As the Paris runways draw to a close, EDITD have pulled together the data generated by the week’s events to bring you Part Four of our city reviews. For SS14, Paris designers presented powerful, polished and functional collections – the perfect canvases to show off the luxe skills of the French capital. We summarise the need-to-know-now and look at what will resonate with the consumer for SS14.
1. Paris’s Palette
By comparison with the three other major cities, the colour palette in Paris was more decisive, with greater similarity in shades shown across more designers. Blue, especially navy, is often dominant among Paris collections, and SS14 was no exception. Electric blue crackled on the runways of Kenzo, Emanuel Ungaro and Christian Wijnants. Shades of red also stood out at Ann Demeulemeester, Vanessa Bruno, Alexander McQueen, Maison Martin Margiela and Carven. Acne Studios played boldly with paintbox brights, pairing red with sunshine yellow, another standout colour for the season. Hot pink, popular in other cities, was employed throughout Chanel’s art-inspired collection.
2. Most Talked-About Brand
Finally toppling Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel strong-hold over Paris Fashion Week spectators, Givenchy emerged as the most talked-about brand. Their collection set the online world alight, earning them 12% more mentions than the usually-dominant, Chanel. A heady mix of Kanye and Kim sat front row and the frenzy of street style photographers clamouring for snaps of trendsetters wearing AW13/14’s Bambi sweater set the hype bar high, but Riccardo Tisci met it with his clothes. In an Africa-meets-Japan culture clash, draping fused with Kimono styling, a Safari palette and open weave dresses. Sequinned takes on traditional prints and the bejewelled faces of models brought glamour to an ultimately sophisticated and resolute collection from Tisci.
3. Off Shoulder
A trend unique to Paris, and refreshing in its new feel, was the off-shoulder shapes seen at Balenciaga, Haider Ackerman, Balmain, and Saint Laurent. Whether sculptural or fitted to form, retailers would be wise to take note of this simple way to add newness to existing shapes.
4. Theme: Power to the 80s
Paris was adamant to go back to the decade that fashion forgot, and make it hot once more. Balmain’s 80s references were especially strong; black leather overalls with gold buttons, a bomber jacket and houndstooth skirt suit and pin stripes. Elsewhere, allusions to the 80s came from the boxy cut of a jacket (Barbara Bui), the metallic, ruffled and strapless eveningwear (Lanvin) and tuxedo suits (Saint Laurent).
5. Silhouette: Oversized
Sex appeal wasn’t entirely off the Paris menu, but it was hidden beneath loose layers and boxy forms. Kenzo’s proportions – wide biker jackets, wide sleeves, wide trousers – were emphasised with a repeated rectangle motif. Chloé’s silhoutte was equally generous, but with the insouciance that Clare Waight Keller excels in: a lurex knit jumper was seemingly poured over the model’s body, her rumpled linen shorts appeared to have been picked up from where they were left yesterday. Bodycon is definitely on the out as street style influencers get behind these new forms and ahead-of-the-pack retailers put these new silhouettes on the high-street.
6. Prints Charming
Paris, usually a little wary of, or conservative with print, showed no fear for SS14. There were exciting developments in digital at Issey Miyake, fun doodle prints from Dévastée and art-inspired from Felipe Oliveira Baptista and Céline. However, the prints more likely to have commercial success are more traditional: the plaids at Viktor & Rolf and Chanel, the florals from Carven, Rochas and Isabel Marant and the stripes at Acne, Givency and Ungaro.
7. Theme: Sports Month
Sports day isn’t over, Paris concreted its fashion month hardiness. Aside from some interesting play with print at Ground Zero, Paris’s take on the sports luxe theme stayed off the playing field, instead focusing on key garments, the bomber jackets, sweaters and a streamlined fit. The theme here puts luxury to the test by spotlighting precision of cut and quality of fabric on a simple form.
8. Metal Detector
SS14 has struck gold. And silver, bronze, emerald, ruby….in fact, all that glitters. Over the course of the week metallic fabrics were seen at numerous designers including Lanvin, Givenchy, Christian Dior, Dries Van Noten and Issey Miyake. These lustrous surfaces feel futuristic when taken away from the formality and occasion of winter; shimmering forms in the sun hint at life in the fast lane rather than the staid ornamentation of the party season.
9. Key Shape: Top Crops
There weren’t many designers who ignored the memo about cropped tops. We’ve seen more midriff this month than Don Draper did in season 6. Paris added to the options with uneven hems, be they neatly curved at Carven, wiggling at Kenzo or ragged in raw edges at Chanel.
10. Key Shape: Bombers
Designers dropped so many bombers that we’re wondering if these jackets are the new t-shirt? They were spotted at Guy Laroche, Sacai, Julien David, Dries Van Noten and many more. Stella McCartney’s was a true winner, taking the classic shape and lengthening it into a dress coat. This, combined with the silk and crocodile print is sport luxe at it’s best.
Stay posted for our full SS14 round-up, released this Friday. In the meantime, check out our top trends from New York, London and Milan, or get in touch if you’d like to discover how to make better business decisions with real-time data.
Katie Smith
