FRENCH ACCENTS IN FASHION STYLE

HEDI SLIMANE FRENCH ACCENTS IN FASHION STYLE

An unmistakable note of Parisian chic defined the best of spring's collections 

By Avril Mair

FRENCH ACCENTS IN FASHION STYLE, fashion style, Hedi Slimane

Three words sum up S/S 13: style, substance and   seduction. You could   thank Hedi Slimane for that. When the menswear fashion designer was appointed creative director at the house of Yves Saint Laurent, the fashion world anticipated more of his signature minimalism. Instead, he looked back at the labels incredible archives from the 1970s fashion trends - the skinny pants, the tuxedo jackets, the sheer blouses... and then gave it all a decadent rock 'n' roll twist. The critics debated, but the buyers were convinced: these are clothes that women will want to wear.

Hedi Simane wasn't the only designer embracing a certain Parisian glamour this season. You can
also witness it in the work of Raf Simons, whose triumphant Dior ready-to-wear debut saw the house's femininity electrified by a daring new modem ism. The codes are still there, of course - the refined tailoring, the Bar jacket, the full-skirted finale - but with a sleek and disciplined remix. A bell-shaped tux dress worn over shorts, a lean suit accessorised by a blood-red scarftied at the neck: this is not minimalism as such, but these certainly are versatile, desirable and softly feminine clothes.
'The foundation of Dior is a reaction to restrictions,' says Simons. 'I wanted to do that too'.

This pragmatism- accompanied by a considered sensuality- was a theme that echoed throughout the Paris shows. Its no accident that Le Smoking, created by Monsieur Saint Laurent and immortalised by Helmut Newton (which should tell youeverything about its powerful, androgynous allure), was found on the catwalk at Balmain and Lanvin, belted and sharp-shnuldered or Cropped and monochromatic; but always offering a little skin. A similar kind of tux dressing also showed up at Celine and Givenchy, stripped back to the bare bones of desire. Lanvin's Alber Elbaz calls it 'deconstructed classicism', and its spirit saw designers take on other iconic pieces: the pencil skirt, the
pleat-front trousers and the pussy-bow blouse, another YSL standard.

FRENCH ACCENTS IN FASHION STYLE, fashion style, Hedi Slimane

Fashion style

"Suggestion is seduction.' according to Maria Grazia   Chiuri  and   Pierpaolo   Piccioli, whose
Valentino show had the blouse as its centrepiece, contrasting puritanical white collars and cuffs with
a delicious undercurrent of Bellc de Jour kink in sheer chiffon or nude, red and black lingerie-inspired leather. It is this spirit that they bring lo the house - a subtle subversiveness that is key to spring/summer 2013.

Despite the seductive pull of new trends, the strongest wardrobe style story this fashion season is that of timeless shapes reworked with an easy, modern edge. Consider Balmains high-waist evening trousers, unexpectedly but impeccably tailored in black leather and worn with a simple, single-sole heel. Or look at Roland Mouret's little black dress, where white flashes curve round the body in a flattering geometry. There are couture-like pencil skirts at Givenchy, deliriously split up the thigh; and leather-trimmed wool jackets at Chanel, cropped short and sweet. Whoever said you can't improve on a classic surely lied. Just look to Paris for proof of fashion style.