During Schiaparelli’s haute coutue turn in Paris this season the house granted creative direction to Marco Zanini’s replacement Bertrand Guyon, formerly based at Givenchy, Lacroix and most recently Valentino, for his sensible debut collection.
Guyon approached Schiaparelli’s revival with a softer and more sympathetic touch than we’ve seen so far, outfitting his dainty and delightful couture for the land girls of WW2. Whilst it was cemented in this glory era for the house it also paid whimsical homage to Schiaparelli’s collaborations with visionary artisans like Jean Cocteau for a more experimental edge.
This was bound to happen sooner or later at Schiaparelli but there is no doubt that Guyon has the best eye when it comes to doing this subtly and stylishly. The doodle-like baroque print gowns and skirts of mink with tufts dyed to replicate a Cocteau illustration added enticing new dimensions to a house that younger generations should take more note of.
A final principle that the very promising Guyon stuck by was grace. This move felt more evocative of the true essence of Schiaparelli than all of the lobster-patterned and shoulder-pad engorged creations previous collections have been churning out by simply making a woman look fancy, yet interesting all the while. This was a couture cavalcade that may have even possessed the power to really put Schiaparelli back into its rightful position as a once great fashion house – how exciting.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Style.com