SuzyPFW: Louis Vuitton, Margiela, MiuMiu And Sacai Celebrate Doing It Their Way

But anyone who believes that these traditional shows in the four fashion capitals are over after more than 70 years should look at how Louis Vuitton and others presented their Spring/Summer 2021 collections – albeit in vast spaces to comply with social distancing. 

And bravo, too, for the stay-at-homes. Miuccia Prada presented MiuMiu on-screen with a bubbly energy. While for Maison Margiela, John Galliano told a story as breathtaking in its realisation of hot blood in the world of tango as in the array of elegant clothes and accessories, designed and made during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the possibilities of worldwide fashion presentations in the future were summed up by Sacai, whose designer Chitose Abe usually shows in Paris, but this season beamed her work into cyberspace from her studio in Japan, via Instagram.

Louis Vuitton

As the camera swooped and stilled inside the elegant emptiness of the renovated Paris department store, La Samaritaine, the Louis Vuitton show seemed like the essence of fashion futurism.

Except that the first outfit shown was a statement for now. “Vote” read the sporty top above tailored, mannish trousers – surely a reference to upcoming American elections.

Designer Nicolas Ghesquière has caught a moment in our times with a different approach: Gender signals have faded away so that it seems irrelevant who the loosely pleated trousers or long, light outerwear are destined for.   

It was the coats that told the story for the androgynous models in the Vuitton collection, as they walked around different areas of the empty floors, with hems almost sweeping the ground. Some of the big, bold jackets – especially one shimmering with a silver surface – had a futuristic feel.

But it was all in the mix, as so often with Ghesquière, where a tough modern generation was dressed in a mix of Futurism and Eighties shaping. Only half the story was shown by the silhouettes, for fabrics have changed so much in four decades that painterly dashes of grey on a tailored white suit can no longer be noted as male/female or day/evening. Definition has disappeared.

Ghesquière’s skill is to blend technology with luxury. He was probably the first designer to link those two elements – and certainly at a top-end brand. 

The result has been to give Louis Vuitton a definition beyond its famous handbags, although they too were striking for their flat shapes, vivid green colours, and a feeling – not always the case at LV – that the cut of the clothes had shaped the accessories.

Other striking notes? The fabrics with a silvery sheen, giving the impression that for the designer, life on Mars is not that far away.

Maison Margiela 

The spine-tingling sexuality, the tension between two bodies, the blood-red colour washing against white – John Galliano’s presentation for Maison Margiela must be one of the greatest he has ever shown. Yet all that sensuality was only on film. 

Working with photographer Nick Knight, the two created a story of passion and intrigue: dancers submerged in water trailed with blood, and an impeccably dressed man reliving the drama in his old age.

Juxtaposed with this riveting story was Galliano in his studio, talking about up-cycling and the meld of clothes for males and females, his passion for a long-distant visit to Buenos Aires still palpably strong.

How to explain the wonder of this designer at his best? It is his mixture of technique and storytelling. For this Spring/Summer 2021 season there was a focus on tailored cutting, especially coats with high shoulders, or jackets made in the same shape, but in white cotton, perhaps with a dickie at the breast.

The nobility of the clothes came from the way the fabric touched the body, revealing bare skin. This sensuality fluttered through until the tragic finale of the film, when the arranged marriage of the two main characters set a perfectly tailored white men’s suit against the wedding dress, its transparent chiffon drowning in the water.

The clothes alone were heart-throbbing enough. The story line more so. Equally fascinating were the discussions between the designer and his team, filmed in his studio. It is a long time since Galliano has created such a powerful fashion moment. But this was it.

Miu Miu 

Miuccia Prada made a witty joke at the Miu Miu show. The fans waving from the back of the audience were virtual figures, to suggest that the show that always closes the Paris Fashion Week season was actually taking place in flesh and blood – not as a digital vision from the designer’s native Italy.

Anyway, the clothes themselves were for international, sweet young things – not so much innocent as cute and of-the-moment. And perky – especially as nearly each one of the short, pert outfits or soft track pants had a splash of colour. 

White was the only competitor to the sporty orange top and yellow skirt, or the zippered jacket in pink with a pastel-blue skirt. There were even patterns spelling out “MiuMiu” – an effect that seems to be a thing for the next summer season.

Mrs Prada, as she is always called, does decoration in a thoroughly modern way, adding a cross here or perhaps puddles of pattern on a blank background.

It all adds up, as ever at Miu Miu, for a youthful prettiness that signals a new 21^st-century cool. And the new poster girl? Lila Moss, the sweet eighteen-year-old daughter of Kate Moss, whose stage appearance will surely start a new generation game.

Sacai 

So it was breakfast in Europe, but not in Japan, for the filmed Sacai show, which was live, yet also immersed in other elements of backstage and runway.

Against a rainy landscape, Creative Director Chitose Abe offered deep-blue dresses, or tops and trousers patterned in variations of turquoise. She then moved on to another vision – of black and beige for loose tops and skirts, all difficult to see on screen. 

But what makes them special is the spirit of a designer whose skill is to give simple, modern clothes a twist of handwork. And that could sum up a powerful feeling that has swept through the Spring/Summer 2021 season.