NORMAL PEOPLE: A POST-PFW WARDROBE
Plus: my faves from the Paris runways, quand même.
Reader! Missed you. Thanks for checking in. No, I have not been devoured by bed bugs (yet).
In fact, there’s a nip in the air and a spring in my otherwise-weary step because the mountain of Fashion Month chinwagging is now behind me and we can finally sit down for a little virtual pow wow. Blank page, my fickle friend, I genuinely missed you.
Speaking of ye olde tabula rasa, I’ll first get my highlights from Paris off my chest. And I am compelled —moved even— to begin with my friend Louise Trotter’s triumph at Carven. She whose show invitation was simply an unfolded blank piece of paper entitled ‘Warrander’ by the Scottish artist Alison Watt (2016).
It would easy for me to bring a whole bucket of bias to my take on Louise’s first outing for the historic French house (yes, she designed my wedding dress,) but I tried to force myself to be as objective as possible while watching. Particularly as she had a lot to proove —the house has been a bit all over the shop in recent years despite having an impressive history —and one that means something to me personally. My grandmother was a friend of Madame Carven’s and modelled for her shortly after she launched her brand right after WW2 in late 1940s Paris. Back then, Carven founded her house because was very concerned about dressing the modern woman for her time, and I felt Louise carried this over for the women of 2023/24.
Here are the notes I jotted down during and just after the show:
(Some of this, I realise, I already mentioned in my little video reportage for Madame Figaro —thanks for watching if you did!)
-This is pure Louise but also pure Carven and the two really gel. What a clever match.
-My grandmother would have loved these sheer skirts and I’d totes wear them around Marc’s granny today. It’s all in how you style your see-throughs.
-Louise has always had a keen sense of what women actually want to wear, that elusive line between ultra-refinement and practical, non-restrictive clothing that you can walk into any situation wearing and feel good in. Best example of her talent for this yet. Made for actual life!
-I would never have thought of tucking a slim tailored jacket into a skirt but I’m kind of into it.
-The dresses! SO SEXY without trying [the best kind of sexy.]
-The disheveled open back sitution is also very seductive and real.
-I need all the bags
-A pop of primary colour on a key chain or pendant or bag is such pro way of adding fun to a tonal look and also organising your scatterbrained existence.
-Historic luxury house, officially saved. Hurrah!
I guess I should mention that during Fashion Week I focus more than usual on a need for easy-glam solutions. Dress-it-up-or-down cocktail dresses or supreme day-to-evening suiting for example. Mainly because on the days I have a babysitter and can “attend evening events” I rarely have more than five minutes to go back home and change between shows and heading to the OTT number of cocktail parties and/or dinner’s thrown by brands (everyone’s in town so everything needs to be crammed into a limited amount of time; some nights you’ll go to three or four events before actually sitting down to dinner at 10:30pm). Obvi I am shit lucky to be invited but man…. and this is just little old me—imagine Gigi H’s schej.
Some brands do manage to make showing up more than worth your while, though. One highlight was Venetian-inspired, London-based footwear brand Le Monde Beryl’s decadent cocktail in this kinda spooky old 15th-Century Marais apartment (think imposing exposed dark-wood beams and priceless portraits that seem to follow you around with their eyes). The crowd was as delicious as the food…KEY BTW—feed us please, it is a common and outdated misconception that fashion people can run on dreams and nicotine alone!— and the wine, it must be said, was top notch.
They couldn’t get rid of us at Le Monde. Adeline Mai and I began speaking in faux British accents then wound up sneaking into an uncharted hallways for a mysterious photoshoot (evidence TK), only after Tylynn Nguyen, Sara Ramen and I had finished making upside-down videos of ourselves with the Harry Potter portraits **on the ceiling** whilst stuffing our faces with mysteriously delicious “burnt” charcoal bread. Then, just as I was about to leave Laurel Pantin showed up, brimming as she does with her pee-yourself hilarious anecdotes (and ready, when pressed, to show me her inside-mouth tattoo), so I threw my coat back on the sofa and stayed for another hour. Kudos to the hosts.
Back to shows for a sec. I obviously dug Loewe for Jonathan Anderson’s berserk ability to make everyday clothes utterly spectacular, giving your frumpy knits and oversized jeans a new raison d’être Maybe I’ll go dig some misshapen old sweaters out of my husband’s closet and add some massive gold paperweight-style buttons.
And, after a brilliant Prada show in Milan, Muccia Prada continued her never-ending ascent to legendary designer status. I genuinely think she will remembered among the Greatest of Greats—or at least she should be. Not saying Raf isn’t lending a helping hand but Muccia was all over Prada this time, I thought. Anyway after the magic angel fairy dresses in Milan, her Miu Miu closed PFW with another on-point for-women, by-women, real-women vibe. Overstuffed morning after bags (or just mom bags?) for all, please.
Meanwhile going backstage for Mme Fi as mentioned, especially at younger designers like Cecilie Bahnsen and Kevin Germanier’s shows, was not only a lark —excellent vibes and super kind people at both— but a reminder of how much genuine blood, sweat and good humour go into these productions, at any scale.
Now then. Around this time every season, while processing the abundance of inspiration I’ve been exposed to, (along with, a certain amount of rudeness from those who take fashion way too seriously, plus the usual overload of unsolicited gossip, natch,) I like to get back to basics with my own tabula rasa: jeans and a white T shirt.
So for a luncheon at which I had to look pulled together right after PFW but couldn’t be bothered to get all ‘high concept’ on everyone’s ass, I just added to the above with my new favourite striped shirt by lovely Cali-based brand Doen because as you’ll know, if there are two things I can’t resist it’s a menswear-stripe and a pop of red.
Over top I threw the small Scandi-sustainabilty specialist Skall Studio’s boiled wool blazer. (Did you enjoy that alliteration or was it too much?) Anyway their clothes are never too much and the shapes feel both relevant and easy.
Speaking of Doen, I think part of the appeal is that they also get what women really need in their wardrobe/lives. Of course, men can create great clothes for women too, but in terms of everyday essentials, and striking the perfect balance between unfussy and elegant, this design collective, founded in 2016 by Santa-Barbara based sisters Margaret and Katherine Kleveland along with five other female founders, just really reminds you what you need in the everyday jiggle-juggle of womanhood. (Other than a red key chain).
Exhibit A from yesterday— my look for school drop-off, then direct to first meeting “sans transition” as they say here. Throw on this snuggly, neutral-cool, playground-appropriate number and boots comfortable enough to chase a toddler trying to see how fast they can get away with going on a scooter but cute enough for the meeting. Et t’es pas mal.
I also donned this coat over Doen’s Oralie dress for a night out with m’hubby the other evening. The tummy-transparency vibe kinda reminded me of the black silky see-through layers I’d just seen at Chanel. A big khaki number like this over a party dress and boots actually reminds me of my University of Edinburgh days —we all did this kind of shabby chic thrown-togeher vibe but with a hell of a lot more black eyeliner and absolutely-not-waterproof mascara cause NUU RAVE MATE.
I’ve forgone the eye makeup this time round, mercifully. Why, in 2009, we thought the black stuff that would eventually roll down our faces in the sweaty kerfuffle of Why Not nightclub made us look nonchalant I cannot fathom. It made us look chalant. The glorious new Pamela Anderson would be ashamed of her fellow countrywoman. But whatever. Good times.
And without the racoon eyes this felt fresh and fun for an autumnal night on the town.
Another evening idea is this layered top by Francon, a new Rotterdam-based brand I’m happy to have just discovered. Dressed it down slightly with Alighieri’s lovely Gone Fishing necklace.
Speaking of what to wear to meetings I’m living in this Vanessa Bruno envelope skirt. Balancing the mini-ness with some semi-sheer black tights, cute-patoots footwear by Chylak and another miraculous red shirt by the very clever Charles Sebline.
Last but not least I’ll address my most asked question in my DMs over Fashion Week, what, pray tell, was that strange, clunky “phone case” I had on my phone at all the shows?
Am I going for a robo-chic statement? Have Nasa hired me to spy on space-worthy fabrics? (Bearing in mind Prada have now apparently been hired to help build their new Artemis spaces suits).
Alas, no, intergalactic travel is not yet on my horizon.
It’s just a stabiliser that the team gave me to help stop one’s hand shaking whilst filming for a long time when interviewing people after shows. A handy prop, frankly, if you can take the weird inquisitive stares.
Thats’s all for now fashionistas. ET OUI, Your Woman in Paris is back next week. Until then x
i loved reading this. like.. i’m full of joy now. 💝
My favourite alliteration was ‘boiled wool blazer’ 🙂