Peter Copping‘s show for Nina Ricci had all of the femininity and softness that is the brand is known for, and thankfully, there was some respite from the ’60s and ’70s. Copping instead was looking at the ’40s. More specifically, to 1946m when Madame Ricci and her son used scale models of couture dresses to promote French fashion in post-WWII war-torn Europe. “Make do and mend” was the theme. It was about the spirit of DIY fashion during a time when women had to do what they could with limited resources.
Except resources here were not limited, and you could certainly never do these dresses yourself. A baby blue calf-length three quarter sleeved dress flared ever so slightly at the skirt’s hem, paired with a chestnut brown collar, was a study in the era’s simplicity. The patterns of a floral print top and skirt worn by Sasha Luss had the mixed feel of different fabric swaths that might have been sewn together with “limited resources”, but the most stunning pieces in this collection were the vivid bursts of color. A cotton candy pink double-face crepe skirt that opened the show revealed hints of tangerine, and a cherry red merino sweater was paired with an aqua crepe skirt that buttoned diagonally up the side, left undone to reveal a little leg. And then there was a soft, pale pink silk cloqué coat dress worn by Lindsey Wixson. That’s just the type of design that would make Copping such a good fit for his purported new position at Oscar de la Renta.