Paris Fashion Week trends report: 60s style, woolens, arty effects

Retro 

Like Gucci in Milan, Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent went back to the 1960s this season, picking Swinging London influences including sparkling shift-dresses, Mary-Jane shoes and black Twiggy-esque eye makeup. Valentino also worked the retro vibe, with designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli influenced by Italian Pop Art from the 1960s and 70s, a trend most obviously reflected in the bright geometric coats that opened the show. 

Wools 

Haider Ackermann played with soft wool knits and felted wool outerwear. Vanessa Bruno and Isabel Marant are two labels known for operating at the more wearable end of the high-fashion spectrum and neither will have disappointed their regular customers with covetable luxe sweaters. Sonia Rykiel was another Parisian brand mining the trend, with designer Geraldo da Conceiçao turning out ultra-comfy slouchy matching knit pieces in caramels, grays and blues. Viktor&Rolf added a typical twist to their pieces, turning schoolgirl sweaters into glamorous yet minimalist sweater-dresses, and mutating their cable knits into a digital print motif. Céline also showed ribbed-knit tunics with matching flared pants.

20th century art

At this season’s Christian Dior show Raf Simons presented sequins on silk that looked like little splashes of colored paint, cut-out shapes that revealed vibrant blocks of contrasting color with a Matisse-like effect. The same French painter was summoned up at the Vionnet show which featured faux-naive patches in the shape of different flowers pasted in contrasting green valenki felt tones. The swirling shapes at Dries Van Noten and Acne also brought to mind later abstract painters including Bridget Riley.