Wonderland.

PFW: DAY 1 ROUNDUP AW16

As the action kicks off in Paris, tune in to our highlights reel.

JACQUEMES 

Simon Porte Jacquemes has been making big, conceptual waves the last few years with his Margiela style aesthetic. The re-fabricated, deconstructed and just plain strange is at the heart of his design: and so Jacquemes sent, most notably, football-player padded suit jackets down the runway that turned bodies into cartoon boxes. Things didn’t stop there in the eccentricity stakes either; the asymmetrical ruled supreme this season – everything from tops with a shirt sleeve on one arm and a suede flute sleeve on the other, to all manner of flesh exposing diagonally cut garments turned up with a jumbled, jaunty energy. Then there were highland checks wrapped round the body like the costume of some raggedy Braveheart warrior, thigh high boots aplenty (sometimes unmatching) and dress straps that levitated several inches above the shoulder, held high as if by dark fashion sorcery. Jacquemes doesn’t play by the time worn rules of fit, fabrication or traditional taste, his guidebook is one written by the avant garde legends of which he is a decedent: long may their legacy flourish.

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COACH PROM

Leave it to Coach, the kings of nouveau Americana, to celebrate their flagship Paris store opening with a prom themed party of epic proportions. Held at the opulent Hotel Salomon de Rothschild, Creative Director Stuart Vevers hosted the good and great of the Paris fashion crowd, including Chloe Grace Moretz, Edie Campbell, Suki Waterhouse, Charlie XCX, Audrey Tautou, Susie Lau and Toni Garrn – oh, and a gathering of varsity jackets that would give Grease a run for its money. A far flung from any prom we’ve ever seen, performing live were none other than Mark Ronson and Debbie Harry. The food and drink didn’t look bad either, with mini diner treats and super sweet prom cocktails flowing freely. Jealous? You should be.

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ANTHONY VACARELLO

Anthony Vacarello tends to be heavy on the black and heavy on the grungey sex appeal – it’s little wonder his name keeps on cropping up around that persistent rumor that Hedi Slimane will be departing from Saint Laurent. And rather like Slimane, Vacarello’s understanding of Autumn/Winter doesn’t give much thought to the brisk weather of those seasons: flesh, and plenty of it, was being flashed at Vacarello AW16. In the main, this took the form of bare legs worn with perilously short, party ready skirts and dresses in various states of sheer, meshed, and shining blackness. His trademark cutouts were present and correct, as was inverted corset detailing which drew the eye down rather than to the bust. Fear not, however, we’re not all doomed to freeze next winter, because a crop of fur clad leather jackets turned up near the end: and if that’s not your scene, those PVC trousers are bound to insulate with their red hot bondage vibes.

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NEHERA

There was a subdued elegance at Nehera this season, with a softly spoken colour pallate of beige, grey and white making up the majority of looks. Whilst many of the pieces referenced the classics, however, it would be wrong to suggest this wasn’t an innovative or contemporary collection; the focus was primarily on distorting, modifying and frequently expanding recognisable shapes. That could mean a double breasted suit jacket with curvaceous lapels paired with an extra long camel polo neck or a half zip dress cut wide and flowing like some biblical robe. On the other end of the spectrum were ensembles with that Rick Owens-meets-Jedi vibe – asymmetrical garments that defy conventional description were layered on top of one another and slouchy suede boots or clogs grounded the whole thing with their chic ugliness. This season then, confirmed what we already suspected: that Samuel Drira’s restrained yet progressive imagination is as fertile as they come.

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