PARIS, Feb 26, 2008 / FW/ —- Day 4 was a chilly cloudy, drizzly day but energy of the shows made everyone forget. Our first show Marithé Francois Girbaud was in one of the large rooms in the Louvre and was lit with dim blue lighting and white laser projections showing satellites and astrophysical illustrations in motion.
It appears the inspiration for the show was outer space travel meets Peter Gun using music form ET and Star Wars mixed with secret agent themes. The collection on the other hand was youthful and very present in today’s world with draping coats & hats, distressed denim pants and a verity of motorcycle inspired full and dime-boots.
Both men & woman models walked the runway and gave the impression of sophisticated alternative rockers moving in to the future. A four pointed star was used as a reoccurring graphic element throughout the collection and helped to reinforce the subtle but present rocker thread in many of the pieces.
Colors were traditional winter ranging from charcoal to beige to blue with orange accents. Overall a fun show to watch and I think a popular collection for a young generation.
The Issey Miyake invitation was a bit somber showing three vaudeville performers dancing on a mound of bones and skulls with what looked like the end of the world behind them. What was the message here, we asked ourselves as we prepared for the show.
Upon entering the room this theme seemed to be something different with a single white table and two chairs in the center of the runway. This was suddenly whisked away just moments before the show started; to quote Monte Python, “And now for something completely different”.
As the lights dimmed a male model rode a white mini-bicycle down the runway to greet the first girl then ditched the bike to walk with her. The show seemed a little indecisive but the collection was not.
Starting with white on black denim and moving into beautiful plum colors each piece was definitely Issey with many having his signature pleating and ultra modern style. At one point during the show the music stopped and was replaced with the sounds of chimes and bells being carried by the models as they walked.
Very somber, almost as if we were watching a beautiful funeral wake; the end of the collection was mostly white flowing pieces and faceless models who walked with white semi-transparent hoods covering there heads as if to represent ethereal ghosts.
Ann Demeulemeester
Ann Demeulemeester was the last show for the day and was held in a retired convent, Couvent Des Cordeliers. The show started with some hooting and hollering from the media riser to get writers & guests sitting front row to remove their bags and uncross their legs.
But soon the jeering from the photographers was replaced by the sound of countless cameras clicking away as the models walked the room. Ann’s show was wintry but with hope for spring as she used colorful hydrangea prints to balance the dark browns, charcoal and purple to mauve colors.
Loose almost Quaker hats topped a variety of multi-layered outfits accented with fur dangling chains. Her collection appeared very comfortable and wearable as individual pieces or as a complete outfit, though I think for a more mature buyer with ground tastes.
Also present in the collection were purple fur coats combined with draping tops, narrow leg pants and tights on a foundation of boots laced up to the back of the knee. This collection had many components that fit well together or nicely alone.
(Additional Reporting by Errol Murray)
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[...] Diary of Paris Fashion Week, Day 4: Marithé & Francois Girbaud, Issey Miyake, Ann Demeulemeeste… [...]
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