Surplus usually brings to mind one’s hoary leftovers, at Irfe this season in Paris, think again. Maison Irfe, one of France’s oldest couture houses to be making brand new waves, made a statement battle hymn of sophisticated militant styling today in Paris, which should garner a whole lot more significance for the storied label. While they usually see more daylight during menswear, heavy leathers and parachute-like voiles were cut impeccably with femininity at their core that allowed for a lot of flair and flavour experimenting with volumes and proportion.
Although this collection saw fit to collate some of the most un-seasonal technical fabrics yet, on being paired with lambskin, coated linen and washed crepe de Chine, the majority of the collection took a turn for the best. High contrasts of white and oily dark tones that followed an irregular pattern throughout managed to keep us on our toes and certainly so for the more minimal pieces that concluded the collection.
The minimalism of the said pieces is a practical godsend for the woman who likes her sex-appeal to speak for itself, not makng her clothes do it for her. Yet a few decorative bells, whistles and some piercings, rivets, eyelets and tastefully utilitarian zips there, reminded us that this is the neo-spawn of a couture house with many flashy notches on its timeline.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Irfé.