Balenciaga Spring Summer 2018
“After the past few seasons, I could feel myself getting restrained by homages,” said creative director of Balenciaga Demna Gvasalia. “I want to be more Demna. Something more vicious for Spring Summer 2018. Gothic, in a way. Fashion is a reflection of the way we live. I wanted this feeling that something dangerous is going to happen.” And he pointed at the heavily spiked, ankle-strapped pointy stilettos which captured his mood.
Recognizably, it was a Balenciaga collection much nearer to the practice Demna Gvasalia brought to the world with his own brand, Vetements. Showing in a cavernously dark place, he reconfigured archetypal clothes, segueing through men’s striped shirts, punk tartans, ladylike pencil skirts, T-shirts, utility jackets, and negligees. Soon, it became apparent that the pileups of garments weren’t just a matter of layering.
Giambattista Valli Spring Summer 2018
Giambattista Valli channeled cross-gender influences with a collection inspired by a great love affair. Valli said he was inspired by the love story between Italian artist Mario Schifano and writer Nancy Ruspoli, and how they both changed as a result of their relationship: The Italian princess chopped off her hair, while Schifano took to living in a Renaissance palazzo. Valli decided to tell the story through clothes, singling out a handful of key items from the painter’s wardrobe — a lozenge-patterned shirt, khaki pants or jeans — and figuring out how to blend them into his ultra-romantic wardrobe.
Paul and Joe Spring Summer 2018
Paul & Joe’s Sophie Mechaly swung between Seventies glamour and Nineties minimalism for spring, with solid-colored denim pieces cohabiting with rich floral fabrics. Back to Las Vegas!
Pascal Millet Spring Summer 2018
Pascal Millet in Voltaire’s “Candide” attitude. He literally followed the teaching of Voltaire’s “Candide,” where it is written that one must “grow your garden.” “I loved the idea,” the designer said backstage after the show, explaining he recently reread the book. It made him dream up images of a young French woman, in floral prints, tending to her garden or reading there.