If Milan Fashion Week revived the 70s, Paris Fashion Week has revived raw materials, placing them front and center at many collections, including Céline. And if Céline is showing it, you better believe it will be everywhere next season. Phoebe Philo’s “unedited” collection relieved the tension of her strict aesthetic all the while keeping to her signature minimalism, which she had abandoned for a few season. Relief was a key concept here, with surfaces broken up by tiny slices and peephole cutouts, some of which were circled using sequins, crystals, and beads to signal more evening-appropriate looks.
Philo’s use of raw, unfinished materials also injected warmth into the presentation, starting with a series of opening looks that danced with pompom fringe. While the pieces seemed simple at times, especially when presented in purely neutral tones, their detail work was extensive, with scooped cutouts, contrast stitching, and stiff pleating all helping the designer to capture and keep our attention. Full-knit dresses with wide weave stitching and fringed tunics added increased texture to the looks, and tiny pompoms kept some of them from seeming too rigid.
Midway through the presentation, the tone shifted to something brighter and more optimistic. Philo printed draped and layered dresses with a variety of cheerful florals, which slowly became more abstract as the show progressed. For the finale, she inserted more geometry into her pieces, with wavy lines crossing the bodice as prints and cutouts. Once again, Phoebe Philo asserted her expertise at extracting the extraordinary from the simplest of ideas.
Photos: Courtesy of Imaxtree
