Back on the couture schedule for the first time since 2016, Bouchra Jarrar has added many au courant elements to her exacting, soigné brand of fashion. Her salon-style show today at her Parisian apartment will feature a diverse cast from ages 18 to 70 — including men. She’s also dusted off some archival styles — a tuxedo suit and a killer leather Perfecto — and will introduce her first logo, her initials writ small on a rock-concert T-shirt.
At an exclusive preview Tuesday, the designer was wearing a mohair cardigan, Adidas track pants and Nike sneakers, and her collection, dubbed Edition No. 1, reflects her relaxed and sanguine spirit, particularly the slouchy pantsuits in languid wool, and a loose, romantic smock in silk. There was still strict tailoring, including handsome trenchcoats a man or woman could wear, and Jarrar’s fetish flourishes of feathers and beads, here as majestic collars to lift the head, there as a flourish on the shoulder of a sleeveless jacket.
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She even loosened up her sly bondage references to a knitted scarf crisscrossing the body, or loose straps draping over a scoop-back gown.
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Jarrar plans to parade only 15 looks. “I appreciate quality and not quantity,” she said.
Self-financed, the designer has reached out to the dozen or so women who purchased her couture regularly, and she plans to re-enter the business step by step.
Since exiting Lanvin in 2017, Jarrar said she relished the two-year break from fashion’s treadmill to “reconnect” to her family and reflect on the profession. “I needed to feel happy to re-enter my metier,” she said with a sweet smile. “I am proposing the essentials of a woman’s wardrobe.”
Jarrar launched her signature house in 2010 after 15 years of behind-the-scenes toil, most notably as studio director at Nicolas Ghesquière’s Balenciaga and head of couture design for Christian Lacroix. She earned the official haute couture appellation in 2013.