“Uncross your legs.”
That order, usually barked from the photo pit, felt like good advice as models hit the runway at the Courrèges show in Paris. Designed like a city street, complete with manholes and surface markings, it was so narrow that your toes almost brushed against the clothes — making for an epic pre-show traffic jam.
Creative director Nicolas Di Felice said he drew inspiration from the movies of Belgian director Chantal Akerman, in particular “Portrait of a Young Girl at the End of the ‘60s in Brussels.” His fall collection, titled “24 Hours in the Life of a Courrèges Woman,” distilled the idea of a day-to-night wardrobe in cinematic style.
“It’s about a girl on the move. I really saw it like a tracking shot in my head, so I wanted fabrics that remind you of the street,” he explained backstage, pointing to a flecked denim that had the texture of asphalt.
The soundtrack, progressing from urban soundscapes to throbbing techno, set an urgent pace.
The show opened with a white satin dress draped from a metallic frame — evoking both a bedsheet and an archival image of a model from 1965 holding a white square. One of the original Space Age designers, founder André Courrèges pushed the notion of geometric design so far, he was sometimes accused of ignoring women’s bodies.
Di Felice, on the other hand, brings a kinky sensuality to his work. He used glossy textures and razor-sharp proportions to add dash to slim coats and jackets with funnel collars, a slick pleated skirt and dresses with graphic cutouts at the side and back.
The designer flexed the range of the label’s signature vinyl — by turns cool and edgy, in a T-shirt and matching pants, or sleek and sophisticated, in a pleated dress that was a technical feat. He added a touch of whimsy with skirts and evening dresses pieced together from organza Paris metro tickets or cloakroom stubs, and a new bag, the Shadow, that seemed to mold to its contents.
The cast, which included veteran models like Anne-Catherine Lacroix and Nataša Vojnović, projected a quiet confidence, reflecting Di Felice’s mindset as he celebrates his fifth anniversary at the house. “I hope to make women feel beautiful — as simple as that sounds,” he said. “There is a structure to Courrèges clothes that is there to protect you.”
For the finale, models reappeared wearing the looks from the collection, but entirely reworked in white — an “open canvas” for whatever the next day may bring.
