevelessdress, inblack or white with contrastingpiping outlining thebuttons andbelts. It wasa nice introduction: The dresses looked like an artist’s sketch and were sofreshand modern that the models couldhave walked right off the runway andintothe chic streets of the sixtharrondissementsurrounding the École Na-tionale Supérieuredes Beaux-Arts.

The rest of the collection showed how well the Australian-born designerknows his well-heeledclientele,giving them littlepractical things like pocketsin all theskirts or using color and pleating to draw the eyeto onepart of thebody.But, most important, he knows thata woman’s shouldersare oneof thelast things togo, sendingout onedresson topof anotherthat putthefocusonround, bare shoulders. There were sleeveless tops with folds of fabric at thecollar, halter dresses held taunt against the collarbone, and drawstring,smockedor lightly drapedcollars that actedlike a frame for the exposed skin.

Thecollection may have been a bit sportier that in past seasons butthat

should only give loyalfans of his cocktail dresses evenmore reason to buy.International Herald Tribune

In the passionate debateabout too-thin models, no one has reallyreached thenub of thematter:Whywould grown women yearn to re-

semble pre-pubescent girls? Yet one of theOlsentwins boastedfromher front-row perch at the Dior show this weekthat she was wearing a child’s jacket;and the streets of Western capitals arefilled with women wellpast middle agesqueezedinto drain-pipejeans.

Thea nswer lies not withfashionde-signers, whose vision only mirrors thecomplexities of their times, but withapsychoanalyst who has to decode thereasons for this strange desire to elim-inate a natural womanly shape, to thepoint that the greatest complimentpaid to the youngmother Katie Holmeswas editorscooing thatshe hadgot herfigureback.

Therecent successof Chloé, when ithad a young woman designer, PhoebePhilo (wholeft a year ago for mother-hood), was both to play withpregnantvolumes and to capture a world of in-nocence in which a woman seemed toget in touch with her ‘‘inner child.’’

Since this was played out at a timewhen ‘‘girly’ looks, pulsating with in-your-face sexuality, was the leadingfashion culture, Chloé acted as a fash-ion counterpoint.

But Chloé’s regression into infancythis season was a step too far into thethick-heeled version of Mary Janeshoes. (They are, of course, footwearthat no self-respecting kid wears in aworldof sneakers).

The program notes cited the Ameri-can heiress Gloria Vanderbilt as aprimaryinfluence,but thenspecifical-ly stated that the show was ‘‘inspiredbychildhood.’’ Hence, there were pantssuspended from a high waist below aflat chest that seemed grotesquefor agrown woman, while a jumper dressover a blouse with billowing sleeveswas charming.

In truth, Chloé had not changed somuch from its earlier riff on volume,with some square jackets worn overshorts andbold, swingy coats and withcolors such as mustard and green tocrisp up the Bohemian side. The newdeparture was for hefty embellish-

 A giant step for womankind

ment,eye-poppingpatterns and Jujubecandies of embroidery that coveredshort trapeze dresses.

The chunky handbags looked moresui ted to grownups, as long as fra ilwomenhave the strength to carry thesehefty leather moving vans.

IgorChapurinopenedhis show withthe word ‘‘Lolita.’’ But there was moredepth to this parade than just thewispy, pale blondeRussian models whohave been in the firestorm of accusa-tions of anorexia.

‘‘I didn’t even realize that I hadbooked almost entirely Russia models— butNabokov was Russia and Lolitahas grown into a new women who issensual and strong,’’ said Chapurinback stage.

So this collection came as muchfrom the designer’s Russian soul as

from thecurrent fascination with babydolls —even if there were puff-sleevedtrapeze dresses that had that short-and-cutelook. More sophisticated were

the full-sleeved blouses, fitted to thebody with the volume breaking out atthe shoulders. Worn with smart shorts,there was a nice balance between tail-oring and softness.

Chapurin tried a little too hard tomake a dramatic show, with leggingsand torso pieces printed so that theylooked like body painting. But thosetrompe l’oeileffects toocaughta senseof Russia and its rich heritage, whilepleats used as inserts on skirts anddressesfed the show’s linearand moregraphic side. For evening, a bolddragonfly pin would give a touch of glamour to dresses that were elegantand womanly.

As Kenzo’s first models appeared asshadow silhouettes behind the set of asweeping sanddune, it looked like thisshow would be another voyageof fash-

ion discovery.The designer Antonio Marras cer-tainly seemedto have as manyideas asthere were grains of sand on the run-

way.Buthe neverbuilt them into a co-herent show.

The strongest out fi ts were thestriped knits, the trapeze dresses inblocks of colors such as pink, yellowand greenand swimwearthat gave theshow a good, strong 1940s sportswearfeeling.

But somuchelse was going on as themodels struggled in their hefty plat-forms to negotiate the beach. Add Afri-can headgear,an obi sash wrapping themiddle and bags that could carryenough sand to build a tower and youhave just someof the myriadpieces un-der Kenzo’s sun.

Marras’s thoughts are emblematicof a general confusion in Paris: betweengrownupand childishclothes,betweensoft fabrics and hard silhouettes andbetweenf uturism and romance.

The designer suddenly expressed hisromantic side with a finale of a rose-patterned dress blowing across thesand. — Suzy Menkes

tion. No child-woman regression. Nohobbling shoes. No handbags. Mc-Queen’s work might have seemed morelike couture statement than a ready-towear collection but it was a rare mo-ment of grace.

Gaultier hit perfect pitch at Hermèsfrom themoment thefirst two modelswalked from a backdrop of azure seaand sky downa runway lined withdeckchairs for a loungingaudience.

It seemedas if the jersey dresses, thegraceful swimsuits and the madras-checked voile dress in the signatureHermès burnt orange had all blown inona seabreeze. Thewaythatthemod-elswalked thedeck catwalk — some-times inpai rs, always happily connect-ing with one another — was a freshcontrast to the zombie trance of thetypical modern show.

Gaultier has brought to Hermès anapparently effortless elegance thatex-udes upscale luxury from the quality of a tailored shorts suit, a crisp cottonblouse with a tie on the sleeve or thetexture of a rough l inen jacket. Thebags from which the fashion house has

grown wereinventivebut never showy:a chic, rectangular suitcase withan ‘‘H’’logo tracedli ke a graphicpattern; a vin-tage-style hat box; purses flat and fol-dedinto a clutch.

It is not so easy to produce thisquintessentially Gallic luxury withoutmaking it seem uptight and prissy.Gaultier nuanced the just-soperfectionwitha whimsical circus patternor oth-er classic Hermès scarf prints. Theywere layered under a check pattern sothat a sunflower print came throughlike a dot pattern. The designer bal-anced the strokeable leather withmetallic accessories and brought plat-form shoes back tonature witha grainywooden sole.

Then, just a few hours later, heshowedhis bubbly inventive sideas hestaged a magic show at the OlympiaTheater. The variety show of fashioninsiders included his own appearancein thefinale, levitating a fashion editorfrom Le Figaro with the finesse of amaster magician.

International Herald Tribune

Suzy Menkes is the fashion editor of the International Herald Tribune.

Regression in fashion: A child or a woman?

Christopher Moore/KarlProuse

Martin Grant dresses up

ih t .com /s t y le A slide show of Paris Fashion Week

CHLOE

KENZOCHAPURIN

MARTIN GRA NT

HERMES