AFTER a hectic month of fashion shows, on the final eve of Paris Fashion Week, Louis Vuitton held the AW18 show at the Louvre. Nicolas Ghesquière had the Parisian arts palace transformed into an outer-space marvel with a spaceship landing upon one of the old courtyards. The models walked in their heels along the runway set with ramps where the hooves of 19th century horses once trotted.
While his infatuation with space and futurism remained, this time Ghesquière took a slightly less extreme approach for AW18. He focused his attention toward women, gender equality and the French women with whom he has grown up with and learnt from throughout his years. This was classic French dressing with feminine favourites like ruffles, pleats and peplums.
The looks were practical, functional and some even appropriate for the workplace, with classic pencil skirts, big blouses and Mary Jane high heels. There were elements of the westworld with lots of leather, shearling and cropped jackets with fringing. There was no slacking on the details, like the embellishment of collars, the gold buttons and leather gloves encrusted with jewels at the wrist. The day dressing was closely followed by eveningwear of sleeveless dresses with lapels or slim trousers belted at the waist by gold chains. This was powerful dressing for women who aren’t afraid to dress like women.
by Grace Calton