Paris Fashion Week: Dries Van Noten’s Garden Party, Courrèges, Maison Margiela

Dries Van Noten Spring/Summer 2017
Welcome to Dries Van Noten’s garden! Chez Dries, it’s always a wonderful explosion of pattern and color set against an incredible backdrop. There are no full-blown carnivals or enormous set designs here, but there is always something extremely thoughtful in the way Dries presents his collections, not least of which is the way he has all of the models pose stationary after the show so that even the back rows can have an up-close look. There was once, for instance, a carpet 16 days in the making by Argentinian Alexandra Kehayoglou, which served as a mossy resting place for the models for a sit-in at the Spring 2015 show. This season, the show featured giant glass vases with incredible floral displays that lined the runway. The highlights? Easy floral shift dresses, oversized grandpa shorts and trousers, and an incredible floral-printed orange, navy, and yellow pantsuit to dream about until you can buy it next year.

Courrèges Spring/Summer 2017
Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant’s third showing for the brand included futuristic looking neoprene wetsuits (the streetwear obsessed might find something in this), a lattice sheer patent jumpsuit look worn with a high-slit skirt, and mini dresses with a triangle bias with pouch pockets. The futurism was emphasized further by Matrix-style sunglasses. The mini dresses will find their way into the closets of leggy 20-somethings, but the less-futuristic retro pieces looked like the sellers here. What could be more evergreen than a chic white tunic top with a pair of white pants? Even a hot pink suede trench could stick around for awhile. 

Maison Margiela Spring/Summer 2017
John Galliano’s mad collection for Maison Margiela this season was a reflection on the future of fashion, if not a complete caricature. It was a mishmash of every trend throughout the decades to the streetwear obsession du moment thrown together in one vision of fashion mayhem. That meant giant ear-cuffs with crystals that protruded upward like an extra set of ears, colorful headsets for the always-connected, “sensible” shoes like the brand’s classic split toe made to look like those rubbery FiveFinger toe shoes, and a fluffy pink bodysuit fit for yoga and the streets (complete with a turquoise yoga mat accessory and matching vinyl headband). As you may know, the conversation about preening street style stars and bloggers vs. the traditional way of viewing fashion has been resurrected, but if anything it looks like the former is actually influencing fashion with crazy over-the-top combinations of the latest trends.