L’Of ciel Style 26
The Pre-Fall season might not have the same level of razzle-dazzle
drama and far-flung destination shows as the Cruise season, but it
plays a crucial role nonetheless—serving up real clothes to address
a wide variety of needs ranging from the functional (weather-
appropriate outerwear, tailoring and layering for work) to the more
fun (party frocks galore). Designers use this transitional season to
underscore key messages from the main collections, and to reinforce
the codes that define their houses. Under Nicolas Ghesquiere’s
stewardship, Louis Vuitton now stands for a certain kind of offbeat,
nonchalant glamour and he drove the point home by showing his
collection on a diverse, distinctive cast of characters that ranged from
ingénues like Lea Seydoux and Sophie Turner to stars like Michelle
Williams and Thandie Newton. Gucci, with its alchemical ways of
colliding the past and present, enlisted Harmony Korine to shoot its
Pre-Fall lookbook at the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Pompeii
and Herculaneum.Some designers see the season as a testing ground for new ideas.
Daniel Lee presented his first collection for Bottega Veneta via
intimate presentations, before sharpening his vision into a whiz-bang
show for F/W ’19. Julien Dossena introduced notes of Versailles-
level opulence into the space-age cool of Paco Rabanne, and then
later fleshed out those ideas in delightful new ways on the runway.
The season is not without its share of spectacle either. The fact that
some brands scaled back meant that it was time for others to shine.
Valentino and Dior Men both presented their Pre-Fall collections as
mega productions in Tokyo, the latter complete with towering fembot
sculpture by cult favourite Hajime Sorayama; while Coach merged
its vision of Americana cool with the buzzing energy of Shanghai
now. At a time when world politics is looking increasingly nationalist
and isolationist, it is heartening to see fashion taking steps to break
barriers and throw open doors.PRE-FALL 2019
BY JEFFREY YAN