Apparel Online Bangladesh Magazine December Issue 2018 | Page 68

DIRECTIONS BY
Paris Fashion Week rounds up trends for
Spring 2019 with revamped classics and
minimal opulence
P
aris Fashion Week gives a
closure to the upcoming
trends for Spring/Summer
2019 confirming minimal opulence,
revamped outerwear and the return
of nets and crochets.
Despite being christened as the
‘Ville Lumière’ or in layman terms,
the City of Lights, Paris stands for
much more being a forerunner of
the high-fashion industry. The city
comes alive every season during
the Paris Fashion Week as it marks
the end of major fashion weeks for
the season while confirming several
bygone trends of preceding fashion
weeks. These days of pure fashion
contribute to make a significant
chunk of revenue for the fashion and
apparel industry of France, which
amounts to about US $ 15,627
million in 2018 as per statista.com.
With even the Parisian streets
enveloped in couture, the money-
makers of the industry are the
heritage fashion houses that
branded the city as one of the most
influential fashion capitals of the
world two centuries back. Right
from ‘haute-couture’ legacy fashion
houses like Dior, Chanel, Hermes
and Louis Vuitton, to the newcomers
who are here to stay such as Chloé,
Rochas, Céline and Balmain, the list
of fashion’s most coveted entities
housed by France is never ending.
The bigwigs of the ever-dynamic
French fashion industry witnessed
several changes of varying nuances
this year and made headlines
globally. The biggest instance of
this feat is the return of Balmain to
the couture runways as per Creative
Director Olivier Rousteing. Céline,
which was rechristened to Celine by
newly appointed Creative Director
Hedi Slimane, was subjected to
68 Apparel Online Bangladesh | December 2018 | www.apparelresources.com
serious criticism due to its ‘clean
slate’ approach as the brand
loyalists saw a drastic change from
an effortlessly feminine brand of
predecessor Phoebe Philo to a
‘black and sleek, not Celine-like’
guise by Slimane.
The runways this year saw fashion
that was ‘made for masses’ as the
designers chose the ramp as a
platform to convey fashion that was
less about individual competition
and more about the cause of cross-
generational unity. Innovation
celebrated a confluence with
couture tailoring and craftsmanship
with a sense of individuality
signature for each designer. John
Galliano at Maison Margiela upheld
the concept of equality for all
genders, Balmain united runway and
technology as they transformed the
venue into screens spanning 360
degrees, Dries Van Noten played
along the modernist lines in cut-
throat sleek silhouettes drenched in
sequins of the new age, while Sarah
Burton revamped classic Victorian
gowns with tulle, lace and Celtic
leather for Alexander McQueen.
The Milanese brand, Off-White by
Virgil Abloh, pulled off its athleisure-
meets-couture element successfully
despite being away from home.
Fashion catered to the diversity of
consumers to provide trends that
were an amalgamation of modern
and vintage strokes juxtaposed
intellectually together on the canvas
of ramps – there were takes on ’90s
classics such as black coats and
sandal-tights, extravagant opulence
showcased in minimal manner
and several takes on fishnets and
crochets. Here’s our edit of the
trends spotted at the Paris Fashion
Week S/S 2019.