Loewe Givenchy: Cathy Horyn Fashion Review

That evening, Olivier Saillard, a well-regarded costume curator, staged his first presentation of “The Living Museum of Fashion,” at the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art. Saillard selected garments that were not merely old, like a Balenciaga dress from the mid-1960s; they also were damaged, not actually worthy of a museum. Many other garments were everyday duds—jeans, men’s suits, t-shirts with stains and holes. Either way, they contained vestiges of a life. And Saillard, with the help of some women who were once models, animated them. You might be amazed at how much emotion could be pulled out of a dying armhole. The audience, which included Rick Owens, responded warmly, often with laughter, and gave Saillard and his troupe a big ovation.

Cathy Horyn Olivier Saillard, a well-regarded costume curator, staged his first presentation of “The Living Museum of Fashion.”.

Cathy Horyn Olivier Saillard, a well-regarded costume curator, staged his first presentation of “The Living Museum of Fashion.”.

Ultimately, clothes are about the way they make you feel. A designer usually gets two chances a year, in a show that might last ten minutes, to leave you with a sensation or impart an aspect of reality that feels true, as Prada did this season with fifteen models each wearing four layers of clothing that implied a strata of a woman’s life. But these runway moments are rare. What you typically get is, at best, a striking look or an expensive “twist” on streetwear or on a brand’s bygone style. It doesn’t penetrate to the bone.

Sarah Burton opened Givenchy with a model in a slouchy navy wool pantsuit, hands in her pockets, followed by a woman named Noor. I know her name only because it was embroidered in red on the cuff of her white shirt, which Noor wore with a charcoal suit, its collar and lapels set lower to break the usual jacket symmetry. Her shirt was turned around, the collar popped, for a different look. Burton followed with an evening dress in royal blue velvet that was slashed on one side, and a dark cashmere coat pulled off one shoulder, the model toting Givenchy’s new bag—named The Snatch, because its curving top evokes the waist.

Givenchy From left: Photo: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of GivenchyPhoto: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of Givenchy

Givenchy From top: Photo: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of GivenchyPhoto: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of Givenchy

Givenchy
Photo: INDIGITAL.TV/INDIGITAL.TV

Then, suddenly, Burton reverted again to trouser suits, except with this one—in navy pinstripe—she brought in the shoulders and defined the waist. In all, she showed a dozen suits and each one was different in material, with small changes in the cut or styling, and some were worn with a straight-line tailored coat thrown over the shoulders.

Givenchy From left: Photo: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of GivenchyPhoto: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of Givenchy

Givenchy From top: Photo: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of GivenchyPhoto: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of Givenchy

In a season of tailoring, Givenchy’s is among the very best—in fit, proportion and make. Burton said last year, after she joined the brand, that she wanted to improve its ateliers. She brought in people she had worked with at Alexander McQueen, including its former head pattern-maker. The difference shows.

But a feeling also came through the clothes, in part because of the varied cast (it included Constance Debre, a French lawyer and novelist, who wears a buzzcut, and the American artist Isabelle Albuquerque) and in part because of the balance Burton kept up with more feminine styles, like a sculptural slip dress in vivid yellow and knitted tunics decked with yarn pompoms that dripped down the body and over leather track pants.

Givenchy From left: Photo: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of GivenchyPhoto: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of Givenchy

Givenchy From top: Photo: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of GivenchyPhoto: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of Givenchy

One of the freshest looks was a halter in deep red velvet worn with full-cut black pants. The black-and-white lace dress on Binx Walton, with a floating skirt, looked smartly reduced, a virtual X-ray of classic Givenchy prettiness.

Givenchy From left: Photo: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of GivenchyPhoto: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of Givenchy

Givenchy From top: Photo: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of GivenchyPhoto: INDIGITAL.TV/Courtesy of Givenchy

I felt that Burton was talking directly to a bunch of women and what they like and loathe. More than that, she now has the designs under control.

Walking into the Loewe show, you knew that Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough were game. Black stuffed animals—the work of the artist Cosima Von Bonin—were arranged on some of the low seats in the white-box room. I perched next to a clam.

Loewe From left: Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com/ Courtesy of LoewePhoto: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com/ Courtesy of Loewe

Loewe From top: Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com/ Courtesy of LoewePhoto: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com/ Courtesy of Loewe

The designers, in their second season at Loewe, said they wanted to continue with sportswear and strong colors, but give more attention to handcraft—especially craft that uses new technology, whether it’s A.I., or a pancake mold that take a 3–D scan of a lace slip dress and turns it into a highly detailed latex version, or a machine developed to give heavy yarns a hand-knitted appearance. The guys used that machine to knit a two-color yarn of leather for t-shirt mini dresses. “What else can we put into that machine?” McCollough said to me. “I’m very curious.”

That curiosity, along with a desire to play, gave their collection energy and wit. They poured t-shirts into the latex mold and paired them with pants that look like corduroys; in fact, they’re shaved shearling. They showed tops embellished with porcelain-like flowers; actually, they were painted on with liquid latex. “Nothing is what seems,” Hernandez said.

Loewe From left: Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com/ Courtesy of LoewePhoto: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com/ Courtesy of Loewe

Loewe From top: Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com/ Courtesy of LoewePhoto: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com/ Courtesy of Loewe

Shearling mini coats, which have a molded look, were sent to a Parisian poodle groomer for a cut, and then the lower, shaggier portion was bleached. And the designers pushed the silhouette of puffer jackets to a bitchy level, with extra hoods, and added inflatable sections to parkas.
McCollough and Hernandez did have some normal clothes, like good-looking pullovers that button at the neck and gingham shirts. And, yes, they could have had more in the show. But the designers are having a field day at Loewe, with its capabilities. And, besides, fashion could use more play.

Loewe
Photo: Daniele Oberrauch / Gorunway.com/ Courtesy of Loewe

It was lovely to see all the beautiful dresses and pared-back tailoring at Lanvin, especially sleeveless dresses in lightweight dark wool. But Peter Copping makes it hard on himself. He put big, floppy hats with things, drowning out the sharpness of his look, and he presented too many styles, like fur-trimmed coats, that other brands can do better. He’d gain more by editing.

Lanvin From left: Photo: Alessandro Lucioni/Courtesy of LanvinPhoto: Alessandro Lucioni/Courtesy of Lanvin

Lanvin From top: Photo: Alessandro Lucioni/Courtesy of LanvinPhoto: Alessandro Lucioni/Courtesy of Lanvin

Junya Watanabe’s show left me cold. On women affecting the hauteur of old-time models or, perhaps, Spanish dancers, he sent out ultra-feminine dresses embellished with piles of stuff: old gloves, shoes, bits of fur and squashed bags, a silver tray, old curtains and what looked like motorcycle parts. True, it was all well executed but does it matter?

Watanabe had a superb men’s collection in January, based on the tailored cool of male cultural icons. So why did he give women all the rubbish?

From left: Photo: Cathy HorynPhoto: Cathy Horyn

From top: Photo: Cathy HorynPhoto: Cathy Horyn